Archer: Dallas Cowboys stick with old-school plan of fortifying O-line, D-line

[Cotton]

[h=1]Dallas Cowboys stick with old-school plan of fortifying O-line, D-line[/h] 1:04 AM CT

• 
  
  Todd Archer ESPN Staff Writer

FRISCO, Texas -- For all of the flash and style that surrounds the Dallas Cowboys, they really have an old-school approach.

As the NFL adapts to the college game with spread out offenses and the defenses needed to combat that, the Cowboys follow their own formula -- especially during the 2019 NFL draft.

"Every week it starts up front," coach Jason Garrett said. "Don't care how good your quarterback is, how good your receivers are, if the offensive line can't protect and give him time, then he's not going to be every effective. Don't care how good you're running back is, if you're offensive line isn't good, he has no chance. And similarly on the other side. If you've got the greatest defensive backs on the planet and linebackers in the National Football League, if we get controlled up front and the defensive line can't hold up, then you're not going to have a chance to win the game.

"So we value that. We've always valued that and we'll continue to do that going forward."

"I've been watching them [the Cowboys] since I got to college as an O-Line unit at Penn State," said guard Connor McGovern, who was drafted by Dallas in the third round. Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire
On the draft's second day, the Cowboys had chances to improve other perceived weaknesses, such as: safety, cornerback, tight end, backup running back or wide receiver. But with their top two picks, Dallas selected defensive and offensive linemen.

The Cowboys felt like they had covered themselves in free agency to where they could go any direction they wanted in the draft based on how things fell.

Defensive tackle was not a pressing need, but Maliek Collins is entering the final year of his contract and has dealt with injuries. They added Christian Covingtonin free agency but he is more of a nose tackle than under tackle.

In the second round, they selected UCF defensive tackle Trysten Hill with the No. 58 overall pick, over a safety such as Juan Thornhill, who was a visitor to The Star, just like Hill.

Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli met with Hill at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis in February. He flew to Orlando the night before UCF's pro day and met with Hill. He put him through the workout. They spoke again at The Star earlier in the month. A week before the draft, Hill called Marinelli just to chat.

While some teams may have had concerns over the issues Hill had with the new coaching staff at UCF, they felt more confident in the reports they received from Scott Frost, who is now the head coach at Nebraska.

"It's unbelievable [how hard he plays]," Marinelli said. "You'd be pressed to see any guy playing that hard. At just about any position. It's every down. His motor's running. It's just something when you see that, that kind of reflects character, football character, I would say. It just kind of hit and his movement's really everything you're looking for. And he's ornery."

Interior offensive line was not a pressing need either, especially with Travis Frederick returning from an auto-immune disease that kept him off the field in 2018. But Joe Looneyis entering the final year of his contract and the impending large contract right tackle La'el Collinsmight command in free agency next offseason could force the Cowboys move Connor Williams to right tackle.

In the third round, the Cowboys took Penn State's Connor McGovern, who had a higher draft grade than Hill, according to sources. McGovern started 35 games in three seasons at guard and center.

"I've been watching them [the Cowboys] since I got to college as an O-Line unit at Penn State," McGovern said. "We would always watch their chemistry and how well they played together, and tried to model our game after that."

Before Garrett took over as head coach full-time in 2011, the Cowboys last used a first-round pick on an offensive lineman in 1981. In 2011, they took Tyron Smith in the first round, followed by Frederick in 2013 and Zack Martin in 2015. Collins was a first-round talent but fell out of the draft because of unforeseen circumstances. In 2017, the Cowboys took Williams in the second round to be their left guard.

In 2013, Marinelli's first year as defensive line coach, the Cowboys were signing defensive linemen on a Tuesday and needing them to play on a Sunday. Since then, they have used first-round pick (Taco Charlton), second-round pick (DeMarcus Lawrence, Randy Gregory, Hill) and a third-round pick (Collins) on defensive linemen.

In the fifth and seventh rounds of this year's draft, the Cowboys selected two more defensive ends in Miami's Joe Jackson (24 sacks) and Oregon's Jalen Jelks (15 sacks) to potentially offset the loss of Gregory to an indefinite suspension. [h=1]Cowboys' pricey linemen[/h]
Seven of the Cowboys' top-10 salary-cap figures belong on the defensive and offensive lines:

OT	Tyron Smith	$15.45 M
OG	Zack Martin	$14 M
WR	Amari Cooper	$13.924 M
DE	DeMarcus Lawrence	$11.1 M
C	Travis Frederick	$10.975 M
DL	Tyrone Crawford	$10.1 M
OT	La'el Collins	$9.925 M
DE	Robert Quinn	$8 M
RB	Ezekiel Elliott	$7.940 M
CB	Byron Jones	$6.26 M

POS. PLAYER 2019 CAP HIT

"If you think about six or seven years, every year we've done a nice job in fitting guys in," Marinelli said. "We've got a couple of guys in free agents we really like. Some of these guys have kind of grown in, so the attitude is there. And the competition's going to be there. You have to have that."

Seven of the top-10 highest paid salary-cap figures on the Cowboys' roster for 2019 are offensive and defensive linemen, led by Smith at $15.545 million. Lawrence signed the most expensive contract in team history earlier in the month, worth $21 million annually and with $65 million guaranteed.

At some point, quarterback Dak Prescott will top those numbers and wide receiver Amari Cooper and running back Ezekiel Elliott are expected to sign highly lucrative extensions within the next calendar year.

But the Cowboys' intention is clear: keep their lines strong.

"That's where you want to be strong on the fronts. At the end of the day with the offensive line and the defensive line, that's where you want to be physical," executive vice president Stephen Jones said. "That's where we want to dominate. And if you can dominate those fronts, then good things happen."

 

[Simpleton]

While none of us really love the value of Hill at 58 you can't argue with the overarching philosophy of continuing to fortify the lines. That's something many of us bitched about them not doing for years.

 

[Smitty]

While none of us really love the value of Hill at 58 you can't argue with the overarching philosophy of continuing to fortify the lines. That's something many of us bitched about them not doing for years.

That is true.

But you still have to do it right.

The McGovern pick is the one that demonstrates this the most, IMO. Here's a guy that was on none of our radar. I was not thrilled when I heard the name called.

Now, after a few days, I can see the value with that pick. It's probably my favorite pick of the draft. He's gonna be a starting offensive lineman in this league, for sure. Probably a good one. I have no problem taking a guy like that even if his path to starting isn't clear for a year or two. It's the third fricking round. This guy's talent places him more in that "high-second" range where you are getting a pretty certain bet for a high level starter someday (even if not a Pro Bowler).

So that's a great approach in that sense.

The Hill pick is slightly different. I mean, yeah, I guess if we're gonna get crazy, it's better to do so while chasing DLs than DBs. But this is more than devotion to "fortifying the lines." This is Rod Marinelli's continued obsession with finding this weird perfect player for his scheme. A scheme that honestly we may not be running in as little as one more year, as perhaps Richard takes over that role, or perhaps a new head coach cleans house. We should not be drafting players who fit such a limited criteria of "this is what I need to make my defense run." If Marinelli says he needs DL talent to win, that's one thing. But reaching for a guy whose talent does not dictate second round, merely because he checks off the physical characteristics of the prototype Marinelli wants, is not wise.

Of course, they will tell you that he is not only a prototype, but also has the talent. But the rest of the league didn't agree, soo...... you know, I'm not on board with this one.

I'll hope for the best but I can easily see this not working out.

 

[p1_]

The Hill pick is slightly different. I mean, yeah, I guess if we're gonna get crazy, it's better to do so while chasing DLs than DBs. But this is more than devotion to "fortifying the lines." This is Rod Marinelli's continued obsession with finding this weird perfect player for his scheme. A scheme that honestly we may not be running in as little as one more year, as perhaps Richard takes over that role, or perhaps a new head coach cleans house. We should not be drafting players who fit such a limited criteria of "this is what I need to make my defense run." If Marinelli says he needs DL talent to win, that's one thing. But reaching for a guy whose talent does not dictate second round, merely because he checks off the physical characteristics of the prototype Marinelli wants, is not wise.

Of course, they will tell you that he is not only a prototype, but also has the talent. But the rest of the league didn't agree, soo...... you know, I'm not on board with this one.

I'll hope for the best but I can easily see this not working out.

This has to be the highest pick Marinelli has gotten for a inside player isnt it(58)?

 

[Simpleton]

One interesting note I read on Hill is that Richard was also involved in breaking the tie between Hill/Thornhill at 58. Supposedly Richard preferred Hill because he's so high on Woods as a FS and we projected Thornhill as a FS only, and that apparently drafting Thornhill would've necessitated going with more of a 2-high "right/left" type of alignment instead of a "1 high, 1 down" alignment, which Richard prefers.

 

[p1_]

 

[p1_]

 

[boozeman]

One interesting note I read on Hill is that Richard was also involved in breaking the tie between Hill/Thornhill at 58. Supposedly Richard preferred Hill because he's so high on Woods as a FS and we projected Thornhill as a FS only, and that apparently drafting Thornhill would've necessitated going with more of a 2-high "right/left" type of alignment instead of a "1 high, 1 down" alignment, which Richard prefers.

That's nice. So what happens when Richard leaves, as soon as 2020? We are stuck with his tie-breaker decision.

And I think they are full of shit and are making it up as they go along to fit a narrative.

There was their legitimate pick of either type safety there. Thornhill (versatile) or Rapp (box). The fact they both went bang bang immediately thereafter makes it look even more questionable.

Fact is, safety ranks at the absolute bottom of their value list. But let's not pretend interior pressure is nearly as valued as they are trying to suggest.

How many years have we valued it? Yeah, one time with a premium pick since 1991.

 

[p1_]

That's nice. So what happens when Richard leaves, as soon as 2020? We are stuck with his tie-breaker decision.

And I think they are full of shit and are making it up as they go along to fit a narrative.

There was their legitimate pick of either type safety there. Thornhill (versatile) or Rapp (box). The fact they both went bang bang immediately thereafter makes it look even more questionable.

Fact is, safety ranks at the absolute bottom of their value list. But let's not pretend interior pressure is nearly as valued as they are trying to suggest.

How many years have we valued it? Yeah, one time with a premium pick since 1991.

Stephen said as much a couple days ago on air. They don't value the position whatsoever.

 

[deadrise]

When the head coach is stuck in a schematic time warp and the DC is a washed-up fossil, it's natural that the initial picks reflect some sort of Vince Lombardi nostalgia for smash-mouth football.

Garrett's job depends on handing the ball to Elliott, over and over again. Marinelli thinks he's back in Tampa Bay. Jerry has his own head two feet up his ass.

As boozeman says, " ... I think they are full of shit and are making it up as they go along ..."

As always, Amen

 

[Simpleton]

That's nice. So what happens when Richard leaves, as soon as 2020? We are stuck with his tie-breaker decision.

And I think they are full of shit and are making it up as they go along to fit a narrative.

There was their legitimate pick of either type safety there. Thornhill (versatile) or Rapp (box). The fact they both went bang bang immediately thereafter makes it look even more questionable.

Fact is, safety ranks at the absolute bottom of their value list. But let's not pretend interior pressure is nearly as valued as they are trying to suggest.

How many years have we valued it? Yeah, one time with a premium pick since 1991.

I've made the same points in about 3 different threads, drafting a guy in the 2nd when the biggest reason is seemingly his relationship with an individual coach is ridiculous. With that said, it's still very interesting to me that Richard wanted Hill more and what's more fascinating is the reason (preferring high/low over 2-high).

They had Hill rated higher, I don't think they're really making stuff up, they just had him higher than the safeties for whatever reason.

I guess Richard could be hiding his true feelings for the sake of "consensus", although I'm confident that he has a very high opinion of Woods. We barely went after Thomas and all the safeties we were interested in are box guys (Iloka, Berry).

 

[p1_]

 

[ravidubey]

This has to be the highest pick Marinelli has gotten for a inside player isnt it(58)?

This one coach has fucked up our defensive talent more than any other non-player Cowboy up to and including Jerral Jones.

We had the backups draft (1995), The STs draft (2009) and now the coaches draft with Hill and Pollard bannering.

If we get John Randle and Devin Hester I promptly STFU, but I’m left hoping these guys just become decent depth for years.

The worst case would be Ty Crawford type guys who look like they contribute then get grossly overpaid based on potential when they re-up.