The Dallas Cowboys’ blueprint to dominate the 2016 NFL draft - Jeff Dooley, The Washington Post
The Cowboys have a great opportunity to make use of an uncharacteristically high draft pick, and Dooley explains that they can best capitalize by drafting three defenders with their first three picks, and only going after a QB very late.
1. Jalen Ramsey, CB, Florida State
2. Emmanuel Ogbah, DE, Oklahoma State
3. Sheldon Day, DT, Notre Dame
4. Daniel Braverman, WR, Western Michigan
4. Paul Perkins, RB, UCLA
6. Michael Thomas, WR, Southern Mississippi
6. Kalan Reed, CB, Southern Mississippi
6. Jonathan Williams, RB, Arkansas
6. Matt Johnson, QB, Bowling Green
I could certainly get behind this draft.
Bill Barnwell offers up a mock draft in which every team makes a trade - Bill Barnwell, ESPN
Barnwell has the Cowboys trading a conditional 6th rounder in 2017 to the Rams for Nick Foles, and suggests the Cowboys may end up trading down with the Titans if Jalen Ramsey goes at No. 3.
The Cowboys could then be at the head of the market for Tunsil, a player they really don't need whatsoever. The Titans were considering Tunsil with the first overall pick; here, they could give up second- and third-round picks and still manage to come away with the pass protector they coveted.
4. Cowboys trade 1-4, 6-189 to Titans for 1-15, 2-33, 3-76.
That kind of trade would certainly put the Cowboys in a position to dominate the draft. But there's a downside too:
RB Elliott could be the answer; question is ... can Dallas afford to take him at No. 4? - Brandon George, SportsDay
Stephen Jones said earlier this week that the right running back could be worth the fourth overall pick.
"I mean, you don't have to look far to an Adrian Peterson or if [Todd] Gurley would have been healthy last year coming out. He was obviously one that could have warranted that type of grade. So, there's backs that can certainly warrant being up there and being eligible in our mind to have the value of being picked that high."
If Elliott is the answer, the Cowboys probably have to draft him before the 11th pick.
The four teams that Ohio State RB Ezekiel Elliott said he made visits to: Eagles (2nd pick), Cowboys (4th), Bears (11th) and Dolphins (13th)
— Brandon George (@DMN_George) April 22, 2016
Tom Telesco: Trade talks for No. 3 pick have "really slowed down" | ProFootballTalk
Not really surprising, given that that top two picks have already been traded.
Speaking at a pre-draft press conference on Friday, Telesco said, via Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune, that inquiries from other clubs about moving into the third spot in the order have "really slowed down" since the Browns and Eagles completed their trade. There were reports about the team fielding offers for the pick earlier this week.
If the Chargers aren't getting any calls, the Cowboys probably aren't either. That doesn't bode well for Cowboys fans and their plans for total draft domination.
Jaguars getting phone calls for No. 5 overall pick - Ryan Day, Big Cat Country
At the same time, Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell said on Friday that the Jaguars are getting phone calls for their first-round pick. So there is hope for interest in the No. 4 pick after all.
It's not surprising that the No. 5 overall pick is garnering interest. This is, after all, a four-player draft with Laremy Tunsil, Myles Jack, Jalen Ramsey, and Joey Bosa. And with the first two picks likely going to Jared Goff and Carson Wentz, that means the Jaguars are third after those two quarterbacks are taken and squarely in the middle of a race for one of those four players.
Go get 'em, Jerry.
Mike Mayock: Cowboys have to draft Jalen Ramsey if he's available at No. 4 -- but if he's not ... - Jon Machota, SportsDay
Mike Mayock thinks Ramsey should be the pick for the Cowboys at No. 4, but also thinks the Chargers will pick Ramsey at No. 3. What then?
"If San Diego takes Jalen Ramsey, I almost feel like Dallas has to take Joey Bosa. It might not be as sexy, but he's a heck of a football player. Rod Marinelli is a heck of a coach. That kid will line up Day 1 and give you great effort and be a good football player. And I almost think they have to have somebody that's accountable and ready to play Day 1."
"Bosa's going to show up every week with an attitude, and I think that team needs that."
Richard Sherman can't believe NFL Draft analysts still have jobs - Jordan Heck, Sporting News
Sherman has a few choice words for draft analysts:
"I'll put it like this, if a weatherman kept predicting the weather wrong, people would stop listening to him. But they keep listening to these guys!"
"It's kind of funny that you can have those jobs without having any background in the sport. Just about everything else you need a background in your job. If you're covering the law, you need a background in law. If you're covering politics, you have to have some kind of knowledge in politics.
"But not in our game."
Cowboys VP Stephen Jones says Bosa should be one of top players picked in draft - Kate Hairopoulos, SportsDay
In a wide-ranging interview with G-Bag Nation on 105. 3 The Fan, Stephen Jones touched on a number of draft topics, including his take on Joey Bosa.
"He's just one solid football player. He's all about the game. He's certainly been trained the right way. His father, his uncles were all top-notch NFL football players. My understanding is the younger brother is one heck of a football player. Football runs in that family through and through. He's certainly one of the best players in this draft, and he'll certainly get strong consideration from us. I do think he'll be one of the top players picked, as he deserves to be. He's a great football player."
Stephen Jones: We’ll "try to be better" about drafting "right character" players - ProFootballTalk
This is something the Cowboys will keep an eye on throughout the draft.
"That’s a hard thing for people to get their hands around, it’s just hard to know when someone’s going to make the wrong turn or hit the wrong bump in terms of doing it once they get at our level," Jones said on "G-Bag Nation" on 105.3 The Fan, via the Dallas Morning News. "It’s obviously so important to us in drafting guys with the right character but sometimes things happen that are unforeseen. Right now, I totally get that it may not look like it in terms of the mishaps we’ve had here, but it’s certainly very important to us and something we’ll continue to evaluate and try to be better."
Twitter mailbag: Joey Bosa wouldn't be a reach - Todd Archer, ESPN
In response to a reader question wondering whether Bosa would be a reach, Archer offers some perspective:
Why would Joey Bosa be considered a reach at No. 4? That wouldn't be a reach. That would be a prudent pick. The Cowboys need pass-rush help. They have needed it for a few years now and they will need it in the future. They needed it before the news of DeMarcus Lawrence's suspension. I get that some aren't sure how high Bosa's ceiling will be but the kid produced in college at the highest level. I think he will be a fine pro. I wouldn't be mad if the Cowboys made Bosa the pick. I think he'll be fine. As to the first question you asked, I think the Cowboys would pick Jalen Ramsey. It's not a knock on Ezekiel Elliott at all. It's just that Ramsey would fill a couple of holes for the Cowboys. I do worry about the three career interceptions but I'm not so sure it bothers the Cowboys as it might some others.
There's also a very interesting question about Chaz Green in the mailbag ...
Ex-Duck DeForest Buckner targeted by Dallas Cowboys in 2016 NFL Draft? - Geoffrey Arnold, OregonLive.com
Along with Joey Bosa, Buckner is one of two defensive linemen to have had three separate contacts with the Cowboys.
The Cowboys reportedly met with Buckner at the NFL Combine in February. They reportedly conducted a private workout with Buckner in late March and brought him in for a private visit a week later.
NFL draft: Dallas Cowboys building future of war rooms - Tim Newcomb, SI.com
Newcomb takes a look at the Cowboys' plans for a high-tech, data-driven, fully interactive room at their new facility.
Enjoy the Cowboys’ 2016 draft board, the one with little name placards on magnets that slide around on an old-school white board, because this will be the final year of it. Next year, the Cowboys will unveil the future of draft "war rooms" as part of the franchise’s August move into The Star in Frisco, a $1 billion, 510,000-square-foot office and training facility with a 12,000-seat indoor stadium and two outdoor practice fields.
"Believe it or not we are going to take the leap and be the first ones to go 100% digital," Stephen Jones, Cowboys executive vice president, CEO and director of player personnel, tells SI.com. "It will be a high-tech room. I don’t think there will be anything like it for the moment."
The Dallas Cowboys Have Drafted the Most Pro Bowlers Since 2005 - Jason Lisk, The Big Lead
This is a headline that has graced BTB repeatedly over the past few years, and it's nice to see it somewhere else for a change.
Since 2005, the Dallas Cowboys have drafted 14 players who would be selected to at least one pro bowl, and that doesn’t include Tony Romo becoming the quarterback that season as an undrafted free agent.
The Giants, meanwhile, have had only 5 drafted pro bowlers since 2005, and if you want to know why they’ve slipped to missing the playoffs several years in a row, that might be a reason.
Jon Gruden thinks the Eagles may have too many quarterbacks | ProFootballTalk
No kidding.
How to Tell If Your Team Just Drafted a QB Bust - Jonah Gardner, Sports Reference.com
Gardner takes a detailed look at the 13 QBs taken at No. 1 or 2 since 2000 to see whether there were any data-based red flags that would have predicted success or failure in the NFL.
For Wentz, pretty much every red flag we've seen so far goes up. He only has one year of producing at a high level. His 2014 was excellent, but his 2015 numbers, even before accounting for the time he missed, seemed to be slipping, as his Y/A, AY/A, and completion percentages all declined. As an FCS player, Wentz likely faced a schedule that was even easier than Carr's, and he missed significant time due to injury, something that certainly looks like a red flag after seeing what happened to Bradford.
Goff, too, gives us cause for concern. He doesn't have a single year as impressive as Winston's 2013 or RG3's 2012, nor does he have the consistent greatness showed by Mariota or Luck. This is doubly concerning considering that Goff plays in an Air Raid offense that should produce eye-popping offensive numbers and has an iffy history of generating top-level QBs.