A New Approach to the Dallas Cowboys NFL Draft
By Bo Martin
The Cowboys find themselves in a very intriguing position in this upcoming draft. Jerry Jones has stated that he wants to put the team in a position where they can draft best player available (BPA) and free agency puts them in a position to do that.
Players like Dan Connor, Carl Nicks, and Tracy Porter could headline a strong free agency class for the Dallas Cowboys, who are expected to be major players this year. They certainly have many needs and are probably willing to do all they can to get back to NFC prominence. Connor would give them an ILB with great potential, Nicks would give them a guard of the future, and Porter would help with the corner situation. These are solid options that MUST be considered.
That being said, this would allow the Cowboys to focus on a few key needs in the draft. The Cowboys pick 14th overall and should look to trade down in an effort to collect a late 2nd round pick or an early third. With these picks the Cowboys need to look to address SS, OLB, DL, CB, and C. Some top available prospects that need to be targeted would include Mark Barron, Vinny Curry, Peter Konz, Ronnell Lewis, Ben Jones, Cam Johnson, Devon Still, Stephen Gilmore, and Brandon Boykin.
Out of all these guys a few really stick out as Garrett guys, those are guys who play hard on the field and know how to be professional off of it. I’m not saying these guys need to be perfect but they need to be professional. Mark Barron, to me, is the best bet for the Cowboys in the first round. Trading down and choosing Barron would make a lot of sense for the Cowboys, they address an immediate need with a high caliber player with all-pro potential while acquiring an additional pick. This would allow Sensabaugh, an underrated safety; to play solely the FS position and give the Cowboys a star of the future to pair with Lee on the defensive side of the ball.
After selecting Barron the Cowboys would be able to take a BPA approach while gaining value and could easily end up with Curry/Lewis and Jones/Boykin and be very happy with the way their draft is turning out.
I know that the popular pick has become a CB in the first round. Its not inconceivable or hard to understand why this pick is popular, however, cornerback is one of the deepest positions in the draft and has starting talent through the 3rd round. Meanwhile, landing a top-flight safety prospect is a rare feat and the Cowboys need it badly. If the Cowboys could land Gilmore or Boykin along with a good LB prospect in the 2nd they would be very happy and would be winners of the 2012 draft from the onset.
I’m not saying that this is the only plan the Cowboys can take but I think we need to start looking at other possibilities besides CB especially with free agency coming up and the Cowboys looking to add some new starters.