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By Tim Cowlishaw , Staff Columnist Contact Tim Cowlishaw on Twitter: @TimCowlishaw


If the second day of your draft raises eyebrows and has the look of a bust, but your first and third days were good, what grade does that earn a team?

I’m giving the Cowboys an E for Entertaining. Wildly so. Who guessed this team was going to focus on its needs at power forward?



It was that crazy of a draft. But let’s start at the top. Poor Jalen Ramsey never really had a chance.

The multi-talented defensive back from Florida State was forecast by most to land in Dallas with the fourth pick. And maybe he’s going to be a great cover corner or all-Pro safety, but this was no one-on-one match-up.

This was Man vs. Theory. Man vs. Concept. Man vs. The 2014 Season.

Yep, never really had a chance.

The decision to go with Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott was far from a no-brainer. But on a team lacking defensive playmakers, what better solution than to turn back the clock, turn the rookie Elliott into DeMarco Murray and keep that defense on the bench for 33 minutes as happened in 2014?

Even if he’s not as good as Todd Gurley, the Rams’ high first-round pick a year ago, it’s a safe bet that barring injury, Elliott outrushes Gurley this season on his way to Rookie of the Year and quite possibly Pro Bowl status simply based on his surroundings.

The Cowboys even tried to delight fans and keep an eye on the future by trading up for Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch late in the first round. But the Denver Broncos, in need of a quarterback now not later, beat them to the punch.

Still a fine Day One.

What happened Friday was neither inexplicable nor out of character. It was simply one more attempt by the Cowboys to show the football world they’re smarter than everyone else. It’s an oddly arrogant stance for a team more than 20 years removed from its last trip to an NFC Championship Game.

Before anyone was even speculating where Notre Dame’s Jaylon Smith might go - some thought the knee surgery and nerve damage rendered him a certain third day pick - Dallas called his name with the 34th selection, high in the second round.

Feel good stories are great, and Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones loves them. Soon those who tend to applaud everything this team does were telling us how Dr. Dan Cooper, the Cowboys’ team physician, performed Smith’s surgery and that the club is more privy to his medical details than any other team.



And that may be the case. I’ve known Cooper for more than 20 years. On a Stars’ trip to Vancouver many years ago, he helped me when I told him I thought I was suffering from vertigo or something like it. Of course while checking me out, he was wobbling back and forth to poke fun at me.

But while Cooper has predicted Smith can rid himself of the “foot-drop” condition in six months or so, there are no guarantees the nerve damage related to his major knee surgery will fully go away. Regardless - and this is the larger point - a team with a 36-year-old quarterback coming off a 4-12 season shouldn’t be spending a high second-round pick on a player who’s nearly certain to sit out the 2016 season.

I understand that Jones says Romo has four or five years left in him. I’m not sure who beyond Jones believes that, and it’s a virtual certainty that the team’s medical community does not.

Regardless that pick and a fairly ho-hum third-round selection put the Cowboys in need of recovery quickly on Day Three.

And there are reasons to believe they pulled it off.

They started with an undersized power forward from Baltimore. Oh, wait, that’s Charles Tapper’s high school resume. OU fans know him as a play-making defensive end which is something Dallas is sorely lacking the first month of the coming season due to the suspensions of DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory.



Then, finally, after failing to trade up for Lynch or land Michigan State’s Connor Cook, the Cowboys grabbed Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott. How can you go wrong with an MVP from both the Liberty Bowl and the Belk Bowl?

After playing the college spread offense, Prescott has a long, long learning curve ahead of him but the Cowboys have spent an inordinate amount of time with the young man. Every one of these college quarterbacks arrives with considerable risk, and that includes Jared Goff and Carson Wentz taken with the first two picks Thursday night.

Time will tell on that one.

And if all that weren’t enough, they drafted a REAL power forward in Baylor’s Rico Gathers, a possible tight end, near the end of the sixth round.

But after sitting on the sidelines of free agency following a 4-12 season, are the Cowboys really good enough to compete in 2016 with a high second-round pick and a low fourth-round pick serving as virtual red shirts?

I’d have to bet on that answer being no. But the Elliott pick has a chance to change all that.
 

cmd34

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I love this idea that our defense is so bad that we might as well not even try to improve it.


Awesome.
 

dbair1967

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I love this idea that our defense is so bad that we might as well not even try to improve it.


Awesome.

Which side of the ball do the 2nd, 3rd and first 4th rd pick play on? Two of the 6th rd picks plays on defense too.
 

cmd34

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Which side of the ball do the 2nd, 3rd and first 4th rd pick play on? Two of the 6th rd picks plays on defense too.


The 2nd round pick doesn't play at all.

The 3rd rounder and 4th rounder are rotation guys at best.

6th rounders are well, 6th rounders.
 

dbair1967

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The 2nd round pick doesn't play at all.

The 3rd rounder and 4th rounder are rotation guys at best.

6th rounders are well, 6th rounders.

There's a decent chance Tapper is the starter week one vs NYG. They even mentioned that if Collins is good enough at 3T, they might move T Crawford to LDE to cover for Lawrence if is suspended too.

Dont people say 3rd/4th/5th rounders are where good teams really build and fill out their lineups? I think we may have hit on two good ones here for our style of defense. At least both of them appear to have some decent physical talent/athletic ability for the positions they will play here, and both could be upgrades over the JAGS we've had as backups the past few seasons.
 

MrB

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There's a decent chance Tapper is the starter week one vs NYG. They even mentioned that if Collins is good enough at 3T, they might move T Crawford to LDE to cover for Lawrence if is suspended too.

Dont people say 3rd/4th/5th rounders are where good teams really build and fill out their lineups? I think we may have hit on two good ones here for our style of defense. At least both of them appear to have some decent physical talent/athletic ability for the positions they will play here, and both could be upgrades over the JAGS we've had as backups the past few seasons.

I'm pretty optimistic about both Tapper and Collins. The physical talent is there for both of them. It's just a matter of, can Marinelli coach the best out of them. Can he make the lightbulb come on for them.
 
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Fuck optimism.

No one we draft past round two turns into fuckall. Unlikely to change this year.
 
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There's a decent chance Tapper is the starter week one vs NYG. They even mentioned that if Collins is good enough at 3T, they might move T Crawford to LDE to cover for Lawrence if is suspended too.

Dont people say 3rd/4th/5th rounders are where good teams really build and fill out their lineups? I think we may have hit on two good ones here for our style of defense. At least both of them appear to have some decent physical talent/athletic ability for the positions they will play here, and both could be upgrades over the JAGS we've had as backups the past few seasons.
I have been hoping they move Tyron Crawford to LDE. He is really not big enough to play that 3tech. He is savvy, quick and relentless but squeezed into a DT role he loses his options as elusive and crafty. On the end he can just use his speed and even lose some weight. The 3 has to be able to keep the WLB clean and it just seems like he either has to bulk up and plug the line or lose weight and play the edge.

Frankly I hope Collins demands double teams where Hayden did not. Collins seems big and violent enough to demand attention by more than one OL. I have said it before: the best 4-3 under defenses have a massive 1 tech.
 

boozeman

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Marinelli is high on Maliek Collins LINK

To me, this is the pivotal choice in the whole draft.

If Collins pans out, then it frees up a lot of things based on how this defense is structured.

I am not a big fan of the guy from what I have seen from him. Just have to hope he was misused or something, just like Tapper.
 

SixisBetter

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Carolina,Seattle,Green Bay,Arizona.
One of these teams is who our defense won't be able to stop when we need to in the 4th quarter of a playoff game.
You know,just like 2014.
 

ThoughtExperiment

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To me, this is the pivotal choice in the whole draft.

If Collins pans out, then it frees up a lot of things based on how this defense is structured.

I am not a big fan of the guy from what I have seen from him. Just have to hope he was misused or something, just like Tapper.
Really, why? I think Collins looks exactly the part in the highlights I've seen. But supposedly his motor isn't always that good, which would explain why that physical talent didn't produce that many stats. That's what worries me about him.

Tapper I think can and will be a very solid guy, I just don't think his ceiling is as high as what Collins has. Tapper just didn't really know how to play the game when he got to college and it took a while for him to develop, but I haven't heard questions about his effort.

Side note, when you have a guy like Collins that you have roughly pegged as a mid-rounder type, why doesn't Marinelli himself go work out these guys? Why leave it to an inexperienced coach like Lett? I don't see why the DC wouldn't look at basically everyone besides the late round prospects.
 

cmd34

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To me, this is the pivotal choice in the whole draft.

If Collins pans out, then it frees up a lot of things based on how this defense is structured.

I am not a big fan of the guy from what I have seen from him. Just have to hope he was misused or something, just like Tapper.

I'm with you. Collins showed flashes but it seemed like he was very blockable in big games. Saw some games where he didn't give much effort and that scares me. Tapper has the SPARQ intrigue but he also feels like someone who might be decent at three DL positions and not great at any one of them. Basically, the same (unwarranted) criticism that you and others had on Ramsey.
 
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cmd34

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Side note, when you have a guy like Collins that you have roughly pegged as a mid-rounder type, why doesn't Marinelli himself go work out these guys? Why leave it to an inexperienced coach like Lett? I don't see why the DC wouldn't look at basically everyone besides the late round prospects.

I'm starting to believe Marinelli is cashing a check at this point.
 

dbair1967

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Nobody talked about it much but Collins was better as a SOPH than a Junior, and apparently there were some scheme changes when the new staff came in.

I saw Marinelli commented that the stuff he was asked to do by the previous staff was very similar to what he'd be doing here as the 3T
 

dbair1967

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I'm with you. Collins showed flashes but it seemed like he was very blockable in big games. Some some games where he didn't give much effort and that scares me. Tapper has the SPARQ intrigue but he also feels like someone who might be decent at three DL positions and not great at any one of them. Basically, the same (unwarranted) criticism that you and others had on Ramsey.

Not really. Tapper played in a scheme where he was pretty much asked to be a run stopper only, and many times was down in a 4pt stance. Rarely was he asked to pin his ears back and just get upfield or attack the edge in the OU scheme.
 

cmd34

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Tapper has the SPARQ intrigue but he also feels like someone who might be decent at three DL positions and not great at any one of them


Not really. Tapper played in a scheme where he was pretty much asked to be a run stopper only, and many times was down in a 4pt stance. Rarely was he asked to pin his ears back and just get upfield or attack the edge in the OU scheme.

How did what you say counter or disprove what I said?
 

dbair1967

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How did what you say counter or disprove what I said?

You said decent at three positions but not great at any.

I said he wasn't used the same way or technically even in the same role. He seems to have the skill level to be a good fit for what Marinelli wants the DE to do.

I don't know if he'll be a great player or not, but it seems like the size, athletic ability and skill are there to be pretty good in this scheme. OU clearly runs something vastly different.
 
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