- Messages
- 4,604
- Reaction score
- 2
2016 NFL Preview: Cowboys might regret their draft decisions
Frank Schwab
Jul 27, 2016, 8:51 AM
Shutdown Corner is previewing all 32 teams as we get ready for the NFL season, counting down the teams one per day in reverse order of our initial 2016 power rankings. No. 1 will be revealed on Aug. 6, the day before the Hall of Fame Game kicks off the preseason.
The pieces were in place for them to go back to where they were at the end of 2014, when they were Super Bowl contenders. Had Dez Bryant’s catch at Lambeau Field been called a catch, they were going to advance to play the Seattle Seahawks with the NFC title on the line. The Cowboys won at Seattle earlier that season. If we assume the 2015 debacle was because of Tony Romo’s injuries, it’s logical to assume the Cowboys could be contenders again this season.
Everything seemed to fit for the 2016 Cowboys. Then Jerry Jones had to go and screw up the draft.
I didn’t like the Cowboys’ draft when it happened. The longer I’ve thought about it, the more I hate it.
The Cowboys have serious issues on defense, especially with suspensions and injuries hammering the depth early this season. They could have come out of the draft with cornerback Jalen Ramsey and linebacker Myles Jack, two instant impact starters at severe positions of need. Ramsey was the best player, regardless of position, in the draft, and Jack would have been a top-10 pick if not for concerns about possible future microfracture surgery on his knee. The Cowboys didn’t need to move up. They just needed to stay put and take a pair of rookies who could have been starters on Day 1 for a very good team.
I get the Ezekiel Elliott pick at some level. Make your strengths strong, I guess. But here’s the deal: Among all the teams in NFL history, the one that had the least incentive to invest heavily at running back might be the Cowboys. This might go down as one of the top five offensive lines in NFL history. It’s that good. The old bones of Darren McFadden went from having a foot out of the NFL door to a 1,000-yard season with a 4.6-yard average last season. A mid-round rookie pick like Kenneth Dixon or Devontae Booker couldn’t have run for 1,000 yards behind this line? There’s no doubt. No should use the No. 4 overall pick on any running back in this era, and it’s especially confusing for a team that could make a star out of just about any back. Elliott will be good, but anyone would have been good behind this line. And that mystery back wouldn’t have cost the fourth pick of the draft.
At least the Elliott pick is understandable. I don’t get the Jaylon Smith pick at all.
I’m rooting for Smith. He was a great prospect before suffering a career-altering knee injury in an exhibition game he was playing for free, and I hope he returns to that form. But it’s a huge gamble. It’d be shocking if he is back anywhere near that level this season. There’s a possibility that Smith never returns to his old form. Picking Smith, who essentially has to be redshirted this season, made no sense for the Cowboys. Dallas picked Elliott presumably in a win-now move, then took a linebacker nobody foresees playing now.
Smith is a great pick for a rebuilding team, and a weird one for Dallas. The Cowboys could have had Jack (or Reggie Ragland or Deion Jones or Su’a Cravens or any number of linebackers with two good knees) to play right away. Jack might have only three or four great years before his knee goes. That sounds like the perfect pick for a team that wants to win now … a team like the Cowboys.
The Cowboys had the fourth and 34th picks, and a significant defensive need in a win-now season, and they got no immediate help for the defense with either pick. Brilliant.
Maybe it won’t matter. It’s feasible that Elliott plays the 2014 DeMarco Murray role to perfection and the Cowboys go back to making sure the defense isn’t on the field much. Romo’s return from injury is a big factor. Dez Bryant will be healthier too. The schedule is favorable. Warren Sharp at Rotoworld ranked the Cowboys’ schedule as the easiest in the NFL this season. There’s a lot to like about the Cowboys.
Frank Schwab
Jul 27, 2016, 8:51 AM
Shutdown Corner is previewing all 32 teams as we get ready for the NFL season, counting down the teams one per day in reverse order of our initial 2016 power rankings. No. 1 will be revealed on Aug. 6, the day before the Hall of Fame Game kicks off the preseason.
The pieces were in place for them to go back to where they were at the end of 2014, when they were Super Bowl contenders. Had Dez Bryant’s catch at Lambeau Field been called a catch, they were going to advance to play the Seattle Seahawks with the NFC title on the line. The Cowboys won at Seattle earlier that season. If we assume the 2015 debacle was because of Tony Romo’s injuries, it’s logical to assume the Cowboys could be contenders again this season.
Everything seemed to fit for the 2016 Cowboys. Then Jerry Jones had to go and screw up the draft.
I didn’t like the Cowboys’ draft when it happened. The longer I’ve thought about it, the more I hate it.
The Cowboys have serious issues on defense, especially with suspensions and injuries hammering the depth early this season. They could have come out of the draft with cornerback Jalen Ramsey and linebacker Myles Jack, two instant impact starters at severe positions of need. Ramsey was the best player, regardless of position, in the draft, and Jack would have been a top-10 pick if not for concerns about possible future microfracture surgery on his knee. The Cowboys didn’t need to move up. They just needed to stay put and take a pair of rookies who could have been starters on Day 1 for a very good team.
I get the Ezekiel Elliott pick at some level. Make your strengths strong, I guess. But here’s the deal: Among all the teams in NFL history, the one that had the least incentive to invest heavily at running back might be the Cowboys. This might go down as one of the top five offensive lines in NFL history. It’s that good. The old bones of Darren McFadden went from having a foot out of the NFL door to a 1,000-yard season with a 4.6-yard average last season. A mid-round rookie pick like Kenneth Dixon or Devontae Booker couldn’t have run for 1,000 yards behind this line? There’s no doubt. No should use the No. 4 overall pick on any running back in this era, and it’s especially confusing for a team that could make a star out of just about any back. Elliott will be good, but anyone would have been good behind this line. And that mystery back wouldn’t have cost the fourth pick of the draft.
At least the Elliott pick is understandable. I don’t get the Jaylon Smith pick at all.
I’m rooting for Smith. He was a great prospect before suffering a career-altering knee injury in an exhibition game he was playing for free, and I hope he returns to that form. But it’s a huge gamble. It’d be shocking if he is back anywhere near that level this season. There’s a possibility that Smith never returns to his old form. Picking Smith, who essentially has to be redshirted this season, made no sense for the Cowboys. Dallas picked Elliott presumably in a win-now move, then took a linebacker nobody foresees playing now.
Smith is a great pick for a rebuilding team, and a weird one for Dallas. The Cowboys could have had Jack (or Reggie Ragland or Deion Jones or Su’a Cravens or any number of linebackers with two good knees) to play right away. Jack might have only three or four great years before his knee goes. That sounds like the perfect pick for a team that wants to win now … a team like the Cowboys.
The Cowboys had the fourth and 34th picks, and a significant defensive need in a win-now season, and they got no immediate help for the defense with either pick. Brilliant.
Maybe it won’t matter. It’s feasible that Elliott plays the 2014 DeMarco Murray role to perfection and the Cowboys go back to making sure the defense isn’t on the field much. Romo’s return from injury is a big factor. Dez Bryant will be healthier too. The schedule is favorable. Warren Sharp at Rotoworld ranked the Cowboys’ schedule as the easiest in the NFL this season. There’s a lot to like about the Cowboys.
