2016 NFL Draft Thread...

[MrB]

Possible Pick: Ronald Blair Offers Pass Rush Ability In Middle Rounds

Thursday, April 21, 2016 11:29 AM CDT
By David Helman
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer


(Editor’s Note: With just one month until the start of the 2016 NFL Draft on April 28, the staff of DallasCowboys.com intends to preview the landscape of possible Cowboys draft picks – from the top of the first round to the bottom of the talent pool. Today’s featured player is Appalachian State defensive end Ronald Blair.)

Name: Ronald Blair

Position: DE

College: Appalachian State

Height/Weight: 6-2/284

Honors: With 70 tackles, 19 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks on the season, Blair was named the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year, as well as first-team All-Sun Belt after his final season with the Mountaineers.

Key Stat: Given Appalachian State’s “small school status,” there’s bound to be questions about Blair’s ability against top competition. Pop in the tape of his performance against national runner-up Clemson, where he racked up eight tackles, two sacks and two tackles for loss.

Where He’s Projected: Blair isn’t considered one of the premier talents in this crop of pass rushers, but he might be the “best of the rest,” so to speak. He doesn’t have first-round athleticism, but his size and power – plus his extensive experience as a four-year starter – make him appealing. It’s a good guess that he’s a Day 2 draft pick, going somewhere between the end of the second round and the middle of the third.

How He Helps the Cowboys: He obviously fits the bill as an addition to the pass rush, and Blair is probably more polished than a lot of his counterparts in this draft. He’s got four years of starting experience, and he’s also got ideal size to hold up against the pounding that NFL linemen take on a play-by-play basis. Again, he’s not the type of freakish talent that would grab a Day 1 starting spot, but he’d be a welcome addition to this defensive end rotation.

Scout’s Take: Plays with some initial quickness. Will work down the line and find the ball. Length to shed blockers. Plays with balance. Changes direction well. Power to split double team. Can bend as a rusher. Used on the twist. Has some strength in his hands. Wrap up tackler-finisher. Violent player. Can capture the corner. Plays with a burst. Can cover some ground when after the ball. Unique ability to rush the passer and play the run. Was not a highly recruited player but showed up well against very good competition. Has a ton of ability. Ideal size and ability for the position. -- Bryan Broaddus

I really hope this guy is there at the top of the 4th round and that the Cowboys draft him.

 

[MrB]

Don't be surprised if this is the guy at 4.

Ezekiel Elliott || 2015 Highlights || The Greatest - YouTube

 

[MrB]

Nobody really talks about this guy for us, but he's kinda interesting as maybe a 2nd/early 3rd rd option if he made it that far.

[video=youtube;CZl7DwSGMx8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZl7DwSGMx8[/video]

Bosa in the 1st and him in the 2nd?

 

[MrB]

Broaddus mentioned this guy today. Also some rumblings locally we've checked him out. UGA moved him all over the place and he actually played ILB quite a bit. They should have left him as an edge rusher as much as possible.

[video=youtube;Lu4aqlerDgc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu4aqlerDgc[/video]

He looks more like an OLB in a 3/4 than a 4/3 DE

 

[MrB]

[video=youtube;swWXElebrLI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swWXElebrLI[/video]

I still really like Buckner. I know he's more of a 5-tech in a 3/4 but I think this guy could be a much better version of Chris Canty or Calais Campbell from the Cardinals. I still prefer a Billings type of DT however I think Buckner would be a star here.

 

[MrB]

I don't care what anyone says, if he isn't a concern off the field we'd be foolish to not strongly consider him. Lives on the other side of the LOS and disrupts tons of plays. Really powerful tackler too. Seems to be just as effective rushing inside as he is outside, so you can easily move him around on passing downs.

[video=youtube;e5SgHCFwKpI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5SgHCFwKpI[/video]

Dude is definitely an ox. If they do go Bosa I still want them to go heavy on the DL in the draft. Bosa in the 1st, Bullard/Billings/Ogbah/Dodd in the 2nd, and Ronald Blair in the 4th (if he makes it there). You combine those guys with Crawford, Thornton, and Irving and you've got a pretty good DL. You still need that elite DE but that DL would still make the whole defense better.

 

[dbair1967]

Don't be surprised if this is the guy at 4.

Ezekiel Elliott || 2015 Highlights || The Greatest - YouTube

Love Elliott for us. Unless he got injured, we are virtually guaranteed of an impact player because of his talent and our OL. If Romo and Dez are 100% our offense with this guy would be potentially far better than the 2014 version.

Elliott is better than Murray (who himself was very good)

 

[Scot]

At this point I want Elliot at 4! He will make the most impact immediately, he will be able to help protect Tony, eat up some clock helping to keep our shitty defense off the field, give us a new version of the triplets, give our offense more weapons

I see him as the best Win Now Player since it's obvious we are gonna ride or die with Romo and not address his future replacement once again this year. I'm guessing that This could very well be Romo's last season. If not then he will be lucky to make it thru the 2017 season. So if he stands any chance whatsoever at a SB it's gotta be this season.

I say fuck it, throw everything at winning right now since we clearly are not going to future proof the QB position we may as well try everything possible to get Tony his ring he deserves. Not to mention winning one last time for Jerry who will probably die within two years. If we don't win with Tony we most certainly will never win again in Jerry's limited time left on earth




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[dbair1967]

NFL Draft Insider ‎‎@NFLDraftInsider


#LSU Safety Jalen Mills told me he has had private workouts with the #Cowboys and #Eagles

 

[cmd34]

I say fuck it, throw everything at winning right now

We are already blew that with our laissez-faire approach to free agency.

 

[MrB]

At this point I want Elliot at 4! He will make the most impact immediately, he will be able to help protect Tony, eat up some clock helping to keep our shitty defense off the field, give us a new version of the triplets, give our offense more weapons

I see him as the best Win Now Player since it's obvious we are gonna ride or die with Romo and not address his future replacement once again this year. I'm guessing that This could very well be Romo's last season. If not then he will be lucky to make it thru the 2017 season. So if he stands any chance whatsoever at a SB it's gotta be this season.

I say fuck it, throw everything at winning right now since we clearly are not going to future proof the QB position we may as well try everything possible to get Tony his ring he deserves. Not to mention winning one last time for Jerry who will probably die within two years. If we don't win with Tony we most certainly will never win again in Jerry's limited time left on earth




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When Romo gets hurt again, this team is fucked. They refuse to address the position and it is going to bite them in the ass just it did when Troy retired. So we better enjoy the next two seasons as much as we can.

 

[Midswat]

Mayock: If I'm a GM, I'm more intrigued by Kenyan Drake than I am with Derrick Henry because Drake has more versatility.

 

[dbair1967]

Jon Machota
✔ ‎‎@jonmachota

Cowboys VP Stephen Jones on with @gbagnation said DE Noah Spence "is certainly not off our board. He's a guy we'll continue to evaluate."

I think its great if he has cleaned himself up and hope for the best for him, but if this idiot ****** organization risks a 1st or 2nd rd pick (honestly even our early 3rd) they are just beyond fucking hope to ever "get it"

You cant keep drafting or signing major risk guys like this and expect to ever have a year over year contender. We don't have the solid, tough leadership needed to deal with these types of players. I don't care what great "support" staff they say they have in place, it obviously isn't working that well because we are constantly dealing with suspensions, motivation problems, work ethic problems etc etc.

 

[dbair1967]

Mayock: If I'm a GM, I'm more intrigued by Kenyan Drake than I am with Derrick Henry because Drake has more versatility.

I like Henry and would be happy to have him, but Drake would be a potentially ideal Dunbar replacement.

 

[Midswat]

I think its great if he has cleaned himself up and hope for the best for him, but if this idiot ****** organization risks a 1st or 2nd rd pick (honestly even our early 3rd) they are just beyond fucking hope to ever "get it"

You cant keep drafting or signing major risk guys like this and expect to ever have a year over year contender. We don't have the solid, tough leadership needed to deal with these types of players. I don't care what great "support" staff they say they have in place, it obviously isn't working that well because we are constantly dealing with suspensions, motivation problems, work ethic problems etc etc.

Agreed. Completely dumbass quote by Stephen. Especially considering recent events.

This team clearly can't control its players. And there is too much temptation in Dallas. Why add a known idiot who likely only cleaned up to get to the next level. So dumb.

 

[ZeroClub]

Mayock: If I'm a GM, I'm more intrigued by Kenyan Drake than I am with Derrick Henry because Drake has more versatility.

If they can't stop what you do even when they know what's coming, versatility doesn't matter much.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Seems like Bosa may be our guy at 4.

 

[NoShame]

Seems like Bosa may be our guy at 4.

I think so too...

Top 2 picks go QB obviously.

Then Ramsey to the Chargers.

Jack's knee is too scary at this point.

Considering the time we spent with Ohio St these past couple months... Gotta be Bosa or Elliot. And considering how we treated the RB position last year... Looking like Bosa at 4.

 

[MrB]

Seems like Bosa may be our guy at 4.

I read from some fan page on FB. Not sure where the guy gets his info from so take it however you want but I could definitely see this being the case.

 

[ThoughtExperiment]

I thought McClay The Great got everyone on the same page so we didn't have another Sharrif Floyd situation?