Mock drafts: ‘Athletic freak’ Anthony Barr gaining momentum as possible Cowboys pick

Cotton

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Mock drafts: ‘Athletic freak’ Anthony Barr gaining momentum as possible Dallas Cowboys pick


If the Dallas Cowboys stay at the 16th pick on May 8, the players they’ll possibly be choosing from are Missouri DE Kony Ealy, Florida State DT Timmy Jernigan and Notre Dame OT Zack Martin

Aaron Donald (DT, Pitt) and Anthony Barr (OLB/DE, UCLA) might be higher on the Cowboys’ draft board, however, there’s a good chance both are gone by 16.

But what if the first three players mentioned are who the Cowboys are picking between? If they’re not completely in love with any of them, the best option could be trading back for the second consecutive year. Of course, you first have to find a team willing to trade.

The ideal situation would be to move back 5-7 spots. In that scenario, they could possibly still land Ealy or Jernigan, or choose between Boise State defensive end Demarcus Lawrence, Auburn DE Dee Ford or Northern Illinois safety Jimmie Ward and then gain an additional third round pick in the process.

Those are just my thoughts, but here’s what the mock draft experts are saying.

NOTE: The entire comment from each expert is not included in many of these. Click on the link to read all of the analysis.

FOXSports.com’s Peter Schrager:
Pick: Jernigan.
Comment: “Recent free-agent signing Henry Melton will clog the middle at one DT spot, but Jernigan could be the perfect complement on Rod Marinelli’s defensive line.”

CBSSports.com’s Pat Kirwan:
Pick: Jernigan.
Comment: “Rod Marinelli may fool all of us with a different person in this spot but for now, all I can tell Jernigan is you better be in great shape for your new coach.”

CBSSports.com’s Rob Rang:
Pick: Jernigan.
Comment: “Jernigan, athletic, powerful and just scratching the surface of his potential would give Dallas the interior duo needed for defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli’s scheme to be successful.”

NFL.com’s Charles Davis:
Pick: Barr.
Comment: “One of the top pass rushers in the draft and a bargain pick for the Cowboys, who might make him a full-time DE.”

TheBigLead.com’s Jason McIntyre:
Pick: Barr.
Comment: “Jerry Jones channels his inner Al Davis and goes for an athletic freak who isn’t technically-sound, but has a ton of upside.”

NFLDraftScout.com’s Dane Brugler:
Pick: Martin.
Comment: “If the Cowboys top targets (namely Aaron Donald) are gone here and they are unable to trade back, Martin would be an excellent consolation prize and give the offensive line some stability.”

ESPN.com’s Mel Kiper:
Pick: Martin.
Comment: “Martin makes sense as a player who can shore up the right tackle position, which is a problem area.”

SI.com’s Chris Burke:
Pick: Donald.
Comment: (Note: Burke had the Cowboys trading up to No. 10 to land Donald) “This is a case of taking the top player available, then worrying about exactly how to employ him later.”

DraftCountdown.com’s Scott Wright:
Pick: Ealy.
Comment: “While not yet a great run defender Ealy possesses all of the tools to eventually be a terrific two-way player and offers plenty of upside.”

NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks:
Pick: Calvin Pryor, S, Louisville.
Comment: “Pass rusher is a top priority, but Pryor is rated higher than any available DE at this point.”
For more mock draft results, here are 30 projections that were gathered during our last roundup.
 

Cotton

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Cowboysrock55

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He sure as hell better be able to play RE then.

It's funny I'm starting to see guys like Kiper and McShay drop Barr into the late portions of round one. They claim his tape wasn't that good. What I have seen looks excellent on Barr, am I missing something?
 

Simpleton

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He sure as hell better be able to play RE then.

It's funny I'm starting to see guys like Kiper and McShay drop Barr into the late portions of round one. They claim his tape wasn't that good. What I have seen looks excellent on Barr, am I missing something?
Over-thinking in my opinion, he's raw and relies way too much on his natural athleticism but the guy has like 45 TFL and 20 sacks over the last two years. Combine that production with his athleticism and I take him at 16 without thinking, he has time to work on his hand-placement, fighting through blocks, etc.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Over-thinking in my opinion, he's raw and relies way too much on his natural athleticism but the guy has like 45 TFL and 20 sacks over the last two years. Combine that production with his athleticism and I take him at 16 without thinking, he has time to work on his hand-placement, fighting through blocks, etc.
Yeah my only concern in watching his game is he tends to run around guys when he is pass rushing. I don't mean Demarcus Ware run around, where the DE still gets a push on the OT. I mean it almost looks like Barr is trying to avoid touching the OT all together and it forces him to take some pretty big loops. He also went unblocked a decent amount at UCLA because of their scheme.

I go back and forth on Barr. I just don't know if I see a DE.
 

BipolarFuk

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It isn't like Ware was some polished technical wizard when we drafted him either.

You just have to make sure Barr is willing and able to learn and a hard worker.
 

Cujo

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Yeah my only concern in watching his game is he tends to run around guys when he is pass rushing. I don't mean Demarcus Ware run around, where the DE still gets a push on the OT. I mean it almost looks like Barr is trying to avoid touching the OT all together and it forces him to take some pretty big loops. He also went unblocked a decent amount at UCLA because of their scheme.

I go back and forth on Barr. I just don't know if I see a DE.

I agree. I think he could be a great 3-4 guy. I would take Donald and feel very happy.
 

GForce78NJ

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would take Aaron Donald over Anthony Barr, absolutely no doubt. I'm a fan of Barr though. If he is there and Donald isn't, take him without hesitation. Either player would make day 1 be an enormous win for us.
 

data

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If between Zack Martin vs Taylor Lewan, who do you take?
 

Clay_Allison

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I would love to get Barr but I can't think of a reason the Steelers would pass on him.
 

boozeman

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I'm happy with Barr at 16 at this stage.
According to some of the draft reports I have read, expect Barkevious Mingo-type rookie season out of him due to the fact he has never played DE in a 4 man front.

Makes me wish we had not abandoned the 3-4.
 

data

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but recently it seems that OTs in general don't bust as bad as other positions. While they may not be All-Pros, they're still starters. GOing back to 2009, Gabe Carimi and Jason Smith seem to be the only ones that completely busted.
 

data

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Are you baiting me?
Not on purpose, I"m probably baiting you. I don't know you're take on these players off the top of my head even though you may have gone Schmatty about it in other threads. (You're just not that damn important)

Just answer the damn question.
 

Cotton

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Not on purpose, I"m probably baiting you. I don't know you're take on these players off the top of my head even though you may have gone Schmatty about it in other threads. (You're just not that damn important)

Just answer the damn question.
The smart move would probably be Lewan, but I really like Martin.
 

data

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It seems the key for a pro-Cowboys draft is Manziel, Bortles, Carr, Bridgewater and TE Ebron all getting drafted Top 15, pushing our targets down to us.
 
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