**2023 Cowboys Pre-Draft Thread**

[p1_]

Yeah except Witten was significantly bigger and had longer arms. He also ran better... Mayer's college production was great though.

I feel like I'm being over critical of Mayer though. Probably just because I don't want him in the first round. I don't really mean to be. I think he is actually an excellent blocker and looked bigger than he measured in at. I wouldn't be surprised if he actually played at 260. He is actually fun to watch what he did in college. His lack of athleticism and overall length just sort of bothers me. Especially when I think there are lot of just better athletes at TE in this draft.

You are fixated on his arm length.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

You are fixated on his arm length.

I'm really not but you can see it when you watch him. He just looks like he doesn't have much wingspan. Didn't even know what his arm length was at that point. Then went and checked and for a dude who is 6'4" he kind of has allegator arms.

 

[bbgun]

Then went and checked and for a dude who is 6'4" he kind of has allegator arms.

As long as Dak hits him between the numbers and never has to raise his arms, we'll be fine.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

As long as Dak hits him between the numbers and never has to raise his arms, we'll be fine.

I mean he makes some tough catches outside the body. He has to because defenders are usually all over him. Just not always sure how he does it.

 

[Rev]

As long as Dak hits him between the numbers and never has to raise his arms, we'll be fine.

What about low and behind

 

[Cotton]

What about low and behind

That's where Thorn would hit him.

 

[Simpleton]

I gotta say, I like Bijan Robinson and would definitely take him if he's there but the love for him is over the top. He's not as good a prospect as Elliott or Barkley, the difference is that this 1st round class is pure shit compared to what we see most years, so he's getting artifically elevated based on that, along with people wanting to look smart by running counter to the prevailing thought on RB's in the first.

He'd be a legit top 15 prospect in almost any class but the only reason he's talked about as a top 5 guy in this class is because it's pure shit.

He wouldn't have been a top 10 guy in 2021 for example, he'd have been in the teens.

 

[boozeman]

I gotta say, I like Bijan Robinson and would definitely take him if he's there but the love for him is over the top. He's not as good a prospect as Elliott or Barkley, the difference is that this 1st round class is pure shit compared to what we see most years, so he's getting artifically elevated based on that, along with people wanting to look smart by running counter to the prevailing thought on RB's in the first.

He'd be a legit top 15 prospect in almost any class but the only reason he's talked about as a top 5 guy in this class is because it's pure shit.

He wouldn't have been a top 10 guy in 2021 for example, he'd have been in the teens.

The hype is definitely there because of the shit nature of this draft.

But in terms of how he ranks in comparison to Elliott and Barkley, he is about as close as you can get from what I see.

If he stays healthy and has his shit together and lands in the right spot, he could be on par with a Tomlinson.

 

[Simpleton]

The hype is definitely there because of the shit nature of this draft.

But in terms of how he ranks in comparison to Elliott and Barkley, he is about as close as you can get from what I see.

If he stays healthy and has his shit together and lands in the right spot, he could be on par with a Tomlinson.

Meh, I think Barkley was way more of a home run hitter while also having better size. What people don't talk about enough with Bijan is that he only played/weighed in at about 215, Barkley was 233, Elliott was 225 and both ran equal to or faster 40's.

Both were more productive as well, Elliott in particular, and in much bigger spots.

It's quibbling a bit but that's what you get when you're talking about best RB prospects of the last 10-15 years. Robinson is close but not quite there, I think what really bothers me is how people conflate/imply him being the "3rd overall prospect" or whatever in this class with him being that level of prospect in other classes.

He wouldn't have been a top 10 prospect in 2016 when Elliott went, 2018 when Barkley went, or 2021, which I mention just because it's the best class of the last few years and it was more or less known at the time that it was an extremely strong top 10 or so.

 

[boozeman]

Meh, I think Barkley was way more of a home run hitter while also having better size. What people don't talk about enough with Bijan is that he only played/weighed in at about 215, Barkley was 233, Elliott was 225 and both ran equal to or faster 40's.

Both were more productive as well, Elliott in particular, and in much bigger spots.[/quote]

Elliott did that one thing behind some pretty solid Buckeye lines...pop at big one up the middle and outrun them. And he could pass block.

I don't see that kind of specialty to his game.

It's quibbling a bit but that's what you get when you're talking about best RB prospects of the last 10-15 years. Robinson is close but not quite there, I think what really bothers me is how people conflate/imply him being the "3rd overall prospect" or whatever in this class with him being that level of prospect in other classes.

He wouldn't have been a top 10 prospect in 2016 when Elliott went, 2018 when Barkley went, or 2021, which I mention just because it's the best class of the last few years and it was more or less known at the time that it was an extremely strong top 10 or so.

So we are back to the shit draft part. Sure.

But I like Robinson quite a bit and I think his ceiling his higher than Elliott's.

We all knew Elliott had maturity issues. A lot depends on what is in his head. His footwork on the field impresses me a lot more than the pair of them.

 

[Simpleton]

Elliott did that one thing behind some pretty solid Buckeye lines...pop at big one up the middle and outrun them. And he could pass block.

I don't see that kind of specialty to his game.

So we are back to the shit draft part. Sure.

But I like Robinson quite a bit and I think his ceiling his higher than Elliott's.

We all knew Elliott had maturity issues. A lot depends on what is in his head. His footwork on the field impresses me a lot more than the pair of them.

I was suggesting taking Robinson if he fell to us back in like October/November and argued that he broke the mold for the "RB in the first" stuff, believe me, I like him plenty. With that said, I think you're letting Elliott's drop off jade your memory and how good he was as a prospect and his first few years in the league.

Elliott stepped in and was literally the best RB in the league right off the bat for 3 years running, Robinson doesn't have that kind of ability. Maybe you could argue that Robinson has a higher ceiling because he's not as much of a partier/bs'er as Elliott and will thus have a longer shelf life, but his peak won't be as high as Elliott's.

He's a really good prospect and will probably be the best RB in the league at some point, but if we're talking "generational" type prospects he actually has very average size and speed.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

I was trying to think of the better backs of the last several years...

Barkley had better speed and that great lateral quickness, plus the huge legs and good lower body power to push people around.

Henry was a tank with great long speed, obviously great size and strength and just very hard to tackle.

Even Zeke... I haven't always been Zeke's biggest fan, but he was a stud. He went against that Bama team full of future NFLers and made them all look stupid.

Who else... Jonathan Taylor has the great speed and the bigger body.

I don't see any of that from Robinson. I get that he's good all around, but they talk like he's Adrian Peterson or something.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

It's quibbling a bit but that's what you get when you're talking about best RB prospects of the last 10-15 years. Robinson is close but not quite there, I think what really bothers me is how people conflate/imply him being the "3rd overall prospect" or whatever in this class with him being that level of prospect in other classes.

I don't know if the hype has to do with the strength or weakness of the class. He just has a lot of hype. There are some people claiming for example that he is the best RB they have ever graded. That's crazy to me. He isn't AP for example. Maybe those people only started grading RBs this year because I agree that Barkley for example was a better prospect. Zeke too.

I'd still take Bijan and think he would be a probowler here. But I don't see all time great prospect.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

I do see a little bit of a Tomlinson comp with him though.

 

[Simpleton]

I don't know if the hype has to do with the strength or weakness of the class. He just has a lot of hype. There are some people claiming for example that he is the best RB they have ever graded. That's crazy to me. He isn't AP for example. Maybe those people only started grading RBs this year because I agree that Barkley for example was a better prospect. Zeke too.

I'd still take Bijan and think he would be a probowler here. But I don't see all time great prospect.

Could just be the fact that most things nowadays are over hyped due to the nature of media and our society. Gotta instill a sense of urgency/immediacy.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Could just be the fact that most things nowadays are over hyped due to the nature of media and our society. Gotta instill a sense of urgency/immediacy.

Yeah it's like people just feed off of each other sometimes with a prospect and make them into a bigger deal than they are. That's not to say Bijon isn't a great prospect. I'll even say I see some LT type RB in him.

 

[boozeman]

 

[shoop]

We were averaging one bad one every three years and then broke that with Joseph. Hopefully we can get back on the trend.

 

[Simpleton]

The bad ones are all stupid ass risks, except for Escobar which was a stupid pick because we had a 30 year old future HOF'er at the position.

But look at it, Gregory had the off field stuff, Jaylon with the injury, Trysten Hill was a known massive reach and also had off-field/work ethic issues, Kelvin Joseph started like 8 games in college and had off-field/work ethic stuff as well.

Just stop taking stupid fucking risks for no good reason, even guys who didn't stick around like Awuzie and Connor Williams ended up being solid starters for a few years who went on to be starters elsewhere. That's significantly better than taking shit birds who flame out like Hill and likely Joseph.

 

[boozeman]

We are Charlie Fuckaround in the 2nd.