Cowboys 2018 Draft: BTB big board update of the top 100 college prospects, post-combine edition

It’s been a few weeks since we’ve last examined our Big Board and some stuff has happened since then, mainly the NFL combine. With new information comes a new stacking, and this time we super-sized it and put together a board featuring the top 100 players. If there are certain players buzzing around Cowboys Nation, there’s a good chance he’s on here. If you have a pet cat, he might show up on the board as well.

Let’s see what we got...

First-round grades

Not much has changed here. We did lose one player from this group as cornerback Josh Jackson has slid down to the first round group. After being on the north side of 4.5 for his 40, it could bounce him out of the elite prospect group.

The slower time won’t necessarily knock Jackson out of the first round of next month’s draft, but it almost certainly will put him into the second half of that round. It might allow a prospect such as Jaire Alexander of Louisville to move ahead of Jackson on teams’ draft boards. Alexander, at 5-foot-11 and 192 pounds, ran a 4.38 40 on Monday.

Cornerback isn’t a pressing need for the Cowboys so that doesn’t impact them very much. The hope is still that one of these first-round graded players fall to the Cowboys at 19. Vita Vea is still the guy many fans are holding their breathe for while Da’Ron Payne is the candidate that stands the best chance to be there.

Second-round grades

If the Cowboys don’t get a player from the first group, then they will have to pick one of their top choices from the second-round graded players. Marcus Davenport and Harold Landry are two of this year’s top pass rushers. You also have Isaiah Wynn and Will Hernandez should the Cowboys opt to draft an offensive linemen. Any way you shake it, the Cowboys are going to get a good player at 19.

The love for D.J. Moore continues as he is now the second-highest ranked wide receiver on this list.

Fans pleaded for Baker Mayfield to be higher on the list and for good reason - he’s a good player whose earned it. Sometimes it’s easy to forget about the talent of quarterbacks when the Cowboys aren’t in the market for one.

The Cowboys next pick at 50 will likely come from this second-round graded group. They could even have a few choices from this pool. Keep an eye on players like Leighton Vander Esch, Billy Price, Ronnie Harrison, and Harrison Phillips. These are all players who have been hyped at times to warrant a Day 1 selection, but somebody will ultimately fall. And these players all play a position the Cowboys could use help at.

Third-round grades

There are still so many quality players in the third-round group which makes you think twice about dealing it away in a trade. The right player has to fall to the right spot for that to happen (give up a third to get Derwin James is the only thing I’d seriously consider).

The Cowboys should still have some good interior offensive linemen choices if they haven’t addressed them already. Austin Corbett and Frank Ragnow are a couple names to keep in mind. If Dallas refuses to go DT in the first couple rounds, B.J. Hill could be a great snag at 81. There are also a few different linebackers that could be good choices for Dallas with Josey Jewell being a great value selection in round three. Again, some of these prospects have been mentioned as possible draft options a round earlier, but not all of them will be gone.

It’s unclear if and when the Cowboys will go after a wide receiver in the draft. If a great one falls in their lap, they could pounce at 19 or even 50. More realistically though, they will take advantage of the depth of the draft class and hold out for one later. There should still be some intriguing choices available for the Cowboys in round three. My favorite is still Equanimeous St. Brown, but I’m not holding my breath he’s still there when the Cowboys are on the clock.

The Cowboys could shock people and go after a tight end at that spot. It wouldn’t hurt my feelings if they picked Ian Thomas from Indiana.

Do you have any pet cats from this group?

Fourth-round grades

In 2016, the Cowboys were able to get four players from their fourth-round group using picks 101, 135, 189, and 212 to select the players ranked 72, 73, 79, and 82 on their board (Anthony Brown, Charles Tapper, Dak Prescott, and Kavon Frazier). This year, they should be able to bring in a nice haul as well as they have picks 116 and 137 (4th round), 171 and 173 (5th round), and 193 and 208 (6th round). They also pick at 236 (7th round). This becomes an important stack of players for Will McClay and company.

The Cowboys could try to add some depth at the linebacker position as there are still some good choices available (Jerome Baker, Fred Warner, and fan favorite - Shaquem Griffin).

Could they get a nice complementary running back to Ezekiel Elliott? John Kelly or Kalen Ballage are a couple of fine options. Or maybe they grab a speedster like Nyheim Hines?

As they move into later rounds, this is a good time to target some development players like Troy Apke, Natrell Jamerson, and Nathan Shepard.

Which players from this group do you like the most?

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Help boost the stock of your favorite picks by pleading their case in the comment section. And don’t forget to rec the ones you like so we can adjust the board accordingly. Is there a player missing from this top 100 that should be there? Let us know about it.