dbair1967
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I think it was Peter Schrager that said the Cowboys won the draft on night one with the Caleb Downs pick, A+ draft he declared. While a little over the top perhaps for our particular situation I do think there's some truth in it. Caleb Downs was the 100% perfect fit for our team and new defensive scheme. For far too long we have seen horrendous safety play, terrible communication and complete misalignments/blown coverages on the back end. Downs may not be a "generational" type physical talent, but he is 100% a generational type cerebral talent.
I really didn't think we'd get the guy at 12 and they did move up (if only one spot) to make sure they got him. But I never dreamed 10 teams would pass on this guy (it's 10 because the Giants passed on him twice). But some of our greatest draft picks in franchise history have been the results of pure luck (like GB winning a week 16 game on the road in 1989, giving us the chance to draft Troy Aikman #1) or some other teams stupidity (Seattle trading us the 2nd overall pick in 1977 so we could get Tony Dorsett and essentially they got nothing in return).
Obviously love the Downs pick. He'll vastly improve the defense and should be in the running for DROY.
The others:
Edge Malachi Lawrence- flew up draft boards since the end of the season. Was a solid prospect prior to the allstar games and combine and likely would have been a mid to late 2nd rd pick, maybe even early 3rd. Then blew up workouts and killed his interviews. His rise through the draft process is somewhat similar to Demarcus Ware's in 2005 and we can only hope he has a career like his. Has elite physical traits and was a productive player on the field. Should be an immediate contributor and see extensive playing time.
LB/Edge Jaishawn Barham- another guy that seemed like a perfect fit for the Christian Parker type of defense we have seen described to us. Can play either as a true LB or Edge guy. Physical, attacks the LOS and plays with violence. Can blitz and be a force v the run, and showed some cover ability during his career as well. He probably won't start this year but should see playing time and probably be a core special team guy too. Very bright future for this kid.
OT Drew Shelton- admittedly wasn't super excited about this pick where we got him. Will trust Kolston Adams and Conor Riley on their opinion though and it does seem like he was someone they targeted from the beginning in this range. Hopefully he can develop quickly as OT is probably the biggest question mark on the offense. Does get high marks for lack of mistakes (almost never gets a penalty or gives up a sack) but is not the most imposing guy physically.
CB Devin Moore- Another high end kid from an attitude and lockerroom perspective. Like Shelton above, doesnt make many mistakes at all and almost never gets penalties. Great man to man cover skills and sounds as if he is another football junkie type. His biggest issue will be staying healthy (and he did see the field in every game last yr) but if he does that, will be a really nice addition to the secondary. Tremendous range and could also play safety.
DL LT Overton- will likely never be a huge sack production guy but every team that plays odd front type schemes needs players like Overton, who can play one of the DE spots, hold up physically vs the run and occasionally get penetration. Alabama didnt really stick him one place and leave him there, and physically he was never a true "Edge" guy as he was played at. He can bulk up a bit and be an ideal move across the front type player in this scheme. Another hard worker who coaches liked.
WR Anthony Smith- not going to claim I know much about him but seems like the height/weight/speed type you take a flier on late. Also had pretty good production at East Carolina. Does have legit burner speed as well as special teams ability. Would be surprised if he makes the 53 but if he can return kicks/punts and show some of the WR ability we see on these clips, he might push Turpin.
Icing on the cake was acquiring Niners LB Dee Winters for a 5th rd pick. Very young, ascending player coming off a solid first season as starter with a good organization. From a size standpoint he might be considered small, but he's essentially the same size as Nakobe Dean, who we tried to sign on day one of free agency. Blazing speed and great in coverage (2nd best cover LB in the league per PFF)
When they first announced we gave up 2 picks to move up 1 spot for Downs, I was a little perturbed but everyone saw exactly why it was a smart move when our pick at 20 came up. Pittsburgh badly wanted Makai Lemon but sat on their hands, allowing Philly to swoop in there and steal him (for two better picks than we gave up to get Downs). So we netted out two far better value picks in the end, and we ensured we got the players we most wanted at 12 and 20 anyway. Getting that close to landing Downs only to have someone else steal him right out from under us would have made everyone sick for weeks, maybe for years once we see Downs on the field.
It seems very obvious Schottenheimer and Parker had a "type" they wanted. Smarty, hard nosed football junkie types who coaches and teammates respected. One Cowboys reporter said it appeared the Cowboys may have passed over a couple of guys who better pure talents, but might have been not the sharpest tools in the shed. 3 of the best coaches in the history of football seems to share this belief, that it's much more difficult to win with stupid players. Their names were Jimmy Johnson, Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick.
Amigo Dodger pointed this out first and I totally agree with him. Christian Parker looks like he has "it". All professionalism with him. He wasn't there to goof off or be the high-fiving beer chum type with the others. Seemed like all business and 100% dialed in on the task. I'd say watching him he seems to exude a real quiet confidence. Him and Schottenheimer also seem completely joined at the hip and in 100% agreement on how to build the roster. Really cannot wait for camp to see how they put this new defense and all the new faces together. We may not be Doomsday III this year, but the goal is to be at least acceptable on defense. I like our chances of seeing us move the needle significantly on that side of the ball.
Good weekend overall and we got a true cornerstone player who is a real winner in almost every way in Caleb Downs.
I really didn't think we'd get the guy at 12 and they did move up (if only one spot) to make sure they got him. But I never dreamed 10 teams would pass on this guy (it's 10 because the Giants passed on him twice). But some of our greatest draft picks in franchise history have been the results of pure luck (like GB winning a week 16 game on the road in 1989, giving us the chance to draft Troy Aikman #1) or some other teams stupidity (Seattle trading us the 2nd overall pick in 1977 so we could get Tony Dorsett and essentially they got nothing in return).
Obviously love the Downs pick. He'll vastly improve the defense and should be in the running for DROY.
The others:
Edge Malachi Lawrence- flew up draft boards since the end of the season. Was a solid prospect prior to the allstar games and combine and likely would have been a mid to late 2nd rd pick, maybe even early 3rd. Then blew up workouts and killed his interviews. His rise through the draft process is somewhat similar to Demarcus Ware's in 2005 and we can only hope he has a career like his. Has elite physical traits and was a productive player on the field. Should be an immediate contributor and see extensive playing time.
LB/Edge Jaishawn Barham- another guy that seemed like a perfect fit for the Christian Parker type of defense we have seen described to us. Can play either as a true LB or Edge guy. Physical, attacks the LOS and plays with violence. Can blitz and be a force v the run, and showed some cover ability during his career as well. He probably won't start this year but should see playing time and probably be a core special team guy too. Very bright future for this kid.
OT Drew Shelton- admittedly wasn't super excited about this pick where we got him. Will trust Kolston Adams and Conor Riley on their opinion though and it does seem like he was someone they targeted from the beginning in this range. Hopefully he can develop quickly as OT is probably the biggest question mark on the offense. Does get high marks for lack of mistakes (almost never gets a penalty or gives up a sack) but is not the most imposing guy physically.
CB Devin Moore- Another high end kid from an attitude and lockerroom perspective. Like Shelton above, doesnt make many mistakes at all and almost never gets penalties. Great man to man cover skills and sounds as if he is another football junkie type. His biggest issue will be staying healthy (and he did see the field in every game last yr) but if he does that, will be a really nice addition to the secondary. Tremendous range and could also play safety.
DL LT Overton- will likely never be a huge sack production guy but every team that plays odd front type schemes needs players like Overton, who can play one of the DE spots, hold up physically vs the run and occasionally get penetration. Alabama didnt really stick him one place and leave him there, and physically he was never a true "Edge" guy as he was played at. He can bulk up a bit and be an ideal move across the front type player in this scheme. Another hard worker who coaches liked.
WR Anthony Smith- not going to claim I know much about him but seems like the height/weight/speed type you take a flier on late. Also had pretty good production at East Carolina. Does have legit burner speed as well as special teams ability. Would be surprised if he makes the 53 but if he can return kicks/punts and show some of the WR ability we see on these clips, he might push Turpin.
Icing on the cake was acquiring Niners LB Dee Winters for a 5th rd pick. Very young, ascending player coming off a solid first season as starter with a good organization. From a size standpoint he might be considered small, but he's essentially the same size as Nakobe Dean, who we tried to sign on day one of free agency. Blazing speed and great in coverage (2nd best cover LB in the league per PFF)
When they first announced we gave up 2 picks to move up 1 spot for Downs, I was a little perturbed but everyone saw exactly why it was a smart move when our pick at 20 came up. Pittsburgh badly wanted Makai Lemon but sat on their hands, allowing Philly to swoop in there and steal him (for two better picks than we gave up to get Downs). So we netted out two far better value picks in the end, and we ensured we got the players we most wanted at 12 and 20 anyway. Getting that close to landing Downs only to have someone else steal him right out from under us would have made everyone sick for weeks, maybe for years once we see Downs on the field.
It seems very obvious Schottenheimer and Parker had a "type" they wanted. Smarty, hard nosed football junkie types who coaches and teammates respected. One Cowboys reporter said it appeared the Cowboys may have passed over a couple of guys who better pure talents, but might have been not the sharpest tools in the shed. 3 of the best coaches in the history of football seems to share this belief, that it's much more difficult to win with stupid players. Their names were Jimmy Johnson, Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick.
Amigo Dodger pointed this out first and I totally agree with him. Christian Parker looks like he has "it". All professionalism with him. He wasn't there to goof off or be the high-fiving beer chum type with the others. Seemed like all business and 100% dialed in on the task. I'd say watching him he seems to exude a real quiet confidence. Him and Schottenheimer also seem completely joined at the hip and in 100% agreement on how to build the roster. Really cannot wait for camp to see how they put this new defense and all the new faces together. We may not be Doomsday III this year, but the goal is to be at least acceptable on defense. I like our chances of seeing us move the needle significantly on that side of the ball.
Good weekend overall and we got a true cornerstone player who is a real winner in almost every way in Caleb Downs.