He did it again. He does it every year - and people still talk about it as though Jerry made a blunder. People forget that billionaires usually don't happen by accident - he is crazy like a fox!
The Dallas Cowboys Big Board has been momentarily captured on video (again), and then zoomed and processed and deciphered by the Internet (a very reputable resource) for all to see.
This annual ritual holds some personal interest for me this year, because I created a draft board of my own that reflects my thoughts and values for the team. I just have to compare the 2 boards, see where they sync up - and where they don't.
The alleged Cowboys Draft Board is presented below, along with where I rated these players:
Comparative Big Board
Jerry Board |
My Board |
Player |
Position |
Height |
Weight |
RAS |
Comments |
1 |
7 |
Kayvon Thibodeau |
DE |
6’4" |
254 |
9.61 |
Oregon DE has been a blue-chip recruit and very productive college player. Has great first step and get-off. |
2 |
2 |
Evan Neal |
OT |
6’7" |
337 |
N/A |
Alabama prospect has elite size, versatility. Plug and play Left Tackle. |
3 |
3 |
Aidan Hutchinson |
DE |
6’6.5" |
260 |
9.88 |
Michigan DE is ultra-productive, prototypical sized, and an elite athlete. Consensus top overall pick. |
4 |
10 |
Garrett Wilson |
WR |
6’ |
183 |
7.75 |
Slight build. Elite speed and burst. Productive at Ohio State. |
5 |
5 |
Ahmad Gardner |
CB |
6’3" |
190 |
N/A |
"Sauce" has 3 productive seasons Cincinnati, including as a true Freshman. Great length, speed, coverage skills. Inconsistent tackler. |
6 |
6 |
Derek Stingley |
CB |
6’0" |
190 |
8.98 |
2019 Freshman film against top SEC WRs is legendary, and talent has been labelled "generational". Inconsistent 2020 and 2021 included injuries and coaching changes/down years for LSU program. |
7 |
9 |
Travon Walker |
DE |
6’5" |
272 |
9.99 |
Elite athlete with great size and length, played at every spot along defensive front at Georgia. In a unit stacked with elite athletes, was not as statistically productive as his profile would suggest. |
8 |
14 |
Kyle Hamilton |
S |
6’4" |
220 |
9.33 |
Notre Dame prospect has exceptional length, college production, leadership and excellent athletic profile. |
9 |
1 |
Ikem Ekonwu |
OT |
6’4" |
310 |
8.5 |
NC State product ran an Elite 4.93 40. Great run blocker who is less refined at pass protection. He can be a very good Tackle in the NFL, but would be elite at Guard. |
10 |
8 |
Drake London |
WR |
6’4" |
219 |
N/A |
Dominant when on the field. Fractured ankle has delayed pro day workout till 4/15. Clear NFL ability. |
11 |
11 |
Jordan Davis |
DT |
6’6" |
341 |
10 |
One of the best athletic profiles ever. Was a rotational player on a loaded Georgia Defense. |
12 |
4 |
Charles Cross |
OT |
6’5" |
307 |
7.57 |
Mississippi St. prospect has elite pass protect skills, but lacks some power at point of attack in run blocking. Projects as a Tackle who can improve power at the NFL level. |
13 |
30 |
Lewis Cine |
S |
6’2" |
199 |
9.92 |
Georgia single high style safety with great length, ball tracking and tackling skills. |
14 |
13 |
Jameson Williams |
WR |
6’1" |
179 |
N/A |
After failing to crack the rotation at Ohio State, transferred to Alabama and broke out for 1,572 YD and 15 TD before tearing ACL in Title Game. |
15 |
12 |
Chris Olave |
WR |
6’1" |
187 |
8.66 |
Productive for 4 seasons at Ohio State. Similar athletic profile to Garrett Wilson. |
16 |
16 |
Tyler Smith |
OG/OT |
6’4.5" |
324 |
8.76 |
Young (21) Tulsa prospect has immense talent and is a great athlete. Does not pass protect well enough to immediately slot in at Tackle. Can immediately start at Guard while developing Tackle skills. |
17 |
20 |
Devin Lloyd |
LB |
6’3" |
237 |
9.59 |
Utah prospect has great size and all-around athleticism. Thrives defending the run, but has also developed pass rush moves to be a true 3 down player. |
18 |
39 |
Daxton Hill |
S |
6’0" |
191 |
9.03 |
Productive over 3 seasons with Michigan. Versatile, but with some size/strength limitations. Brother of NFL RB Justice Hill. |
19 |
N/R |
Breece Hall |
RB |
5'11" |
217 |
9.96 |
Iowa State RB with pass catching skills and great contact balance and size. Elite Athlete. |
20 |
18 |
Kenyon Green |
OG |
6’4" |
323 |
5.9 |
Experienced prospect who played every O-Line position but C at Texas A&M. Plug and Play NFL Guard who can play some Tackle in a pinch. Average athletic testing including poor bench indicates some upside with NFL conditioning |
21 |
23 |
George Karlaftis |
DE |
6’4" |
266 |
9.20 |
Very productive player at Purdue who uses power more than speed to win. Oddly, bench press was poor while speed and burst were excellent in tests. |
22 |
24 |
Zion Johnson |
OG |
6’2.5" |
314 |
9.73 |
Athletic Prospect who played Guard and Tackle at Boston College. Lack of length and performance on tape point to him being a plug and play Guard in the NFL. |
23 |
22 |
Treylon Burks |
WR |
6’2" |
225 |
5.79 |
Consistently produced in the SEC. Underperformed expectations with testing. |
24 |
33 |
Kyler Gordon |
CB |
5’11" |
194 |
9.69 |
Productive and versatile, including exceptional ST play at Washington over 3 seasons. Elite athlete with inside/outside coverage skills and solid tackling. |
25 |
38 |
Tyler Linderbaum |
C |
6’2" |
296 |
N/A |
Iowa Prospect has some of the best film at Center ever. A refined player with great lower body leverage of a former wrestler. Has no positional flexibility, lacking size & power to move to Guard. |
26 |
37 |
David Ojabo |
DE |
6’4" |
250 |
9.4 |
Michigan Edge with freakish athleticism, great range and good raw instincts. Tore his Achilles during his Pro Day, which probably takes him out of Round 1. Has limited football experience, so the injury is a real setback to his development. |
27 |
27 |
Jahan Dotson |
WR |
5’10.5" |
178 |
6.3 |
Great speed. Benched 15 reps. Produced consistently last 2 seasons at Penn State |
28 |
15 |
Jermaine Johnson |
DE |
6’4.5" |
254 |
9.21 |
This is a complete player with elite speed and burst who spent time at JUCO and Georgia before a stellar Senior season at Florida State. |
29 |
31 |
Kaiir Elam |
CB |
6’1" |
191 |
8.63 |
30 games experience and productivity at Florida. Excellent size, athleticism, versatility, and ball skills. Tackling and play in the run game are considered weaknesses. |
30 |
40 |
Arnold Ebiketie |
DE |
6’2" |
250 |
9.14 |
Blossomed at Penn State in 2021 after transferring from Temple. Elite athlete with good arm length make him a scheme-specific rotational pass rusher in the near term as coaching and development expand his role in time. |
31 |
25 |
Trent McDuffie |
CB |
5’11" |
193 |
9.49 |
Great speed, burst and all-around athlete. 3-year player at Washington, with excellent all-around game, toughness, and versatility. |
32 |
35 |
Quay Walker |
LB |
6’4" |
241 |
9.63 |
Did not get significant snaps in a loaded Georgia defense until 2020. Still can develop recognition and processing speed to add to his elite size/athletic profile. |
33 |
34 |
DeVonte Wyatt |
DT |
6’3" |
304 |
9.59 |
Another elite athlete from Georgia. Productive from several positions along the line, but projects best at 3-Tech. |
34 |
50 |
Logan Hall |
DT |
6’6" |
283 |
9.4 |
Lacks bulk, given his height. Aligned as both a DT and DE at Houston, showing excellent versatility. |
There are some surprises here:
- It seems the Cowboys valued Safety, with Kyle Hamilton, Lewis Cine and Daxton Hill all ranked highly. And yet, it seems they deviated from their board by choosing Tyler Smith over Cine, who was ranked three spots higher. This shows that their Board is fungible and can be tweaked in the heat of battle. Positional need and value, as well as the way the Draft falls in real time, definitely seem to matter - and the Safety position will always be sacrificed against this standard.
- The Cowboys definitely saw a tier break at WR after the top 4. Burks was in a tier of his own, and appears to be the last WR the Cowboys planned to consider early. I saw WR as a more critical need, and valued Pickens and Moore higher as a result.
- Breece Hall was highly ranked on Jerry's Board, just three slots behind Tyler Smith. In a weak RB class, I think people are sleeping on Hall, who has a near-"generational" profile. Still, I cannot see any way the Cowboys select him in the 1st or 2nd to have him sit behind Zeke for a season. I left QB and RB off my board entirely.
- The players I valued more highly than Jerry Include Trevor Penning (my 17th player versus unranked), George Pickens (my 19th player versus unranked), Travis Jones (my 21st versus unranked), Nakobe Dean (my 26th player versus unranked), Jermaine Johnson (my 15th, versus 28th), Ikem Ekwonu (My 1st player versus 9), Charles Cross (My 4th versus 12), and Skyy Moore (my 28th player versus unranked).
- The players Jerry liked significantly more than I did include Breece Hall, Daxton Hill, Lewis Cine, Logan Hall, Tyler Linderbaum, Arnold Ebikete, David Ojabo, and Kyler Gordon.
- Jerry's Board and my Board were within 6 draft slots on 23 out of 34 players. I think that is pretty good!
Loading comments...