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Post-combine Cowboys draft preview – Who you should (and shouldn't) hope for
By Jeff Cavanaugh 10 hours ago
The combine is in our rearview mirror and it's time to reassess how we feel about the 19th overall pick. Let's sort through a bunch of potential names and what my reaction would be if they end up being the Cowboys' pick. I'm going to separate the potential picks by categories that I've created for just this occasion.
Category 1: “Throw a party, Jerry's paying.”
Derwin James – S – Florida State. He was a good player this year and that's only going to get better and better. The sky is the limit with Derwin. He can cover tight ends, play either safety spot and with the athleticism he showed at the combine, he could play cornerback if someone wanted to try him there. I don't want to, I'm just saying. Check out his Relative Athletic Score (RAS) here – this measures how his testing ranks compared to all other players at his position from 1987 to now. It's a scale of 1-10 so anything above 5 is above average. He's elitely elite, if that's a thing. James is the 2nd-best graded strong safety of all time.
Roquan Smith – LB – Georgia. I can't see him being available, but sometimes off-the-ball linebackers fall through the middle of the first round. He's undersized but I think he's perfect for today's NFL. Instincts, sideline to sideline speed, violence. He's got it all.
Category 2: “You know what, that's solid. I'm a happy camper.”
Isaiah Wynn – OG – Georgia. I know, I know. The Cowboys have a ton of assets on the offensive line already. They drafted a running back at #4 overall because they declared that's how they planned to win football games. If he's the best player available when you're on the clock I'm all aboard. Double down. Triple down. Quadruple down. Kick everyone's butt at the line of scrimmage and don't apologize for it.
Harold Landry – DE – Boston College. Pass-rushing is always at a premium in the draft. Landry played on a banged up ankle this year and you have to look back at 2016 to see the reason you'd take him this high. A guy that can tear around the edge like he can is very valuable to any NFL team. He might be small for the Cowboys' preferences, but that 3-cone time tells you he can bend the corner and get to the QB.
Tremaine Edmunds – LB – Virginia Tech. I like him more for the player he can become than for the player he is today. He got better and better as the season wore on and he's incredibly young. He has the frame of a middle linebacker and the movement skills of a safety. He's also got the length to keep blockers off of him and can cover and track down running backs.
Category 3: “Wait a minute; I didn't even need this position! Whatever – he's the top player on our board. You can never have enough corners!”
Jaire Alexander – CB – Louisville. The 2017 tape is good, the 2016 tape is great, and his athleticism matched (or even exceeded) what I thought he'd do in testing. He's a scheme-versatile twitched-up dude that can make plays on the football. He tested off the charts as far as changing direction goes.
Mike Hughes – CB – Central Florida. He's a beast at the line of scrimmage. Hughes loves to play press man and will force even bigger guys to the sideline or out of bounds on outside releases. He can give up some plays inside when bigger guys are able to move him, but he's fearless and has the stop-and-start ability to shadow receivers. Ran a little slower than I thought he would in the 40 but is still a great athlete overall.
Category 4: “Fine. I can deal with this. They were out of ribeye, give me a sirloin.”
Vita Vea – DT – Washington. There's no doubt he's a force of nature. That size/power/speed combination is so rare. The only reason he's dropped to this category for me is (much like most NFL teams) it's a little hard for me to justify this sort of investment at a run-stuffing spot in today's NFL especially considering the depth of the positions in this particular draft. If he were to make it to #19 and be a Cowboy I'll be happy about the addition; I'm just not sure about the value.
Calvin Ridley – WR – Alabama. People will tell you he didn't test well at the combine. I'll tell you he tested just fine. He ran in the low 4.4s in the 40 and had a good time on the 3 cone drill. I'm not throwing him jump balls, I don't care how much he weighs and I'll never ask him to run anyone over. I just want him to win by creating separation and catching the football. He only falls into this category because of the depth and relative lack of separation of the other top wide receivers in this year's class. I want Calvin Ridley on my football team. Is his value at pick #19 better than the value of Michael Gallup/Anthony Miller later in the draft? I'm not so sure.
D.J. Moore – WR – Maryland. He essentially carried the Maryland offense on his own. Moore is so hard to bring down in the open field and can break any catch for a huge gain. Measured at 6′ when everyone thought he was 5'10, then tested as an elite athlete. I think you can have a legitimate conversation about whether he's the best receiver in the draft.
Category 5: “#NotMyPick”
Da'Ron Payne – DT – Alabama. He played great football in the final two games of the season and tested well at the combine, but I'm troubled by the lack of overall production. To have ONE tackle for loss on the season as a nose tackle and go in the middle of the first round just feels strange to me. I do think he'll be a good player, but a 1-technique must be truly special to warrant being picked at #19.
Marcus Davenport – DE – UTSA. Could he end up being a great player? Sure, he could. He has the tools. My issue is that in college, he rushed straight into the chest of offensive linemen, and I don't think that's going to work in the NFL. He's going to have a big learning curve to develop a pass rush arsenal and figure out how to get to NFL quarterbacks.
Any Tight End – TE – Anywhere. There are a lot of guys I like in this draft at tight end but #19 is just too high. Hayden Hurst, Dallas Goedert, and Mike Gesicki are my three favorites at the moment but they don't belong in the first round.
I didn't bother listing players at the very top of the draft (say, Quenton Nelson) that I don't believe have ANY chance of them making it to the Cowboys. If you feel like I left off your guy feel free to leave a comment and we'll have civil discourse because we're all very distinguished gentlemen/ladies.
By Jeff Cavanaugh 10 hours ago
The combine is in our rearview mirror and it's time to reassess how we feel about the 19th overall pick. Let's sort through a bunch of potential names and what my reaction would be if they end up being the Cowboys' pick. I'm going to separate the potential picks by categories that I've created for just this occasion.
Category 1: “Throw a party, Jerry's paying.”
Derwin James – S – Florida State. He was a good player this year and that's only going to get better and better. The sky is the limit with Derwin. He can cover tight ends, play either safety spot and with the athleticism he showed at the combine, he could play cornerback if someone wanted to try him there. I don't want to, I'm just saying. Check out his Relative Athletic Score (RAS) here – this measures how his testing ranks compared to all other players at his position from 1987 to now. It's a scale of 1-10 so anything above 5 is above average. He's elitely elite, if that's a thing. James is the 2nd-best graded strong safety of all time.
Roquan Smith – LB – Georgia. I can't see him being available, but sometimes off-the-ball linebackers fall through the middle of the first round. He's undersized but I think he's perfect for today's NFL. Instincts, sideline to sideline speed, violence. He's got it all.
Category 2: “You know what, that's solid. I'm a happy camper.”
Isaiah Wynn – OG – Georgia. I know, I know. The Cowboys have a ton of assets on the offensive line already. They drafted a running back at #4 overall because they declared that's how they planned to win football games. If he's the best player available when you're on the clock I'm all aboard. Double down. Triple down. Quadruple down. Kick everyone's butt at the line of scrimmage and don't apologize for it.
Harold Landry – DE – Boston College. Pass-rushing is always at a premium in the draft. Landry played on a banged up ankle this year and you have to look back at 2016 to see the reason you'd take him this high. A guy that can tear around the edge like he can is very valuable to any NFL team. He might be small for the Cowboys' preferences, but that 3-cone time tells you he can bend the corner and get to the QB.
Tremaine Edmunds – LB – Virginia Tech. I like him more for the player he can become than for the player he is today. He got better and better as the season wore on and he's incredibly young. He has the frame of a middle linebacker and the movement skills of a safety. He's also got the length to keep blockers off of him and can cover and track down running backs.
Category 3: “Wait a minute; I didn't even need this position! Whatever – he's the top player on our board. You can never have enough corners!”
Jaire Alexander – CB – Louisville. The 2017 tape is good, the 2016 tape is great, and his athleticism matched (or even exceeded) what I thought he'd do in testing. He's a scheme-versatile twitched-up dude that can make plays on the football. He tested off the charts as far as changing direction goes.
Mike Hughes – CB – Central Florida. He's a beast at the line of scrimmage. Hughes loves to play press man and will force even bigger guys to the sideline or out of bounds on outside releases. He can give up some plays inside when bigger guys are able to move him, but he's fearless and has the stop-and-start ability to shadow receivers. Ran a little slower than I thought he would in the 40 but is still a great athlete overall.
Category 4: “Fine. I can deal with this. They were out of ribeye, give me a sirloin.”
Vita Vea – DT – Washington. There's no doubt he's a force of nature. That size/power/speed combination is so rare. The only reason he's dropped to this category for me is (much like most NFL teams) it's a little hard for me to justify this sort of investment at a run-stuffing spot in today's NFL especially considering the depth of the positions in this particular draft. If he were to make it to #19 and be a Cowboy I'll be happy about the addition; I'm just not sure about the value.
Calvin Ridley – WR – Alabama. People will tell you he didn't test well at the combine. I'll tell you he tested just fine. He ran in the low 4.4s in the 40 and had a good time on the 3 cone drill. I'm not throwing him jump balls, I don't care how much he weighs and I'll never ask him to run anyone over. I just want him to win by creating separation and catching the football. He only falls into this category because of the depth and relative lack of separation of the other top wide receivers in this year's class. I want Calvin Ridley on my football team. Is his value at pick #19 better than the value of Michael Gallup/Anthony Miller later in the draft? I'm not so sure.
D.J. Moore – WR – Maryland. He essentially carried the Maryland offense on his own. Moore is so hard to bring down in the open field and can break any catch for a huge gain. Measured at 6′ when everyone thought he was 5'10, then tested as an elite athlete. I think you can have a legitimate conversation about whether he's the best receiver in the draft.
Category 5: “#NotMyPick”
Da'Ron Payne – DT – Alabama. He played great football in the final two games of the season and tested well at the combine, but I'm troubled by the lack of overall production. To have ONE tackle for loss on the season as a nose tackle and go in the middle of the first round just feels strange to me. I do think he'll be a good player, but a 1-technique must be truly special to warrant being picked at #19.
Marcus Davenport – DE – UTSA. Could he end up being a great player? Sure, he could. He has the tools. My issue is that in college, he rushed straight into the chest of offensive linemen, and I don't think that's going to work in the NFL. He's going to have a big learning curve to develop a pass rush arsenal and figure out how to get to NFL quarterbacks.
Any Tight End – TE – Anywhere. There are a lot of guys I like in this draft at tight end but #19 is just too high. Hayden Hurst, Dallas Goedert, and Mike Gesicki are my three favorites at the moment but they don't belong in the first round.
I didn't bother listing players at the very top of the draft (say, Quenton Nelson) that I don't believe have ANY chance of them making it to the Cowboys. If you feel like I left off your guy feel free to leave a comment and we'll have civil discourse because we're all very distinguished gentlemen/ladies.