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Cowboys executive vice president says team's draft plan won't be 'exclusive to the defense'
By
Rainer Sabin / Reporter
rsabin@dallasnews.com | Bio
1:52 PM on Thu., Jan. 12, 2012 | Permalink
In light of the fact that the Cowboys used six of their eight draft picks in 2011 to select offensive players, it stands to reason that the team may try to pluck several defensive players from the college ranks this April, especially after Rob Ryan's bunch struggled this season.
"We'll look hard at our personnel to try to improve there," he said Thursday during an interview with Norm Hitzges on The Ticket (1310-AM). "We've got to get better....But to say it will be exclusive to the defense or secondary, of course not. We're looking for good football players to draft. If one shows up that we think will make us better on offense, we'll certainly take one there." Yet defense has to be a priority. Last year, the Cowboys selected linebacker Bruce Carter in the second round and cornerback Josh Thomas in the fifth.
Thomas was cut from the team before the season and Carter, who was recovering from a torn ACL he suffered his senior season at North Carolina, was a marginal contributor. He played only 41 defensive snaps and didn't make his NFL debut until the eighth week of the season.
The Cowboys have several needs they need to fill at multiple defensive positions, including cornerback, safety, and inside and outside linebacker. The line also is area that is due for an upgrade. "I just believe we have to get better across the board," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said earlier this month. "That's certainly an area we have to improve, but we have to improve throughout our defense, and we have to improve throughout our offense and our kicking game as well. So that's just the nature of it. We'll evaluate each piece of it. We'll evaluate each individual player, the schemes that we use and try to get better, really throughout our team."
By
Rainer Sabin / Reporter
rsabin@dallasnews.com | Bio
1:52 PM on Thu., Jan. 12, 2012 | Permalink
In light of the fact that the Cowboys used six of their eight draft picks in 2011 to select offensive players, it stands to reason that the team may try to pluck several defensive players from the college ranks this April, especially after Rob Ryan's bunch struggled this season.
"We'll look hard at our personnel to try to improve there," he said Thursday during an interview with Norm Hitzges on The Ticket (1310-AM). "We've got to get better....But to say it will be exclusive to the defense or secondary, of course not. We're looking for good football players to draft. If one shows up that we think will make us better on offense, we'll certainly take one there." Yet defense has to be a priority. Last year, the Cowboys selected linebacker Bruce Carter in the second round and cornerback Josh Thomas in the fifth.
Thomas was cut from the team before the season and Carter, who was recovering from a torn ACL he suffered his senior season at North Carolina, was a marginal contributor. He played only 41 defensive snaps and didn't make his NFL debut until the eighth week of the season.
The Cowboys have several needs they need to fill at multiple defensive positions, including cornerback, safety, and inside and outside linebacker. The line also is area that is due for an upgrade. "I just believe we have to get better across the board," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said earlier this month. "That's certainly an area we have to improve, but we have to improve throughout our defense, and we have to improve throughout our offense and our kicking game as well. So that's just the nature of it. We'll evaluate each piece of it. We'll evaluate each individual player, the schemes that we use and try to get better, really throughout our team."
