Cowboys News & Notes: Dez Bryant Would Pick CB Jalen Ramsey For Cowboys

Dez Bryant: If I ran the Cowboys, here's who I'd draft with the No. 4 pick - SportsDay Staff
Bryant wants the Cowboys to draft Florida State defensive back Jalen Ramsey with the No. 4 overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN via Twitter.

Dez Bryant says he'd take Florida State defensive back Jalen Ramsey if he had the call for the Cowboys' fourth overall pick.

— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) March 19, 2016

Cowboys have workout scheduled with Dak Prescott on Monday - Brandon George, SportsDay
The Cowboys are really doing their due diligence with Prescott.

For the third time in three months Cowboys quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson will get some face-to-face time with Mississippi State's Dak Prescott. Wilson is expected to put Prescott through a private workout Monday morning in Starkville, Miss., according to a source.

The #Cowboys are hosting FA CB Patrick Robinson tomorrow and Monday, source said.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 19, 2016

Busy days ahead for Cowboys - Mike Fisher, CBS DFW
Fisher recaps what's happening at Valley Ranch over the next few days.

On Sunday, they are scheduled to host defensive back Patrick Robinson.

On Monday, they are scheduled to host running back Alfred Morris.

By Wednesday, they will know if they won the bidding for pass-rusher Benson Mayowa.

DeMarcus Lawrence needs to step up for the Cowboys after free agency - Pete Prisco, CBSSports.com
Pete Prisco looks at every team in teh NFL and identifies the the guy -- or guys -- who need to step up for their team in 2016. For the Cowboys, that's Lawrence:

I expected him to have his breakout season in 2015, and he came close with eight sacks. With Randy Gregory suspended for four games and Greg Hardy not expected back, Lawrence has to be even better. This has to be the year he gets to double-digit sacks for a Cowboys team that needs a dominant edge rusher. He did have a back surgery after the season.

VIDEO: Why did Lance Dunbar re-sign with Cowboys? "They stuck behind me & never wavered." - NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
Cowboys running back Lance Dunbar agreed to a new one-year deal with Dallas this week. In this video, he tells NBC 5's Pat Doney why he decided to return.

VIDEO: Klay Thompson ends interview to talk with Dez Bryant - CBSSports.com
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson is such a big fan of Dez Bryant that he ended his postgame interview early to say hi to the Cowboys wide receiver.

Not only did Thompson lead the Warriors to their 62nd win of the season by scoring a game-high 39 points, he also got to meet Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant. In fact meeting Bryant was such a big deal for Thompson that he ended his postgame interview early just to say hi to the Cowboys receiver.

Grading the teams who have largely sat out free agency for 2016 - Bill Barnwell, ESPN
The first rule of NFL free agency? Try to avoid it if you can. Which is why many teams that haven't been active shoppers so far in March are being smart, Barnwell writes, and gives his take on the Cowboys

Under the influence of Stephen Jones, the Cowboys look like an entirely different organization. The team who routinely fouled up their cap to fit in an extra free-agent and used first-round picks on big-name prospects is slowly beginning to look like a patient, intelligent franchise. It didn't work out last year, but when your star quarterback misses most of the year with an injury, neither of those philosophies are going to work.

This year, with about $11 million in cap space, the Cowboys have mostly sat out of the free-agent market, only adding a quality defensive lineman in Cedric Thornton while re-signing Morris Claiborne and Rolando McClain. They still need a pass-rusher if they don't re-sign Greg Hardy, but given Rod Marinelli's ability to manufacture useful pass rushers seemingly out of thin air, it's a place the Cowboys would likely prefer to buy low and in bulk. In a draft deep on defensive linemen, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Dallas head in that direction next month, too.

The largest NFL free agent contracts are usually a waste of money - Yaron Weitzman, SBNation.com
The last five years are littered with millions of dollars of unrealized expectations from free agency. Weitzman takes a closer look at the two largest contracts handed out every spring since 2011 and how those players and teams have fared and concludes that big free agent signing don't equal big wins.

This is perhaps the most glaring thing from this list: of the 10 players mentioned above, only three (Peyton Manning, Aquib Talib, Johnathan Joseph) made the playoffs with the team that signed them to a big deal. There's a reason Bill Belichick stays on the sidelines every offseason during free agency; it's just not the best way to go about roster building in a league with a hard cap and where players are done by the time they hit 30.

Ted Thompson's Guide to Free Agency: Or, why the Packers rarely make big waves - Acme Packing Company
The Packers sign a free free agent about once every leap year or so, at least that's what irt feels like. APC breaks down what they think are GM Ted Thompson's "8 simple rules" to staying out of trouble in free agency.

1. Players drafted in the first 3-4 rounds are about as likely to succeed as free agent acquisitions, and if they fail, the financial impact is far less.
2. For most positions, it is nearly impossible to sign a free agent, especially a well-known free agent, who will provide surplus value.
3. Player who are considered "good" will always be overpaid in free agency.
4. Running backs and inside linebackers are, respectively, the least valuable positions on offense and defense.
5. If an "older" player possesses many tools and 80-grade athleticism (on the 20-80 scale), he will likely age gracefully, and may be worth signing if he plays a position capable of providing cascade value. (The Woodson/Peppers Rule)
6. That said, football is fundamentally a young person's game, and young rosters will tend to be better than old rosters.
7. I work for a team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and NFL free agents will often require a premium to come here.
8. For most positions, waiver wire fodder is as good or better than "medium salaried" veterans.

Titans G.M. wants a "king’s ransom" for first overall pick | ProFootballTalk
Titans GM Jon Robinson said the Titans are willing to trade down in the NFL draft, but it would take a substantial amount of picks to do that.

That’s the word from Titans G.M. Jon Robinson, who said at a Titans fan festival today that it would take a "king’s ransom" to give up the first overall pick.

"It would take a substantial amount of picks to do that," Robinson said, via Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.

Here's the crazy offer Chip Kelly reportedly made for Marcus Mariota - CBSSports.com
This should give you an idea of what the Titans mean when they talk about a king's ransom: As Eagles HC, Chip Kelly offered the Titans his 2015 1st, his 2015 2nd, his 2016 1st, and any QB and defensive player on roster for Marcus Mariota.

Moving up 18 spots in the NFL Draft isn't easy, but Kelly definitely tried, and he tried hard. According to Peter Schrager of Fox Sports, the former Eagles coach basically offered the Titans anything they wanted.

"Last year the Eagles offered the Tennessee Titans a 2015 first-round pick, a 2015 second-round pick, a 2016 first-round pick," Schrager said on the Herd with Colin Cowherd. "They said 'take any of our quarterbacks' -- that's Bradford, that's Sanchez, that's whoever -- 'and take anyone on our defense; we want that No. 2 pick.'"

Basically, if the Titans had taken the deal, they'd have received the 20th and 47th picks in the 2015 draft plus the 13th overall pick in the 2016 draft plus Bradford or Sanchez plus any defensive player of their choosing.