Warkins: Beat writers recap - The trade

Cotton

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Beat writers recap: The trade

April, 28, 2013

By Calvin Watkins | ESPNDallas.com


IRVING, Texas -- We've got some final thoughts on the NFL draft in our beat writers recap.

*The trade that shocked North Texas was prompted years ago when San Francisco 49erscoach Jim Harbaugh was then the head coach at Stanford. Harbaugh tried to recruit safetyEric Reid out of a Louisiana high school. But Reid's father wanted him to attend LSU which he eventually did. So when it came time for Harbaugh to get Reid again, the trade was set in motion the morning of the draft. What prompted the Cowboys to make the deal occurred when Kenny Vaccaro was taken by New Orleans at No. 15. The Cowboys liked guard Justin Pugh, but had a higher grade on center Travis Frederick. The Cowboys also liked defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd, but he wasn't a fit in their 4-3 scheme because they wanted a better pass rusher. Reid was also available for the Cowboys, but Vaccaro had a higher grade. If Vaccaro was available the Cowboys would have taken him at No. 18. Instead, the Cowboys moved down to get a center with a second-round grade.

*The interesting thing about getting Baylor wide receiver Terrence Williams in the third round is how it impacts Dwayne Harris. Currently Harris is the No. 3 receiver and if Williams can emerge during the preseason maybe he gets more playing time. Harris became a reliable player late in the season and took over the No. 3 receiving duties from Kevin Ogletree. The Cowboys want competition at various spots and the receiver position will have that this summer. Cole Beasley, Danny Coale and Williams will put pressure on Harris to maintain his spot.

*Drafting linebacker J.J. Wilcox, cornerback B.W. Webb and outside linebacker DeVonte Holloman gives the Cowboys some prospective special teams candidates. It seems Wilcox is being groomed to become a special teams ace, held by safety Danny McCray, because of his tackling ability in college. Webb is a feisty player who isn't afraid to mix it up on man coverage and Holloman is a physical player as well.

*The Cowboys watched quarterbacks Matt Barkley, Ryan Nassib and Tyler Wilson go in the fourth round before selecting Webb. The Cowboys bypassed Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones. After the Cowboys selected Webb with the 114th pick of the fourth round, Pittsburgh selected Jones at No. 115. Several teams drafted quarterbacks in the middle rounds, starting with Philadelphia, which moved from No. 101 to No. 98 to get Barkley. Some in the Cowboys organization thought several quarterbacks, including Barkley would go higher in the draft, but there wasn't a belief the Cowboys needed one.

*After rushing for a team-high 897 yards in 2011, then averaging 4.1 yards per carry leading to 663 yards last season, there are concerns about starting running back DeMarco Murray. With good reason. He suffered a fractured ankle in 2011 costing him to miss the final few weeks of the season then he missed six games in 2012 with a sprained foot. The Cowboys were in the market for a running back and drafted Joseph Randle from Oklahoma State in the fifth round. It was noted by Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones that Randle isn't a special teams candidate but a legit No. 2 behind Murray and someone who can take over if he gets hurt again. The Cowboys view Lance Dunbar more of a change of pace back/special teams player than somebody who will can start. Drafting Randle has put Murray on notice he needs to stay healthy if not, his replacement is on the roster.

*Notes: The more you talk to people at Valley Ranch, the more you hear the expectations are high for DT Jay Ratliff now that he's healthy. ... Cowboys still don't have a blocking tight end or cleared up who will call the plays. ... I don't know about you but the Cowboys sure sounded defensive about their trade charts on Saturday. It was funny listening to Jerry Jones say trade charts are fluid. I can accept drafting Frederick, but you just want them to get a second-rounder over a third rounder.
 
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Deuce

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If Wilcox is being groomed as McCray's replacement for special teams, it's a wasted pick.
 

boozeman

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The Cowboys also liked defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd, but he wasn't a fit in their 4-3 scheme because they wanted a better pass rusher.
So our solution was to draft no defensive linemen and be completely inactive with them on the undrafted front. Sounds legit.
 

boozeman

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No, the solution was to get Bennie Logan in the 3rd with no backup plan.
Hey, it turns out that no DL fit the scheme in the entire draft.
Correct about Logan. I wasn't aware he was the only interior DL in the entire draft capable of playing in Kiffin's scheme.

It is amazing how we almost always get caught targeting one guy and get outsmarted, then go into a state of shock followed by complete paralysis.

Happened with Unger a couple of years ago.
 

junk

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Hey, it turns out that no DL fit the scheme in the entire draft.
They apparently should have stuck with their notes for a 3-4 defense, since after all those years of drafting for the 3-4, they realized they were really drafting for a 4-3
 

Bluestar71

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They just don't understand what the DL and OL mean to building a team and flat out aren't competent enough to even know what they need or don't. There's always some excuse why they couldn't select a linemen. You might buy it over the course of one draft but this is a yearly deal with Jerry and whatever current band of morons he surrounds himself with. They draft TE's, CB's, ILB, and RB's because that's all they know. It's pathetic.
 

VA Cowboy

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If Wilcox is being groomed as McCray's replacement for special teams, it's a wasted pick.
Yep. Started with the ST's picks in the 3rd round. Boggles my mind that we draft for ST's and hope we can find regular position for a player rather than draft good players with a position in mind and then sort out the ST's in camp. What really is mind-numbing is despite drafting for ST's we still don't have a dominant ST.
 

Bob Roberts

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Charlotte Jones is responsible for the trade down. I don't know how, but she is.
 

Cotton

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They apparently should have stuck with their notes for a 3-4 defense, since after all those years of drafting for the 3-4, they realized they were really drafting for a 4-3
So true.
 

VA Cowboy

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It's beyond me how we can consistently target just a few players in each round and if they are gone we suddenly go to panic mode either reaching for players in the next group or trading around trying to chase players with no concept of value. It's especially insane considering the self-appointed GM sat in that war room for years with both Jimmy Johnson and BP yet obviously didn't learn one fricking thing.
 
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Deuce

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Correct about Logan. I wasn't aware he was the only interior DL in the entire draft capable of playing in Kiffin's scheme.

It is amazing how we almost always get caught targeting one guy and get outsmarted, then go into a state of shock followed by complete paralysis.

Happened with Unger a couple of years ago.
At least with Unger we did get outsmarted. A bunch of us liked him, but we had no idea if the team did til after the fact.

With Logan, Broaddus has been talking openly about how we like him for weeks. Any team with half a brain that wanted him knew they had to jump ahead.
 

VA Cowboy

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At least with Unger we did get outsmarted. A bunch of us liked him, but we had no idea if the team did til after the fact.

With Logan, Broaddus has been talking openly about how we like him for weeks. Any team with half a brain that wanted him knew they had to jump ahead.
That's the problem now days. We all know who the team wants so of course the other teams in the league do. Most of the time the majority of players we draft are guys we bring in for a visit and then we have guys like Broaddus basically telling anyone who will listen who we are after. Anyone can even go on twitter a few picks before we are on the clock and find out who the top 2-3 guys are we want. Anyone that wants the same players just has to get in front of us.
 

dallen

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It's beyond me how we can consistently target just a few players in each round and if they are gone we suddenly go to panic mode either reaching for players in the next group or trading around trying to chase players with no concept of value. It's especially insane considering the self-appointed GM sat in that war room for years with both Jimmy Johnson and BP yet obviously didn't learn one fricking thing.
I'm sure it is hard to fill out a complete draft board when your GM is also in charge of panties at the Victoria's Secret
 
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