Not finding value in late-round picks is why Cowboys have been struggling

[Omegasupreme]

Well Seattle has good coaches and a great culture, too. Total opposite of what we have.

Agree. On offense, Garrett seeks high character athletes who require only the little coaching that the Garrett troop are capable. Think about Dooley and Wade Wilson through the lens of last year. It was famine on offense and instead of changing and scheming, the only real adjustment was "bore me with completions" and short passes "well this is not ultimate frisbee". Terrance Williams as bad as he is, actually became worse. The mismatch players who have size and speed were not utilized to keep series going, instead, it was "execute, play harder, claw scratch, and fight".

Meanwhile the defense found a way to turn very few turnovers and sacks into the 15th ranked defense, with scheming and coaching.

 

[dbair1967]

That's where Jerry's deep pockets come in. Some of these guys like Leary are known by everyone to be talented, but Jerry outbids everyone. That has nothing to do with scouting talent, though. It's just being willing and able to spend money.

If the draft were 12 rounds like in the old days, we wouldn't get those guys.

Well then that's sorta an indictment of how stupid some of these other organizations are then huh? If they know they are so talented and still don't draft them?

That said, we don't outbid everyone for rookie free agents and there are limits to what they can be paid. We had to re-do Lael Collins contract last yr after he agreed to terms IIRC.

 

[dbair1967]

No real research needed

Just look back at last year

Kinda stopped reading there. Nobody should be judging an overall draft after 1 yr, regardless of how good or bad its perceived

 

[dbair1967]

The Cowboys' approach the last few years is like the Seahawks, take high grade athletes and try to coach them up.

.

Sounds like some of the old Gil Brandt philosophy in a way.

 

[dbair1967]

We have a glaring weakness when it comes to depth. The later rounds is where you fill your roster with depth. Last season proved we failed miserably in this regard

I'm sorry, but late round picks are rarely going to replace guys like Romo, Dez Bryant and Orlando Scandrick, at this least not to the point of making their loss negligible.

 

[dbair1967]

Some info in here about rookie free agent deals:

NFL Draft 2015: What's the difference between an undrafted free agent and a rookie minicamp tryout? | NJ.com

Just as there are significant differences between undrafted free agents and tryout players, there are significant differences between undrafted free agents and drafted players.

Undrafted free agents sign three-year contracts for the rookie minimum, which is $435,000. The minimum salary has built-in increases each year, so a player like former Rutgers linebacker Kevin Snyder, who signed with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent, will sign a three-year, $1.575 million contract.


That contract doesn't look much different than the one former Rutgers fullback Michael Burton will sign after being drafted in the fifth round, No. 168 overall, by the Lions. The 168th pick in last year's draft signed a four-year, $2.39 million contract. Burton will sign a contract in the same neighborhood, although the league's salaries increase incrementally each year.

The catch is that Snyder will only receive a few thousand dollars guaranteed in a signing bonus. Burton, meanwhile, will be guaranteed more than $170,000 from his signing bonus.

"Teams want to bring the best players in and they put a priority on the guys that are more coveted. So they give them some signing bonus to entice them to sign with them," the agent said. "But as an agent, my advice is always seek the opportunity, not the short-term money. If a team is going to pay you $5,000 but you have a great chance to make a roster versus $20,000 and they've already got plenty of guys at that spot, you're not looking to make your money there."