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Five Wonders: Cowboys don't show DT interest in visits
Todd Archer, ESPN Dallas Cowboys reporter
IRVING, Texas -- With the draft closing in, let’s get to wondering about what the Dallas Cowboys might be doing by bringing back Five Wonders:
I wonder if it is telling that among the nearly 30 players at Valley Ranch last week on national visits that not a one was a defensive tackle. Some teams might view Mario Edwards as a defensive tackle in a 4-3 scheme but he is mostly a defensive end. Two years ago the Cowboys passed on the fifth player on their draft board, Sharrif Floyd, all but saying they will not take a tackle in the top round unless he has special pass-rush abilities. The Cowboys have been linked by the mock-ologists to Carl Davis, Jordan Phillips and Malcom Brown, but it would be surprising see any of those three get their name called by the Cowboys at No. 27.
I don’t wonder if the Cowboys will end their run of drafting an offensive lineman in the first round. I can all but guarantee they won’t take one at No. 27. But I wonder if they would look in the second or third round for another offensive lineman. The second round had been their ceiling over the years with guys like Flozell Adams (1998), Andre Gurode (2002), Solomon Page (1999), Al Johnson (2003) and Jacob Rogers (2004) before the Cowboys took Tyron Smith (2011), Travis Frederick (2013) and Zack Martin (2014) in the first round. They did have Oklahoma’s Daryl Williams (Lake Dallas) in for the Dallas Day workout last week and Oregon’s Jake Fisher could be a possibility. The Cowboys kept right tackle Doug Free before free agency began but lost Jermey Parnell. Finding a right tackle to back up Free and potentially take over in the future would be a sound strategy.
I wonder if trading down is more of an option for the Cowboys than moving up at this point. If you look at the top prospects they brought in, most of them are pegged to go anywhere from No. 20 through the end of the first round. There are two exceptions: Georgia running back Todd Gurley, who will have his knee re-checked this week in Indianapolis and Kentucky defensive end Bud Dupree. I don’t see the Cowboys moving up for Gurley because of the amount of runners available in the second and third rounds. Dupree, however, is interesting. Last year the Cowboys targeted DeMarcus Lawrence and moved up in Day 2 to take him No. 34 overall by giving up their second- and third-round picks to the Washington Redskins. If Dupree starts to slip a little, I wonder if the Cowboys would make a play for him.
If you wonder why the Cowboys were looking at linebackers Eric Kendricks, Benardrick McKinney and Shaq Thompson, then you haven’t been paying attention. Yes, the Cowboys re-signed Rolando McClain and added Jasper Brinkley and Andrew Gachkar in free agency, but McClain is on a one-year deal and Brinkley has a modest $250,000 roster bonus due before the 2016 league year begins that could force the Cowboys to make a move on him. If you believe in the “best player available” theory, then taking a linebacker in the second round -- such as Kendricks, McKinney or Thompson -- would fall in line with how the Cowboys have operated recently.
Former Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson, a fourth-round pick of the Oakland Raiders in 2012, worked out for the Cowboys during their Dallas Day workout. He spent time his first year on the Raiders' practice squad and spent the last two summers with the Tennessee Titans and Cincinnati Bengals. There was a time he was highly thought of and I wonder if the Cowboys give him a look to see if he can compete for a roster spot. Maybe the Cowboys were just looking for an arm to help at a workout but maybe there is something there worth taking a longer look at with just Brandon Weeden and Dustin Vaughan behind Tony Romo.
Todd Archer, ESPN Dallas Cowboys reporter
IRVING, Texas -- With the draft closing in, let’s get to wondering about what the Dallas Cowboys might be doing by bringing back Five Wonders:
I wonder if it is telling that among the nearly 30 players at Valley Ranch last week on national visits that not a one was a defensive tackle. Some teams might view Mario Edwards as a defensive tackle in a 4-3 scheme but he is mostly a defensive end. Two years ago the Cowboys passed on the fifth player on their draft board, Sharrif Floyd, all but saying they will not take a tackle in the top round unless he has special pass-rush abilities. The Cowboys have been linked by the mock-ologists to Carl Davis, Jordan Phillips and Malcom Brown, but it would be surprising see any of those three get their name called by the Cowboys at No. 27.
I don’t wonder if the Cowboys will end their run of drafting an offensive lineman in the first round. I can all but guarantee they won’t take one at No. 27. But I wonder if they would look in the second or third round for another offensive lineman. The second round had been their ceiling over the years with guys like Flozell Adams (1998), Andre Gurode (2002), Solomon Page (1999), Al Johnson (2003) and Jacob Rogers (2004) before the Cowboys took Tyron Smith (2011), Travis Frederick (2013) and Zack Martin (2014) in the first round. They did have Oklahoma’s Daryl Williams (Lake Dallas) in for the Dallas Day workout last week and Oregon’s Jake Fisher could be a possibility. The Cowboys kept right tackle Doug Free before free agency began but lost Jermey Parnell. Finding a right tackle to back up Free and potentially take over in the future would be a sound strategy.
I wonder if trading down is more of an option for the Cowboys than moving up at this point. If you look at the top prospects they brought in, most of them are pegged to go anywhere from No. 20 through the end of the first round. There are two exceptions: Georgia running back Todd Gurley, who will have his knee re-checked this week in Indianapolis and Kentucky defensive end Bud Dupree. I don’t see the Cowboys moving up for Gurley because of the amount of runners available in the second and third rounds. Dupree, however, is interesting. Last year the Cowboys targeted DeMarcus Lawrence and moved up in Day 2 to take him No. 34 overall by giving up their second- and third-round picks to the Washington Redskins. If Dupree starts to slip a little, I wonder if the Cowboys would make a play for him.
If you wonder why the Cowboys were looking at linebackers Eric Kendricks, Benardrick McKinney and Shaq Thompson, then you haven’t been paying attention. Yes, the Cowboys re-signed Rolando McClain and added Jasper Brinkley and Andrew Gachkar in free agency, but McClain is on a one-year deal and Brinkley has a modest $250,000 roster bonus due before the 2016 league year begins that could force the Cowboys to make a move on him. If you believe in the “best player available” theory, then taking a linebacker in the second round -- such as Kendricks, McKinney or Thompson -- would fall in line with how the Cowboys have operated recently.
Former Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson, a fourth-round pick of the Oakland Raiders in 2012, worked out for the Cowboys during their Dallas Day workout. He spent time his first year on the Raiders' practice squad and spent the last two summers with the Tennessee Titans and Cincinnati Bengals. There was a time he was highly thought of and I wonder if the Cowboys give him a look to see if he can compete for a roster spot. Maybe the Cowboys were just looking for an arm to help at a workout but maybe there is something there worth taking a longer look at with just Brandon Weeden and Dustin Vaughan behind Tony Romo.