It’s far too early to debate how good or how bad Dallas’ draft is. Nobody has even played a mini-camp down yet. But I think it’s early enough to puncture a couple of instant myths about some high draftees.
Myth One — Martellus Bennett is a luxury pick. He’ll be a backup tight end, like Anthony Fasano.
Who’s the team’s fullback? They have one guy with FB by his name. He’s Deon Anderson and he’s coming off rotator cuff surgery, which means his blocking ability isn’t known. Will he be able to lower his repaired shoulder and mash with abandon in Cleveland on opening day? I’m not sure he knows right now.
The Cowboys force fed Fasano into the offense in ‘06. He was the starter in Jacksonville, and got a lot more reps than Lousaka Polite, who never cut it as a lead blocker. Fasano wasn’t up to it, which is why the coaches gave Oliver Hoyte a crash course in lead blocking about a month into the season. Fasano blocked much better under John Garrett’s tutelage than he did under Paul Pasqualoni’s the year before, but the Cowboys obviously felt he wasn’t up to their expectations.
There’s nothing luxurious about Martellus Bennett. He’s probably the starting blocking back right now. I wouldn’t be shocked to read a month from now that Bennett is living in Garrett’s guest room while Garrett rushes to get him ready for an NFL season.
He’s going to be counted on a lot this year, which is probably why Jerry had trouble getting war-room support for a trade up to get James Hardy. His guys were trying to keep him from getting cute. He listened.
Myth two: Dallas could have taken Mike Jenkins at 22, Felix Jones at 28 and saved the trade-up picks from the Seattle deal for other players.
Okay, take Jenkins first. Then this would have happened:
23. Pittsburgh — Rashard Mendenhall;
24. Tennessee — Felix Jones;
It’s been said by several sources that the Titans wanted Jones.
Then what at 28?
You trade down with whom? Who traded up from the early 2nd into the 25-30 range? Nobody. The QB in the late 1st market was bull.
And look at the players taken immediately after Jenkins at 25 — Duane Brown, Antoine Cason, Lawrence Jackson, Kentwan Balmer, Dustin Keller, Kenny Phillips, Phillip Merling, Donny Avery, Devin Thomas, Brandon Flowers.
Would you take any of these guys ahead of Jenkins? I wouldn’t. And I wouldn’t take any of these guys ahead of Jones either. Dallas got two guys just before the 1st round dropoff. In recent years, the Cowboys been on the other side of that divide..
You either take Chris Johnson at 28 or you force your WR there, and neither one of them rates with Jones.
What’s more, San Diego was looking for a running back at 27. I don’t know if they had Johnson rated ahead of Antoine Cason but they may have. The only way Dallas could have assured itself a RB at 28 would have meant making the exact same trade with Seattle and taking Johnson at 25.
Then they would have come away with Jenkins and Johnson instead of Jenkins and Jones. And Jerry would be getting crucified for “getting too cute.†He got better value playing it the day he did. Some of the blog regulars love Johnson and would have applauded that scenario, but I have not seen one rating service anywhere that put Chris Johnson ahead of Felix Jones.
The Titans took Chris Johnson and even they had Felix Jones rated higher.
If you think Mendenhall will be a better player than Jones you have a beef. But saying Jenkins could or should have been taken at 22 and Jones at 28 is folly.
The Cowboys remember the Giants 42 second TD march just before halftime in their divisional playoff game.
So much so that they acquired three cornerbacks in this year’s draft, getting Mike Jenkins in the 1st, trading a 4th rounder for Pacman Jones and moving up into the early 5th to get Orlando Scandrick. Corner was the biggest concern heading into the draft. Dallas has quality starters but Anthony Henry is injury-prone and Terence Newman is heading into a contract year. The team now has five corner prospects, if Jones is re-instated.
If Pacman is in uniform at Oxnard, he and Jenkins should represent a huge upgrade over Jacques Reeves and Nate Jones and give Dallas the man-to-man coverage depth to play their corners up on the line and be even more aggressive with the pass rush.
On the other side of the ball, Dallas entered the draft with only Marion Barber under contract at the running back spot. Julius Jones was allowed to leave and Tyson Thompson was an early roster casualty. Felix Jones appears to be an upgrade over Jones and 4th rounder Tashard Choice offers an across the board game the blocking-challenged Thompson couldn’t match.
Whether by design or accident, the Cowboys have been targeting specific spots in recent years. In ‘05, the team built a d-line from scratch, adding Marcus Spears, Chris Canty and Jay Ratliff. Last year offensive line depth was addressed in the middle rounds with the additions of Doug Free and James Marten.
Linebacker has been a constant in recent years with Demarcus Ware (1st in ‘05) Kevin Burnett (2nd in ‘05) Bobby Carpenter (1st in ‘06) and Anthony Spencer (1st in ‘07) all topping the Cowboys’ wish lists.
This year the secondary and backfield got the attention.
The other high pick saw Dallas get a replacement U-back for the departed Anthony Fasano. Martellus Bennett will get a chance to prove he’s more athletic than Fasano and can be a better blocker. John Garrett got the most out of Jason Witten in ‘07. If he can get Bennett to apply his outstanding athletic skills, Dallas will have a find.
Wide receiver was not called and it seemed that aside from a half-hearted attempt to trade up for James Hardy in the 2nd, the Cowboys were not thrilled by this class. To read the Detroit Free Press this morning, Roy Williams was Jerry Jones’ target but he could not get Matt Millen to trade him.
So, while teams like Washington are following New England’s lead and trying to outgun secondaries across the league, the Cowboys took the opposite tack, beefing up their coverage units to try and nullify any passing game they face.
Upside: Depth and talent for the backfield and secondary. Jenkins, Jones and Bennett have unquestioned athleticism.
Caveat: Jenkins and Bennett get dinged for having inconsistent work ethics. Jerry Jones joked at his Saturday press conference that his players could be special if they got good coaching. I’m guessing he wasn’t entirely joking. If Dave Campo and John Garrett can get Jenkins and Bennett to be true professionals, this draft could be special. Otherwise, the Bad Jerry jokes will again creep into the Cowboys’ discourse.
Note: Did the Cowboys just draft a fullback prospect in Erik Walden? He’s listed at 6?2?, 243 lbs. and 4.7 in the 40. That’s on the small side to be an outside linebacker in Dallas’ scheme, unless he’s got some crazy pass rushing skills. That’s way too slow to be a safety. On the other hand, his size and speed are almost identical to Daryl Johnston’s, who was 6?2?, 237 and ran in the 4.65-4.70 range. The colleges just don’t produce fullbacks anymore and the Cowboys had modest success turning Oliver Hoyte into a fullback. Are they trying again?
2:12 –The Cowboys take Erik Walden, a smallish DE from Middle Tennessee. He’s not in the two draft books I own. The last time the Cowboys reached that far, they landed Pat McQuistan.
The Cowboys just moved up to select Boise State CB Orlando Scandrick.
– Props to blogger cormanman, who just claimed that he’s firmly “pro-Choice” after the Cowboys’ picked Tashard Choice.
This site originated Romosexual. We are the birthplace of “Thong” Williams and now we’re sure to have a sizable pro-Choice contingent.
You guys crack me up.
12:45 — The Morning News guys are still begging Rashard Mendenhall to take them back, even though he’s in Pittsburgh now. One of them says Choice would not have been needed had Dallas drafted Super Rashard yesterday.
What ever. The Cowboys always carry three backs. Marion Barber was the only back on their roster on Friday. (Alonzo Coleman doesn’t count as an NFL running back.)  They were going to draft another back today even with Felix Jones. Jerry said they were going to take another back today in his after draft presser yesterday.  It’s on the team web site. (scroll down to short shorts)
Why are those guys acting surprised?
12:00 — The Cowboys select RB Tashard Choice. My 4th rounder comes through.
11:53 — Dallas on deck again. Seattle takes Red Bryant one spot ahead of Dallas’ pick. D’oh!
11:22 — The Cowboys trade again! With the Browns! The Cowboys get Cleveland’s 3rd in ‘09. Not bad. Dallas now has an extra 3rd and 4th next year. Preparing a package for a veteran?
11:19 — The Bears are on the clock. Dallas is on deck - again.
11:02 — The Browns trade up into Dallas’ spot and take ILB Beau Bell. Dallas now picks at 111 and 122.
Dallas gets Cleveland’s 5th, replacing the pick lost in the Mike Jenkins’ deal. Looking for compensation from the Raiders trade down.
10:55 — The Packers are picking at 102. The Cowboys are two spots away.
10:50 — The Cowboys trade with the Raiders at pick 104.
10:46 — The Titans take Oneal Cousins at 99. Dallas is up.
10:44 — The Falcons take S Thomas DeCoud. Dallas is on deck.
10:41 — The Bengals take WR Andre Caldwell at pick 97.
10:39 — The Redskins take G Chad Rinehart.
10:36 — The Giants take Mario Manningham at the 95th spot. Four compensatory picks and Dallas is back on the clock.
10:23 — Dallas trades down with the Detroit Lions, who pick 111th The Cowboys get the Lions ‘09 4th rounder for moving down 19 spots.
10:21 — The Packers select Jermichael Finley. Dallas is on the clock.
10:16 — The Bears take DT Marcus Harrison at 90
10:12 — The Texans take Steve Slaton at pick 89. Dallas is just three picks away.
9:54 — The Chiefs take S DaJuan Morgan. Dallas is ten picks away.
9:51 — The Cardinals take Early Doucet with the 81st pick.
9:48 — The Eagles take LB Bryan Smith at pick 80; the Texans take Antwan Molden one pick prior.
The NFL Network just showed Commissioner Roger Goodell hanging out in the gallery, shaking hands and taking photos with fans. Great P.R. move on his part. When has a commissioner ever made himself accessable to fans? It’s a small gesture but this can change his reputation if he does this with regularity.
Note: The teams are averaging about 3 minutes per pick. We’re at pick 75. Dallas picks 92nd and 100th, so we’re about 45-50 minutes away from their next selection. Dallas has only three picks today so I don’t think we’ll see a trade up.
9:34 — Big names flying off the board: Dan Connor goes to Carolina and Reggie Smith to the 49ers.
9:32 — the Chiefs claim Jamaal Charles at 73. Their great draft continues.
And we’re off. Actually the league got off before I got up, but the Cowboys are still around 20 picks away.
Thus far, ten picks in:
9:31 - Charles Godfrey and Earl Bennett are gone.