Dallas Cowboys: Unreal Stat Shows Their 2017 Draft Plans
By Erik Lambert
The Dallas Cowboys have not been subtle in their approach to the 2017 NFL draft. It’s clear enough what their plan is when the action starts.
Peter King of the MMQB sat down with draft expert Mike Mayock to discuss the draft what to expect. Of course most of the conversation centered around what Cleveland will do at #1 overall. Will they take Myles Garrett as planned or deliver the shocker by selecting quarterback? Fun stuff. It’s also a draft class that has people amazed with how many top picks have foggy injury histories. In the midst of all this fascinating info, Mayock delivered a shocking stat he picked up during his evaluations.
One directly connected to the Cowboys.
"“Dallas, badly in need of an edge rusher, used 28 of its 30 on-campus visits with draft prospects on defensive players.”"
That’s just over 93% of the allotted pre-draft visits allowed for a team going towards one side of the football. It’s safe enough to say that doesn’t happen very often. Then again it isn’t hard to accept either. Dallas is pretty much set for the most part on offense. Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Dez Bryant and that star-studded offensive line should be locked in for at least the next 3-4 years.
The big problem for the team has been their defense. It is without question what has held them back for years. They gave up 34 points in the playoffs against Green Bay last year and gave up 27 against Green Bay in the playoffs back in 2014. Last year they were outstanding against the run but just 26th against the pass. That was bound to catch up to them eventually and it did.
Now to make matters worse almost half their starting lineup is gone. Both starting safeties in Barry Church and J.J. Wilcox left via free agency. Joining them were corners Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr, not to mention depth along their defensive line. A defense that was already lacking star power now took a huge hit to their depth too.
So yeah, in that context it’s perfectly easy to understand why their entire 2017 draft may be devoted to the defensive side of the ball.