2018 Cowboys Draft Chatter Thread...

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lostxn

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He looks extremely explosive on the field. I guess it depends on what you value in a reciever. If you value a guy who is going to get a ton of seperation Ridley is your guy. Out jumping people isn't as big of a deal when you get seperation. Guys like Byron can jump out of the building but it doesn't mean much on the football field. I actually think jumping at the combine is one of the most overrated aspects. If a reciever can get open and catch the ball that's the most important thing. Ridley has the speed to scare corners deep with the route running to actually use that to his advantage. I'd be more worried if he was a jump ball reciever with a 31 inch verticle. I mean Mike William's who doesn't get much seperation with a 32 inch verticle is more concerning if you ask me. I'm not throwing 50/50 balls to Ridley because he's going to get open and you won't have to. I'd say watch Ridley's games if you're concerned.

But I love DJ Moore too who has a very good verticle and speed numbers. But you should never get too worked up over a combine. Especially less important things like high jumps.
I think I read somewhere high jump is one of the combine numbers that tracks most closely with success at WR. That's likely why he cited it. That being said, nothing really is a lock when it comes to WRs and the combine. It's a dependent position and highly situational. Look at Jimmy Smith. We ran him out of the league after an appe and he buckled down, got his shit together and became an all time great, just short of HOF credentials (5 pro bowls). You just never know.
 

Cowboysrock55

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I think I read somewhere high jump is one of the combine numbers that tracks most closely with success at WR. That's likely why he cited it. That being said, nothing really is a lock when it comes to WRs and the combine. It's a dependent position and highly situational. Look at Jimmy Smith. We ran him out of the league after an appe and he buckled down, got his shit together and became an all time great, just short of HOF credentials (5 pro bowls). You just never know.
Antonio Brown 33.5
Julio Jones 38.5
Keenan Allen N/A (Couldn't find one)
Deandre Hopkins 36
Adam Thielen Unofficially 36
Michael Thomas 35
Tyreek Hill 40.5 unofficially
Larry Fitzgerald (Couldn't find one)
Marvin Jones 33

I'm not sure I really see a connection just looking at the top 9 WR's from last year. They are kind of all over the place with their verticals. I think usually really fast guys have a great vertical so people usually draw that conclusion. But the 40 and tape on Ridley tell you the guy is fast and explosive. So I'm not sure his vertical jump really means much.

But hey if you want a big guy who had a great vertical in this draft, look no further than Allen Lazard who I really like for day three. 38 inch vertical at 6'5" 227 pounds is pretty impressive.
 

ravidubey

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Antonio Brown 33.5
Julio Jones 38.5
Keenan Allen N/A (Couldn't find one)
Deandre Hopkins 36
Adam Thielen Unofficially 36
Michael Thomas 35
Tyreek Hill 40.5 unofficially
Larry Fitzgerald (Couldn't find one)
Marvin Jones 33

I'm not sure I really see a connection just looking at the top 9 WR's from last year. They are kind of all over the place with their verticals. I think usually really fast guys have a great vertical so people usually draw that conclusion. But the 40 and tape on Ridley tell you the guy is fast and explosive. So I'm not sure his vertical jump really means much.

But hey if you want a big guy who had a great vertical in this draft, look no further than Allen Lazard who I really like for day three. 38 inch vertical at 6'5" 227 pounds is pretty impressive.
His referencing that study is stupid.

That study showed that no combine measurement correlated to WR success. WR was the only position that had no clear indicator.

Claiming high jump is most indicative of success is like saying Phoenix is more likely to get rain than Las Vegas when they’re both desert climates that get under ten inches a year.
 

UncleMilti

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Antonio Brown 33.5
Julio Jones 38.5
Keenan Allen N/A (Couldn't find one)
Deandre Hopkins 36
Adam Thielen Unofficially 36
Michael Thomas 35
Tyreek Hill 40.5 unofficially
Larry Fitzgerald (Couldn't find one)
Marvin Jones 33

I'm not sure I really see a connection just looking at the top 9 WR's from last year. They are kind of all over the place with their verticals. I think usually really fast guys have a great vertical so people usually draw that conclusion. But the 40 and tape on Ridley tell you the guy is fast and explosive. So I'm not sure his vertical jump really means much.

But hey if you want a big guy who had a great vertical in this draft, look no further than Allen Lazard who I really like for day three. 38 inch vertical at 6'5" 227 pounds is pretty impressive.
I brought it up because there seems to be quite a few NFL people who were caught off guard by his numbers. I'm not sure who Ravi was referencing, I certainly wasn't implying Ridley is not going to be an All World WR in the NFL, but he didn't test well at the combine...thats a fact. His vertical and his broad jump were about the worst among his peers. His 40 time was decent, but his shuttle time was mid pack.

For me, it would be a tossup between him and Moore at 19 simply because Moore looks just as dynamic on the field as Ridley, but at least at the combine, Moore showed that not only can he run by people, he can go up and get the ball too.

Like you said, Ridleys route running and speed will most likely be what makes him good at the next level...but for all the hype the guy has gotten he certainly didn't shine at the combine.
 

fortsbest

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Not sure how Riddley did at his pro day, but I'm still more of a Moore fan at this point.
 

deadrise

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With Dez gone, WR is a little more of a first three round need than before, so I'm warming to an approach like this instead of my defense-heavy strategy:

19) Trade down with Patriots for 31, 43, who are trading up for Lamar Jackson

1 - 31) OG Will Hernandez, James Daniels, or Isaiah Wynn
2 - 43) LB Rashaan Evans or Leighton Vander Esch
2 - 50) WR James Washington
3 - 81) FS Tavarius Moore
4 - 116) TE Ian Thomas
4 - 137) DL Deadrin Senat
5 - 171) OL Cole Madison
6 - 192) DT PJ Hall
6 - 193) RB Ito Smith
6 - 208) S Tracey Walker
7 - 236) OT Desmond Harrison

Something like that, though I'm perfectly fine using some of those later picks to move around.

Is there a TE that might merit getting picked higher than the fifth pick? Say, at 50 or 81?

Right now Dallas has a Social Security recipient and a lame-ass wannabe rapper as ts only TEs.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Not sure how Riddley did at his pro day, but I'm still more of a Moore fan at this point.
I enjoy the combine but it's not really that big of a deal to me. Especially when a guy looks super fast on the field and then backs it up with an excellent forty time. Usually when you see a guy get knocked for a bad combine it's because he runs a 4.6 something forty. I'm just finding it hard to ding a guy for a combine where he ran a 4.43 forty. His bad jumps are more like an oddity to me than something I worry about.

If I were to list what actually worries me on Ridley it would be his ability to catch in contested situations. I don't think he's a particularly great jump ball receiver. When a guy is right on top of him they tend to knock the ball out of his hands on those rare occasions. And my other concern about him is his ability to get off press. If you give him a cushion I think he will be able to burn any NFL corner. But if a really good press corner gets up in his face I've seen where he can get eaten up a bit. Which probably just has to do with his overall size and strength.

DJ Moore is more well rounded. I probably have less concerns about him. He is good at contested balls. He has the size and power to beat press regularly. But I also don't think he is a special route runner in the way that Ridley is. He doesn't play as fast as Ridley regardless of forty times being similar. Ridley just runs past people way more frequently.

I'm sure this isn't what most will read or hear from experts but I actually think of Moore as maybe a safer pick. But I think Ridley has more ability to be special in a Marvin Harrison type role. It's why I prefer Ridley in the first because I look for special more so in that round. But I can certainly see why DJ Moore would be perfect for us.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Is there a TE that might merit getting picked higher than the fifth pick? Say, at 50 or 81?

Right now Dallas has a Social Security recipient and a lame-ass wannabe rapper as ts only TEs.
There are TE's that merit it. But I'm on the Ian Thomas train as well. The guy maybe doesn't have a ton of experience as a blocker but he is built for it. He just has the body type for it along with the strength. But he's also a hell of a receiver with really good hands. I think his upside is right there with a lot of TE's in this draft. He just maybe isn't as pro ready (Actually almost none of these TE's are, they either played at small schools or played split out in college) but a year of sitting behind Witten could have him ready to be a legit starter.
 

Carp

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The more mocks I see, the better the chance we could get Fitzpatrick. He seems to keep landing around 12-14...which is gettable at this point.
 

Cotton

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I'm not at all. It's a dumb position to have intentionally put ourselves in.
We don't have to grab WR in the first. We might in the second, and that's okay. Even if we have to wait until the 3rd, it's okay. Tons of mid-round WRs with tons of talent in this draft.
 

Cowboysrock55

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We don't have to grab WR in the first. We might in the second, and that's okay. Even if we have to wait until the 3rd, it's okay. Tons of mid-round WRs with tons of talent in this draft.
Yep we don't have to. But the best two WRs in this draft will likely go around or before our pick so I certainly don't think it inappropriate for us to draft a WR either.
 

Cowboysrock55

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We don't have to grab WR in the first. We might in the second, and that's okay. Even if we have to wait until the 3rd, it's okay. Tons of mid-round WRs with tons of talent in this draft.
Yep we don't have to. But the best two WRs in this draft will likely go around or before our pick so I certainly don't think it inappropriate for us to draft a WR either.
 

Cotton

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Yep we don't have to. But the best two WRs in this draft will likely go around or before our pick so I certainly don't think it inappropriate for us to draft a WR either.
I'm good with waiting.
 

Chocolate Lab

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FWIW, George Dunham on the Ticket (who does have some connections with the Cowboys) claimed this morning there was not a WR the Cowboys thought was worthy of #19 and they wouldn't spend it on one. He didn't mention a trade down but I guess that's a possibility if they want one.
 

Cotton

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FWIW, George Dunham on the Ticket (who does have some connections with the Cowboys) claimed this morning there was not a WR the Cowboys thought was worthy of #19 and they wouldn't spend it on one. He didn't mention a trade down but I guess that's a possibility if they want one.
Please let this be true.
 

Genghis Khan

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FWIW, George Dunham on the Ticket (who does have some connections with the Cowboys) claimed this morning there was not a WR the Cowboys thought was worthy of #19 and they wouldn't spend it on one. He didn't mention a trade down but I guess that's a possibility if they want one.
Good.
 

Cowboysrock55

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FWIW, George Dunham on the Ticket (who does have some connections with the Cowboys) claimed this morning there was not a WR the Cowboys thought was worthy of #19 and they wouldn't spend it on one. He didn't mention a trade down but I guess that's a possibility if they want one.
I would hope Dunham doesn't really have inside information about our draft board. If that's true we've got some really retarded people with access to the draft board.

With that being said it wouldn't surprise me if true. We rarely rate WRs highly. It's why we never draft them. And when we do it's more for special teams ability than ability as a receiver. I mean we've really only taken 2 real stabs at WR's in the draft in like decades. That's Terrance Williams and Dez Bryant. This team does not favor drafting WR's.
 

p1_

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He doesnt have any clue about their board, he's just talking about the chatter with any connects he has.
 
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