NFL Draft 2018 Day 2 live thread: Cowboys needs, draft order, discussion

It’s time for Day 2 of the NFL draft. Yesterday the Cowboys grabbed linebacker Leighton Vander Esch in the first round. Now they have two picks on Day 2, #50 in the second round and #81 in the third round.

Of course, we got thrown a curveball today with the news of Jason Witten’s retirement. We’ll have to see if that plays into the plans tonight.

We should note that Witten’s plans aren’t 100% yet.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says Jason Witten has made no final decisions about his future, despite an ESPN report that Witten is planning to retire and work for ESPN.

“He has some things to think about and discuss with his family from a professional perspective,” Jones said. “He also told me he is going to need some more time for consideration, at least through the weekend. He has not made any decisions that are definite at this time. We have no announcement at this time.”

Let the fun begin!

Cowboys Needs:

Wide receiver: The Cowboys receiving corps struggled in 2017, and that was before they released Dez Bryant. Adding Allen Hurns helped, but they could still look for more firepower in a Dak-friendly offense.

Guard/Offensive line: Jonathan Cooper moved on, and the Cowboys didn't get a sure-fire replacement in free agency. There is still a discussion about moving La’el Collins back inside, so they need a guard or right tackle.

Linebacker: Anthony Hitchens was a solid part of the rotation, but he’s gone. Sean Lee is the main man but his injury history is a problem. Jaylon Smith is still tying to regain his form pre-injury. Dallas could use another piece here.

Defensive tackle: The Cowboys had to play Maliek Collins out of position for much of the year, and the run defense suffered for it. Collins was also not as effective as he was in 2016. A big 1-tech with 3-tech traits would be nice.

Tight end: Jason Witten is retiring. Now that we’ve processed that, tight end certainly moves up on the needs chart.

Safety: Safety is not the most pressing need, but we could certainly see Dallas attack it at some point.

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Cowboys draft picks:

(Round-pick in the round-overall pick)

1-19-19: Leighton Vander Esch

2-18-50 Dallas

3-17-81 Dallas

4-16-116 Dallas

4-37-137 Dallas

5-34-171 Dallas

6-18-192 Dallas

6-19-193 Dallas

6-34-208 Dallas

7-18-236 Dallas

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Round 2

Pick (overall)

1 (33). Cleveland Browns

2 (34). New York Giants

3 (35). Cleveland Browns from Houston Texans

4 (36). Indianapolis Colts

5 (37). Indianapolis Colts from New York Jets

6 (38). Tampa Bay Buccaneers

7 (39). Chicago Bears

8 (40). Denver Broncos

9 (41). Oakland Raiders

10 (42). Miami Dolphins

11 (43). New England Patriots from San Francisco 49ers

12 (44). Washington Redskins

13 (45). Green Bay Packers

14 (46). Cincinnati Bengals

15 (47). Arizona Cardinals

16 (48). Los Angeles Chargers

17 (49). Indianapolis Colts from New York Jets through Seattle Seahawks

18 (50). Dallas Cowboys

19 (51). Detroit Lions

20 (52). Baltimore Ravens

21 (53). Buffalo Bills

22 (54). Kansas City Chiefs

23 (55). Carolina Panthers

24 (56). Buffalo Bills from Los Angeles Rams

25 (57). Tennesse Titans

26 (58). Atlanta Falcons

27 (59). San Francisco 49ers from New Orleans Saints

28 (60). Pittsburgh Steelers

29 (61). Jacksonville Jaguars

30 (62). Minnesota Vikings

31 (63). New England Patriots

32 (64). Cleveland Browns from Philadelphia Eagles

Round 3

Pick (overall)

1 (65). Buffalo Bills from Cleveland Browns

2 (66). New York Giants

3 (67). Indianapolis Colts

4 (68). Houston Texans

5 (69). New York Giants from Tampa Bay Buccaneers

6 (70). San Francisco 49ers from Chicago Bears

7 (71). Denver Broncos

8 (72). New York Jets

9 (73). Miami Dolphins

10 (74). San Francisco 49ers

11 (75). Oakland Raiders

12 (76). Green Bay Packers

13 (77). Cincinnati Bengals

14 (78). Kansas City Chiefs from Washington Redskins

15 (79). Arizona Cardinals

16 (80). Houston Texans from Seattle Seahawks

17 (81). Dallas Cowboys

18 (82). Detroit Lions

19 (83). Baltimore Ravens

20 (84). Los Angeles Chargers

21 (85). Carolina Panthers from Buffalo Bills

22 (86). Kansas City Chiefs

23 (87). Los Angeles Rams

24 (88). Carolina Panthers

25 (89). Tennessee Titans

26 (90). Atlanta Falcons

27 (91). New Orleans Saints

28 (92). Pittsburgh Steelers

29 (93). Jacksonville Jaguars

30 (94). Minnesota Vikings

31 (95). New England Patriots

32 (96). Buffalo Bills from Philadelphia Eagles

33 (97). Arizona Cardinals (Compensatory)

34 (98). Houston Texans (Compensatory)

35 (99). Denver Broncos (Compensatory)

36 (100). Cincinnati Bengals (Compensatory)

Rest of the draft order for all rounds can be found here.

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