[h=1]Dallas Cowboys 2013 Draft Board Leaked: All Seven Rounds![/h]By
rabblerousron May 30 2013, 1:00p
In the week following the 2010 draft, a bunch of intrepid BTB readers captured screen shots from video taken inside the Cowboys war room and brilliantly constructed an almost complete version of the team's 2010 draft board. Well, I'm pleased to announce that, thanks to a similar set of images taken in the team's war room during day one of the 2013 draft (see below), we have reconstructed the team's 2013 board.
In this and other photos, you can see the board in the background with the players' names aligned on it. Behind Jerry, you can see the players ranked by round. To his right (our left) hung a whiteboard with the various positions broken down by round. By careful examination of these images, I was able to reconstruct the position-by-round board:
| 1 (18)
| 2 (22)
| 3 (28)
| 4 (21)
| 5 (28)
| 6 (8)
| 7 (7)
|
QB (7)
| | Ryan Nassib
| | E. J. Manuel
| Tyler Wilson
| Landry Jones
| |
| Matt Barkley
| | | Mike Glennon
| | | |
| Geno Smith
| | | | | | |
RB (11)
| | Gio Bernard
| Montee Ball
| Stepfan Taylor
| Johnathan Franklin
| Rex Burkhead
| |
| Eddie Lacy
| Le’Veon Bell
| Andre Ellington
| Theo Riddick
| | | |
| | Joseph Randle
| | Mike Gillislee
| | | |
WR (14)
| Cordarrelle Patterson
| DeAndre Hopkins
| Marcus Wheaton
| Quinton Patton
| Cobi Hamilton
| Marquise Goodwin
| |
Tavon Austin
| Terrance Williams
| Stedman Bailey
| Josh Boyce
| Aaron Dobson
| Tavarres King
| | |
| Justin Hunter
| | Kenny Stills
| | | | |
TE (7)
| Tyler Eifert
| Gavin Escobar
| Vance McDonald
| | | Levine Toilolo
| |
| Zach Ertz
| Dion Sims
| | | | | |
| | D.C. Jefferson
| | | | | |
OT (10)
| Luke Joeckel
| D.J. Fluker
| Menelik Watson
| David Bakhtiari
| Brennan Williams
| | |
Eric Fisher
| | | | Ricky Wagner
| | | |
Lane Johnson
| | | | Oday Aboushi
| | | |
| | | | Reid Fragel
| | | |
OG (9)
| Jonathan Cooper
| Justin Pugh
| Kyle Long
| Dallas Thomas
| Earl Watford
| | David Quessenberry
|
Chance Warmack
| | | Brian WInters
| | | Alvin Bailey
| |
OC (3)
| | Travis Frederick
| | Khaled Holmes
| Brian Schwenke
| | |
DE (17)
| Dion Jordan
| Margus Hunt
| Jamie Collins
| Corey Lemonier
| Lavar Edwards
| | Trevardo Williams
|
Barkevious Mingo
| | Tank Carradine
| Brandon Jenkins
| Cornelius Washington
| | | |
Ezekiel Ansah
| | Datone Jones
| Michael Buchanan
| Alex Okafor
| | | |
Bjoern Werner
| | Damontre Moore
| | Malliciah Goodman
| | | |
DT (10)
| Sharrif Floyd
| Sylvester Williams
| Bennie Logan
| | Akeem Spence
| | |
Sheldon Richardson
| Kawann Short
| Jordan Hill
| | Josh Boyd
| | | |
Star Lotulelei
| | Everett Dawkins
| | | | | |
MLB (5)
| | Kevin Minter
| | A. J. Klein
| Sam Barrington
| | |
| Manti T’eo
| | Kiko Alonso
| | | | |
OLB (9)
| | | Arthur Brown
| Brandon Magee
| DeVonte Holloman
| | |
| | Gerald Hodges
| Sean Porter
| Zaviar Gooden
| | | |
| | Jonathan Bostic
| Sio Moore
| Khaseem Greene
| | | |
| | | | | | | |
CB (16)
| Dee Milliner
| Darius Slay
| Desmond Trufant
| Will Davis
| Brandon McGee
| Johnthan Banks
| Demetrius McCray
|
Xavier Rhodes
| D. J. Hayden
| B.W. Webb
| David Amerson
| Logan Ryan
| | Kayvon Webster
| |
| Blidi Wreh-Wilson
| Robert Alford
| | | | | |
| | Jamar Taylor
| | | | | |
S (14)
| Kenny Vaccaro
| Eric Reid
| Johnathan Cyprien
| Phillip Thomas
| Keelan Johnson
| Don Jones
| Shawn Williams
|
| | J. J. Wilcox
| | Jakar Hamilton
| Johnathan Meeks
| Cody Davis
| |
| | Dwayne Gratz
| | Zeke Motta
| | | |
| | D. J. Swearinger
| | | | | |
A few attendant thoughts:
Number of players: We had heard before the draft that the Cowboys wanted to include only players on the board that they were sure they wanted, so they were working to develop a leaner, more "pure" board. This board has 132 players on it, which is actually pretty close to the one that leaked in 2010, which had 129 players.
Deep draft: We heard time and again that this was a deep draft, particularly in the second and third rounds. While Dallas' second round isn't overly populated, the third round is rich (and, somewhat surprisingly, so is the fifth).
Late rounds: It appears the team didn't feel there were many players deserving of sixth and seventh round designations. This makes sense, if we consider that they are trying to draft only players who have a legit chance to make the club. There are, however, a lot of guys on whom they are willing to take a chance: a bevy of names populate the "priority free agent" designations at the bottom of each position column.
Players not on the board: It looks like there are several categories of player not on the Cowboys board:
1. Injury or character scratches: First rounders Jarvis Jones, Alec Ogletree and Matt Elam aren't on Dallas board. Neither are RB Christine Michael, WRs Keenan Allen and Robert Woods, CBs Tyrann Matthieu and Therold Simon, or DE Sam Montgomery. Clearly, its still important that the players they draft are "RKGs." Further, the team seems to be moving away form selecting talented yet injury-prone players. Several guys with injury histories - Marcus Lattimore, or the aforementioned Jones, for example - are nowhere to be found.
2. Bad scheme fits. You'll notice that three big defensive tackles who received a lot of ink before the draft as possible fits at the one technique - Johnathan Hankins, John Jenkins and Montori Hughes - are not on the Cowboys board. Jesse WIlliams? Nope. As the guys who
were on the board suggest, Kiffin and Co. wanted defensive tackles in the 300 pound range who offer quickness and penetration more so than the ability to stand up two rival O-linemen.
3. Wrong size, Charlie: Similarly, they tended to downgrade short receivers (Marquise Goodwin received a sixth round grade; Ace Sanders was nowhere to be found) and small corners (B.W. Webb appears to be a notable exception). It's rare to find a safety on their board under six feet in height. On the other hand, all the linebackers on the board are quick, undersized guys; all the big Parcellsian run stuffers were on other teams' boards.
Differences of opinion: Not only did Dallas eschew some highly-drafted players for the above offenses, they had several guys ranked considerably lower than where they were drafted. They had a second-round grade on D. J. Hayden, who the Raiders reportedly were prepared to take with the third overall pick; in addition, they had third round grades on Desmond Trufant (taken 22nd overall), Datone Jones (26th), and Kyle Long (20th). The most egregious differences? QB E.J. Manuel, drafted 16th, had a fourth round grade, and CB Johnthan Banks, who the Buccaneers nabbed at #43, was given a sixth round designation.
Ranking them regardless of position: Thanks to a sliding whiteboard covering rounds six and seven, I only have the first five rounds of the position rankings that you can see behind Jerry in the above picture. Given that they only had a handful of players with sixth and seventh round grades, it's probably not a big deal. Here's what rounds one through five look like:
Round 1 (1-18)
| Round 2 (19-40)
| Round 3 (41-68)
| Round 4 (69-89)
| Round 5 (90-117)
|
Luke Joeckel, OT
| D. J. Fluker, OT
| Montee Ball, RB
| Brandon Magee, OLB
| Earl Watford, OG
|
Eric Fisher, OT
| DeAndre Hopkins, WR
| Desmond Trufant, CB
| Khaled Holmes, OC
| Brian Schwenke, OC
|
Dion Jordon, DE
| Justin Pugh, OT
| Menelik Watson, OT
| Corey Lemonier, DE
| Keelan Johnson, S
|
Dee Milliner, CB
| Travis Frederick, OC
| Marcus Wheaton, WR
| Quinton Patton, WR
| Lavar Edwards, DE
|
Sharrif Floyd, DT
| Terrance Williams, WR
| Arthur Brown, OLB
| Stepfan Taylor, RB
| Tyler Wilson, QB
|
Johnathan Cooper, OG
| Eric Reid, S
| Jamie Collins, DE
| A. J. Klein, ILB
| DeVonte Holloman, OLB
|
Lane Johnson, OT
| Gavin Escobar, TE
| B. W. Webb, CB
| Will Davis, CB
| Johnathan Franklin, RB
|
Chance Warmack, OG
| Darius Slay, CB
| Johnathan Cyprien, S
| E. J. Manual, QB
| Mike Glennon, QB
|
Barkevious Mingo, OLB
| Zach Ertz, TE
| Tank Carradine, DE
| Sean Porter, OLB
| Brandon McGee, CB
|
Ezekiel Ansah, DE
| Ryan Nassib, QB
| J. J. Wilcox, S
| Dallas Thomas, OT
| Brennan Williams, OT
|
Xavier Rhodes, CB
| Margus Hunt, DE
| Bennie Logan, DT
| Sio Moore, OLB
| Theo Riddick, RB
|
Kenny Vaccaro, S
| Gio Bernard, RB
| Stedman Bailey, WR
| Josh Boyce, WR
| Logan Ryan, CB
|
Cordarelle Patterson, WR
| Matt Barkley, QB
| Le’Veon Bell, RB
| Brandon Jenkins, DE
| Jakar Hamilton, S
|
Tavon Austin, WR
| Justin Hunter, WR
| Robert Alford, CB
| Andre Ellington, RB
| Zaviar Gooden, OLB
|
Tyler Eifert, TE
| Sylvester Williams, DT
| Jordan Hill, DT
| Kenny Stills, WR
| Ricky Wagner, OT
|
Sheldon Richardson, DT
| D. J. Hayden, CB
| Gerald Hodges, OLB
| Kiko Alonso, ILB
| Cobi Hamilton, WR
|
Bjoern Werner, DE
| Kawann Short, DT
| Jonathan Bostic, OLB
| Phillip Thomas, S
| Sam Barrington, ILB
|
Star Lotulelei, DT
| Blidi Wreh-Wilson, CB
| Vance McDonald, TE
| David Amerson, CB
| Connie Washington, DE
|
| Geno Smith, QB
| Datone Jones, DE
| David Bakhtiari, OT
| Zeke Motta, S
|
| Eddie Lacy, RB
| Dion Sims, TE
| Mike Buchanon, DE
| Mike Gillislee, RB
|
| Kevin Minter, ILB
| Dwayne Gratz, S
| Brian Winters, OG
| Akeen Spense, DT
|
| Manti T’eo, ILB
| Everett Dawkins, DT
| | Khaseem Greene, OLB
|
| | D. C. Jefferson, TE
| | Oday Aboushi, OT
|
| | Jamar Taylor, CB
| | Alex Okafor, DE
|
| | D. J. Swearinger, S
| | Reid Fragel, OT
|
| | Kyle Long, OT
| | Malliciah Goodman, DE
|
| | Joseph Randle, RB
| | Josh Boyd, DT
|
| | Damontre Moore, DE
| | Aaron Dobson, WR
|
From this, we can ascertain the Cowboys draft, according to their board:
Travis Frederick [2, 22]
Gavin Escobar [2, 25]
Terrance WIlliams [2, 23]
J. J. Wilcox [3, 50]
B. W. Webb [3, 47]
Joseph Randle [3, 67]
DeVonte Holloman [5, 147]
As this suggests, Dallas didn't follow a pure "BPA" strategy, even after their trade back with the 49ers. But they were pretty close to one.
Here is what their draft would have looked like had they followed a pure "BPA" strategy (I've included options other than Matt Barkley at #80, given that the Cowboys would have just drafted Nassib):
31 Travis Frederick [2, 22]
47 Terrance Williams [2, 23]
74 Ryan Nassib [2, 28]
80 Matt Barkley [2, 31] or Kenny Wheaton [3, 44] or B. W. Webb [3, 47]
114 Webb or J. J. Wilcox [3, 50]
151 Everett Dawkins [3, 62]
185 D.C. Jefferson [3, 63]
It's clear that they didn't want to draft a quarterback and
did want to draft a running back - hence passing on both Nassib and Barkley, and opting for Randle (who, to be fair, was the next player on the board after Dawkins and Jefferson).
