FRISCO, Texas- Finally, it’s here.
The NFL Draft, Thursday at 7 pm, from Las Vegas, and I can’t wait.
Not with bated breath or anticipatory anxiety worries you. But with relief.
Gosh, it seems like we’ve been talking about the draft, answering questions and making predictions since the night of January 16, that night immediately after the Cowboys were beaten 23-17 by San Francisco in that first-round playoff game when The time for his frantic attempt to return was over.
No more mock drafts, which will be mocked (verb, not adjective) significantly on Thursday night. No more Top 50 or Top 100 lists. No more position rankings. No more predictions.
And perhaps the most significant part of the Cowboys’ annual pre-draft press conference on Tuesday was what came out of the mouth of Cowboys COO Stephen Jones when he said this, in fact, twice almost Same time:
“I don’t think we have any _must_ in the draft.”
Particularly in the first round with the 24th pick, if the Cowboys stay calm in the same spot they got with that 12-5 record, finishing tied at four for the third-best regular season record of the year. past in the NFL, but also for painfully losing that first-round playoff game.
Which means there’s no _must_ to grab a guard at No. 24.
Do not should to take a wide receiver at 24.
Do not should draft a defensive end at 24.
Do not should draft a linebacker, cornerback or offensive tackle and certainly not a safety, not in the first round.
Whatever the Cowboys do, just give me a Day One headline in the first. Give me a talented player in the second round who can compete for a starting spot from day one. Give me a third round talented enough to fit into a position rotation. And then after the dust settles on Saturday afternoon, by then give me a kicker who’s at least able to shoot 85 percent of his field goal attempts from 40 to 49 yards, able to dunk some 50 yards, and for God’s sake. , not one who will lead the league in 33-yard extra points lost.
Do at least all that, and we’ll take a Shooting with this team’s roster becoming the first in the NFC East to repeat as champions since 2004 and like winning a game or two in the playoffs.
- flex position: Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy is big on positional flexibility, a multi-talented player, not just this or that guy. That’s what the Cowboys should look for when they draft an offensive lineman, especially if it’s in the first two or three rounds. Give me an offensive tackle capable of starting for a year or two at guard, then transitioning to a similar tackle, just like Flozell Adams did. Give me a shooting guard or center capable of playing center or shooting guard, too. Give me a wide receiver capable of playing outside as well as in the slots, not just some chump like former slots player Cole Beasley only able to be productive in the slots, no, not in any of the first three rounds. Give me a defensive tackle capable of playing technique 1 or technique 3. And if he’s a sure thing, how about one capable of playing the slot?
- New pet cat: Last year I am proud to say that mine was future Penn State Lionbacker Micah Parsons. This year, and probably not in the first round, but probably at least in the second, is North Dakota State wide receiver Christian Watson. He is 6-4, 208. But here are the numbers that stand out. First, 4.36. It’s not his qualifying point since he graduated with a bachelor’s degree, but the 40-yard dash time. Seriously, he adds those two numbers together, 6-4 goes 4.36, and in high school he also ran the 200 and competed in the long jump. Second, 20.4. As for yards per sack during his four seasons at FCS, he posted an average of 23.3 in his junior season playing future first-round quarterback Trey Lance. This late developer can execute jet sweeps and is very capable of returning kickoffs. Also, his cousin is Grammy-winning singer Jordin Sparks, daughter of former Cowboys 2000-season cornerback Phillippi Sparks.
- Buyer Beware: Many make fun of A&M’s versatile guard Kenyon Green against the Cowboys in the first round. But lately, he keeps reading the reports citing knee problems. Not immediate, but with longevity. And the expectations of the first round should be to win a second contract. Doctors could be a concern here.
- Speaking of Must Knees: It will be interesting to see what teams do with Alabama receivers Jameson Williams and John Metchie III. They’re both recovering from torn ACL surgeries, and as we know, coming back like new usually takes nine to 12 months, but possibly only 10 for smaller guys like a catcher. There is a real possibility that neither of them will be ready for the start of training camp and could logically even be placed in PUP to start the season.
- Same boat: Speaking of knees, Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup continues his ACL rehab, along with linebacker Jabril Cox. Chances are, with Cox’s surgery in early December and Gallup in early February, common sense says they’ll spend most of boot camp in rehab, likely as PUP candidates initially. They might be the only two Cowboys not ready to participate in offseason workouts.
- Pleading the fifth: Of the 32 first-round picks in 2019, see where only seven teams have so far picked their fifth-year options, with the May 2 deadline fast approaching. That would include San Francisco Nick Bosa, Jets Quinnen Williams, Tampa Bay Devin White, Detroit TJ Hockenson, Buffalo Ed Oliver, Carolina Brian Burns and Denver via trade with Seattle inherited Noah Fant’s fifth. As for the Cowboys, they spent their 2019 first-round pick trading for Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper during the 2018 season. And the Cowboys didn’t get five years’ worth of him, trading Cooper to Cleveland on last month after only three and a half seasons thankfully for at least a fifth.
- Stun Project: For what this is worth, the back money coming into BetMGM’s sportsbook on who will be the No. 1 pick in the NFL this year suddenly lands on Georgia DE Travon Walker, beating Michigan DE Aiden Hutchinson. . . Jones insisted Tuesday that the Cowboys didn’t end up in free agency, so if you’re wondering if the Cowboys could sign a veteran guard, here are some available free agents: Ereck Flowers, Quinton Spain, Trey Hopkins, Trai Turner and Laurent Duvernay. -Tardiff, nothing to shake your cage. . . It’s not that unusual for Jones to point out that the Cowboys have first-round draft rating at only 14-16 players this year, as that mark is usually around 18, which highlights why it becomes difficult to select 20-32. . . . And stepping into the ring one more time to ShotsThis Mike Tyson thing made me laugh out loud, saying after beating up the guy who alienated him on a plane, “Social media made you too comfortable disrespecting people and not getting punched in the face for it.”
And for a man of many words, the last few The words go to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who couldn’t have been more candid and succinct Tuesday when asked about the possibility of making predraft phone calls to discuss potential trades.
“We’re always friends,” Jerry Jones said, a cute way of pointing out that he’s always throwing some bait on draft day.
Go crazy watching for the next three days.
Reference-www.dallascowboys.com