Archer: Mel Kiper Jr. has Cowboys taking DT in first mock

[Cowboysrock55]

If Gordon is there I think it is very likely that he is the BPA, same wit Gurley if he checks out medically. I'd love to get a guy like Goldman, Brown, Shelton or Dupree at 27 but it's very possible, maybe even probable that they are all gone.

So do we reach for DL who probably shouldn't go for another 15-20 picks or do we go RB or another position?

It's also very possible that Gordon is gone as well and that Gurley doesn't check out, and I like alot of the RB's in the 2nd-3rd area so we'll see.

You've gone RB crazy. Gurley is coming off a very serious knee injury. Even if his knee checks out its going to be slow moving process. I wouldn't touch him until the second round. Hell I wouldn't touch a RB until the second round anyway. The days of the franchise back are gone and the difference between a first round RB and a third round RB are almost imperceptible.

 

[Simpleton]

You've gone RB crazy. Gurley is coming off a very serious knee injury. Even if his knee checks out its going to be slow moving process. I wouldn't touch him until the second round. Hell I wouldn't touch a RB until the second round anyway. The days of the franchise back are gone and the difference between a first round RB and a third round RB are almost imperceptible.

Our offense should be totally built around the run game and I'm just saying if RB is the BPA at 27 then go for it. I realize that it's a long shot that Gurley will check out medically in order for him to be a consideration there, but if he does, then I'd be fine with it.

Believe me, I know how it's easy to find RB's in the 2nd or 3rd, I've been looking at guys like Coleman, Abdullah, Johnson and Yeldon all year. My point is that our 1st rounder is basically a 2nd rounder with how low it is and if RB is the BPA, I'm fine with it.

If we were picking at 15 (47ish in the 2nd) and traded up 10 or so spots in the 2nd to around the mid-30's for a guy like Gordon would anybody have an issue with it?

Well what's the difference between 27 and 35 if RB is the BPA?

Nothing really, people are just caught up in the idea of no "RB's in the 1st".

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Our offense should be totally built around the run game and I'm just saying if RB is the BPA at 27 then go for it. I realize that it's a long shot that Gurley will check out medically in order for him to be a consideration there, but if he does, then I'd be fine with it.

Are you talking about him running at 100% then sure. But if your talking about his knee looking like there are no set backs and he will be ready for the start of the season then fuck no. I wouldn't take a RB at 35 either. Hell I don't even want a RB in the late second.

The problem with BPA is that it's all relative. So lets say 10 RBs in this draft could all be probowlers behind our O-line as rookies. Certainly you could say a probowl RB at 27 is a better pick then a rotational D-lineman at 27. However I'd say you're out of your mind because you can get very similar production out of 9 other RBs in the draft that you could have gotten much later.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Our offense should be totally built around the run game.

I do agree with this but you build it through the O-line. Not a RB who has a 4 or 5 year shelf life and is far more likely to blow out a knee or dislocate a shoulder then an O-lineman.

 

[Clay_Allison]

I'd be more comfortable with drafting a back after a trade down from 27 into the second to pick up an extra 3rd.

 

[VA Cowboy]

If Gordon is there I think it is very likely that he is the BPA, same wit Gurley if he checks out medically. I'd love to get a guy like Goldman, Brown, Shelton or Dupree at 27 but it's very possible, maybe even probable that they are all gone.

So do we reach for DL who probably shouldn't go for another 15-20 picks or do we go RB or another position?

It's also very possible that Gordon is gone as well and that Gurley doesn't check out, and I like alot of the RB's in the 2nd-3rd area so we'll see.

Right now, prior to the combines and workouts, it looks like Shelton will go in the teens. I think Goldman will go before us and many mocks have Dupree going to the Ravens one pick ahead of us. Brown or one of the other on-the-bubble possible 1st rounders is probably our best best.

So if Gordon is available at 27 he'll likely be the BPA. If we opt not to go that direction the good news is we'd probably be in good shape making a trade at that point. What's amazing is that the best RB in the draft will probably land late in the 1st with one of the contenders.

But a lot will probably change between now and the end of April. Ware went from a late first to 11th and I've seen many players go from mid first projections in January to the 2nd/3rd round in the draft.

But as of now I'd love to land Dupree or Goldman but not sure how likely that'll be at 27.

 

[VA Cowboy]

If we were picking at 15 (47ish in the 2nd) and traded up 10 or so spots in the 2nd to around the mid-30's for a guy like Gordon would anybody have an issue with it?

Well what's the difference between 27 and 35 if RB is the BPA?

The difference is at 27 you're talking about using our first pick on a RB and then settling for DL/S/etc in the bottom of round 2. Whereas if we were drafting in the middle of the 2nd and moved up to 35th for a RB that would be our 2nd pick in the draft behind whoever we got in the first round.

It's not a "don't take a RB in the first round" issue as it is not wanting to wait til late in round 2 to address the DL.

 

[ravidubey]

Nothing really, people are just caught up in the idea of no "RB's in the 1st".

Yep. You go with your best chance for a five year stud.

A dominating running attack is the key to Cowboy playoff contention for years to come. Romo has very few seasons left, so we can't just sacrifice next season with a by-committee bullshit weak-assed running game that cripples so many teams late in the season.

Also a first rounder gets you a 5 year contract vs. a 4 year deal. Something to consider.

If the franchise DL is there, that's one thing, but I'm betting the most impactful player at the bottom of the 1st is a RB.

Especially behind our OL.

I mean, Dallas went 12-4 because of Murray. Lose that, and next season gets thrown in doubt.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

I mean, Dallas went 12-4 because of Murray. Lose that, and next season gets thrown in doubt.

We went 12-4 because of the O-line. We went 12-4 because of Romo. We went 12-4 because of Dez.

If the key to our success next year is all about Murray then just resign Murray and eat the cap space. That's not really the key to success next year though. We will have a great running game with whoever we put back there. What is a much bigger concern is the defense going into next year so that we can go far in the playoffs.

 

[Clay_Allison]

We went 12-4 because of the O-line. We went 12-4 because of Romo. We went 12-4 because of Dez.

If the key to our success next year is all about Murray then just resign Murray and eat the cap space. That's not really the key to success next year though. We will have a great running game with whoever we put back there. What is a much bigger concern is the defense going into next year so that we can go far in the playoffs.

It's completely ridiculous to think you can have a great running game with shitty running backs.

 

[ravidubey]

We went 12-4 because of the O-line. We went 12-4 because of Romo. We went 12-4 because of Dez.

Because Murray took pressure off of all of them. By himself (392 carries).

Joseph Randle and Lance Dunbar could be stopped with 7 in the box. But Murray consistently made defenses pay with 20+ yard runs more than any other back (double Bell's). That is enormous pressure on a defense to cheat 8 men up. It scares the shit out of LBs, and mentally pressured LBs become fatigued much, much faster.

I don't think you can get what Murray gave us in 2014 even if you re-sign Murray.

You need fresh legs and superior, durable talent.

This team is built around the running game and needs top-echelon talent to back it.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

It's completely ridiculous to think you can have a great running game with shitty running backs.

Did you know the Jet's running game last year was only slightly below ours as a team? Now certainly the Jets RBs aren't shit but Chris Johnson is basically washed up and now one would call Chris Ivory a stud.

No one is saying shitty RBs. JAG RBs are plentiful and guys like Forsett behind a good line put up great numbers all the time. Another example is Joseph Randle. Everyone wants to label him as a JAG, which is fine, but if he is a JAG then why did he average 6.7 yards per carry? I don't think we can get by with a shitty RB. I just think good RBs are really easy to find. So easy to find that a good RB is basically the same as a JAG.

 

[L.T. Fan]

We went 12-4 because of the O-line. We went 12-4 because of Romo. We went 12-4 because of Dez.

If the key to our success next year is all about Murray then just resign Murray and eat the cap space. That's not really the key to success next year though. We will have a great running game with whoever we put back there. What is a much bigger concern is the defense going into next year so that we can go far in the playoffs.

Dallas had all those components before and went 8-8. When they utilized Murray this season they went 12-4

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Dallas had all those components before and went 8-8. When they utilized Murray this season they went 12-4

They utilized the running game... We had Murray the year before when we went 8-8. Tells me it had less to do with Murray being on the roster and more to do with play calling on offense. I also just think the younger roster we had played with way more heart and passion then we saw in past years. This is a young mans game and last year we were young.

 

[ravidubey]

They utilized the running game... We had Murray the year before when we went 8-8. Tells me it had less to do with Murray being on the roster and more to do with play calling on offense.

If you ran Joseph Randle like they did Murray the defense would laugh at you. Each run has to represent a threat to the defense. Murray had 15 runs over 20 yards, man.

 

[Clay_Allison]

Did you know the Jet's running game last year was only slightly below ours as a team? Now certainly the Jets RBs aren't shit but Chris Johnson is basically washed up and now one would call Chris Ivory a stud.

No one is saying shitty RBs. JAG RBs are plentiful and guys like Forsett behind a good line put up great numbers all the time. Another example is Joseph Randle. Everyone wants to label him as a JAG, which is fine, but if he is a JAG then why did he average 6.7 yards per carry? I don't think we can get by with a shitty RB. I just think good RBs are really easy to find. So easy to find that a good RB is basically the same as a JAG.

Most of the 1000 yard backs in the league are still from the first half of the draft. That's not a coincidence.

Randle has a nice second gear when he hits the next level but he's not quick to the hole and a lot of carries with him will be killing time, waiting for him to break one, like a poor man's Willie Parker.

 

[L.T. Fan]

They utilized the running game... We had Murray the year before when we went 8-8. Tells me it had less to do with Murray being on the roster and more to do with play calling on offense. I also just think the younger roster we had played with way more heart and passion then we saw in past years. This is a young mans game and last year we were young.

How many could produce the way Murray did? You indicated the Jets had similiar attempts but i dont think the results were as good.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

How many could produce the way Murray did? You indicated the Jets had similiar attempts but i dont think the results were as good.

We averaged 4.6 YPC as a team. The Jets averaged 4.5. They had nearly identical running yards to us as well.

I don't think any RB for the Cowboys next year should carry the ball as much as Murray. That would be crazy.

 

[L.T. Fan]

We averaged 4.6 YPC as a team. The Jets averaged 4.5. They had nearly identical running yards to us as well.

I don't think any RB for the Cowboyt year should carry the ball as much as Murray. That would be crazy.

I agree they used Murray too much. I dont I really don't have an issue with the number of runs but I do think the distribution could have been managed better. As far as the Jets average how many carries and yards does the average yield?
Nevermind i see you saidit was close to same.
The Jets didnt have a QB so they had to run it.

 

[Clay_Allison]

I agree they used Murray too much. I dont I really don't have an issue with the number of runs but I do think the distribution could have been managed better. As far as the Jets average how many carries and yards does the average yield?
Nevermind i see you saidit was close to same.

The Jets had 507 rushes for 2280 yards.