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No knock on second-rounder Demarcus Lawrence, but Cowboys overpaid to get him
Rick Gosselin
Published: 10 May 2014 08:03 PM
Regular readers of my NFL draft coverage over the last two decades know my universal starting point.
I value draft picks.
They are like gold bars. They come at no cost, assigned by the league based on well or how poorly a team fared the previous season. Every team gets a minimum of seven of them.
That’s seven chances for an NFL team to make its roster cheaper, younger and better. Those picks should be treated with respect for the value they represent. The longer you hold onto them, the more they increase in value.
Needless to say, I’d hate giving any of them away.
And that’s the problem I had over the weekend with the Cowboys’ draft.
They gave away another high pick. Again.
I didn’t like the trade up into the top 10 in 2012 for cornerback Morris Claiborne and wrote that at the time. It cost the Cowboys their second-round pick to move up.
And I didn’t like the trade up to the top of Round 2 on Friday night for edge rusher Demarcus Lawrence. It cost the Cowboys a third-round pick to move up 13 spots for the Boise State end.
The problem wasn’t the player. The problem was the cost.
The first three rounds in every draft are the premium rounds. In the salary-cap era, those three picks should be walk-in starters for a non-playoff team like the Cowboys.
Tampa Bay found its starting quarterback (Mike Glennon) in the third round last April. The Colts, Jets and Lions all found starting guards there in 2013. Arizona found a starting safety (Tyrann Mathieu) and Oakland a starting linebacker (Sio Moore). San Diego found a wide receiver (Keenan Allen) in the third who caught 71 passes for 1,046 yards and eight touchdowns as a rookie last year.
The Cowboys found two players in the third round in 2013 who combined to start 13 games as rookies — wide receiver Terrance Williams and safety J.J. Wilcox.
The third round can offer a choice selection.
But the Cowboys gave up theirs. In fact, they overpaid in the process for the Lawrence pick.
I consulted two trade charts, which assign point values to each of the 256 draft picks in 2014. Washington’s 34th pick was valued at 560 points. The two picks the Cowboys surrendered were valued at 430 points (fourth in the second round) and 200 (78th in the third round).
The Cowboys said afterward they believed Lawrence was their last real shot at an impact edge rusher in this draft. Lawrence measures 6-2 1/2, 251 pounds with 4.83 speed. All that produced 10 1/2 sacks at Boise State last season.
The Redskins, with the second-round pick they received from the Cowboys, took Stanford edge rusher Trent Murphy at 47. He measures 6-5 1/2, 250 pounds with 4.87 speed. That produced an NCAA-leading 15 sacks last season.
The Cowboys will tell you that Lawrence was a true 4-3 end and that Murphy was a 3-4 outside linebacker. But the Cowboys would have been willing to convert Anthony Barr from college outside linebacker in a 3-4 to NFL defensive end in a 4-3 had the UCLA All-American fallen to them in the first round. So conversions are possible.
Even if you don’t want Murphy at 47, Kony Ealy of Missouri was still on the board. Kony measures 6-4, 273 with 4.88 speed. He’s a true end in a 4-3 and collected 9 1/2 sacks last season in the SEC, the highest level of college football.
But the Cowboys don’t always study their other options. They tend to lock in on one player and then become vulnerable to pay whatever the asking price. The Rams benefited in 2012. The Redskins benefited this time.
The Cowboys operate under the annual belief that they are one player away. In 2012, that one player was a cornerback. In 2014, that one player was an edge rusher.
The Cowboys aren’t one player away. Not with the NFL’s worst defense a year ago and some depth issues at both wide receiver and running back. The subtraction of Jason Hatcher and DeMarcus Ware and the addition of Demarcus Lawrence do not thrust the Cowboys into Super Bowl contention. Not with the schedule that awaits them in 2014.
Would the Cowboys have been better off staying put and drafting tackle Timmy Jernigan in the second and end Kareem Martin (11 1/2 sacks last season at North Carolina) in the third? Would they have been better off with Ealy in the second and Florida State All-ACC safety Terrance Brooks in the third?
Again, this is not a knock on Lawrence. He can become a contributing starter. In fact, he needs to become more than a contributing starter. He needs to become special because it cost the Cowboys two potential starters to get him.
Rick Gosselin
Published: 10 May 2014 08:03 PM
Regular readers of my NFL draft coverage over the last two decades know my universal starting point.
I value draft picks.
They are like gold bars. They come at no cost, assigned by the league based on well or how poorly a team fared the previous season. Every team gets a minimum of seven of them.
That’s seven chances for an NFL team to make its roster cheaper, younger and better. Those picks should be treated with respect for the value they represent. The longer you hold onto them, the more they increase in value.
Needless to say, I’d hate giving any of them away.
And that’s the problem I had over the weekend with the Cowboys’ draft.
They gave away another high pick. Again.
I didn’t like the trade up into the top 10 in 2012 for cornerback Morris Claiborne and wrote that at the time. It cost the Cowboys their second-round pick to move up.
And I didn’t like the trade up to the top of Round 2 on Friday night for edge rusher Demarcus Lawrence. It cost the Cowboys a third-round pick to move up 13 spots for the Boise State end.
The problem wasn’t the player. The problem was the cost.
The first three rounds in every draft are the premium rounds. In the salary-cap era, those three picks should be walk-in starters for a non-playoff team like the Cowboys.
Tampa Bay found its starting quarterback (Mike Glennon) in the third round last April. The Colts, Jets and Lions all found starting guards there in 2013. Arizona found a starting safety (Tyrann Mathieu) and Oakland a starting linebacker (Sio Moore). San Diego found a wide receiver (Keenan Allen) in the third who caught 71 passes for 1,046 yards and eight touchdowns as a rookie last year.
The Cowboys found two players in the third round in 2013 who combined to start 13 games as rookies — wide receiver Terrance Williams and safety J.J. Wilcox.
The third round can offer a choice selection.
But the Cowboys gave up theirs. In fact, they overpaid in the process for the Lawrence pick.
I consulted two trade charts, which assign point values to each of the 256 draft picks in 2014. Washington’s 34th pick was valued at 560 points. The two picks the Cowboys surrendered were valued at 430 points (fourth in the second round) and 200 (78th in the third round).
The Cowboys said afterward they believed Lawrence was their last real shot at an impact edge rusher in this draft. Lawrence measures 6-2 1/2, 251 pounds with 4.83 speed. All that produced 10 1/2 sacks at Boise State last season.
The Redskins, with the second-round pick they received from the Cowboys, took Stanford edge rusher Trent Murphy at 47. He measures 6-5 1/2, 250 pounds with 4.87 speed. That produced an NCAA-leading 15 sacks last season.
The Cowboys will tell you that Lawrence was a true 4-3 end and that Murphy was a 3-4 outside linebacker. But the Cowboys would have been willing to convert Anthony Barr from college outside linebacker in a 3-4 to NFL defensive end in a 4-3 had the UCLA All-American fallen to them in the first round. So conversions are possible.
Even if you don’t want Murphy at 47, Kony Ealy of Missouri was still on the board. Kony measures 6-4, 273 with 4.88 speed. He’s a true end in a 4-3 and collected 9 1/2 sacks last season in the SEC, the highest level of college football.
But the Cowboys don’t always study their other options. They tend to lock in on one player and then become vulnerable to pay whatever the asking price. The Rams benefited in 2012. The Redskins benefited this time.
The Cowboys operate under the annual belief that they are one player away. In 2012, that one player was a cornerback. In 2014, that one player was an edge rusher.
The Cowboys aren’t one player away. Not with the NFL’s worst defense a year ago and some depth issues at both wide receiver and running back. The subtraction of Jason Hatcher and DeMarcus Ware and the addition of Demarcus Lawrence do not thrust the Cowboys into Super Bowl contention. Not with the schedule that awaits them in 2014.
Would the Cowboys have been better off staying put and drafting tackle Timmy Jernigan in the second and end Kareem Martin (11 1/2 sacks last season at North Carolina) in the third? Would they have been better off with Ealy in the second and Florida State All-ACC safety Terrance Brooks in the third?
Again, this is not a knock on Lawrence. He can become a contributing starter. In fact, he needs to become more than a contributing starter. He needs to become special because it cost the Cowboys two potential starters to get him.
