My all defense mock draft

[CobraKai]

If theres one thing the playoffs taught us, it's that offense wins in the regular season, but defense still wins championships. And when you couple that line of thought with how the team has made it a point to say the defense needs to get fixed, and get younger, I can see a scenario where we might literally go all defense in the draft.

Of course, I'm not sure we'd really go defense with every pick. I think we address the loss of Bennett with a late round pick. And I think we might add another young offensive lineman.

Speaking off oline, I base this mock off what seems to be a foregone conclusion, that Nicks is a Cowboy this year. I see the starting five as Smith, Nicks, Kowalski, Arkin, Free. Nagy, Kosier, Parnell, Costa, and some new, young guys will round out depth.

On to the mock:

1st round - Michael Brockers, DL, LSU - I know a lot of you might consider this a reach here, but I expect him to climb up draft charts once workouts begin. He's just growing into his body, and is very disruptive. He fills an immediate need along our defensive line. Can play end or NT.
2nd round - Chase Minnefield, CB, UVA - I love this kid and actually think we'll need to trade slightly to get him.
3rd round - Brandon Boykin, CB, UGA - Solid corner with electric return ability. Two birds with one stone.
4th round - Alameda Ta'amu, DT, UW - 340 pound plus nose who can hold his ground and eat blocks like they're oreos.
5th round - Emanuel Ahco, OLB, UT
6th round - Janzen Jackson, FS, McNeese State
7th round - Max Gruder, ILB, Pitt

Would you hire me as a GM?

 

[GloryDaysRBack]

This is a sick mock..however, many of those players will be gone come our picks.

I LOVE Brockers/Minnifield 1-2

 

[UVAwahoos]

Minnifield is great. Might be the best player ever unless you are including Chris Long, Herman Moore and Ronde (not Tiki) Barber in the discussion.

 

[Midswat]

Nice mock. I'd love it.

My favorite pick is the 6th rounder.

 

[cmd34]

I like the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th picks. Brockers I'm not sure about. I'm hoping someone drafts him ahead of us so we aren't tempted. I don't want to be the team that guessed wrong on him. Ta'amu won't last to the 4th round.

Solid mock though.

 

[wyvrn]

I would rather draft the two best offensive lineman I can in the first two rounds. I am an old schooler in that I think you build the lines and move out. The Cowboys have good offensive skill talent, but a putrid offensive line. That is one of the main reasons they don't make the playoffs and average QB's like Manning get the spotlight while better QBs like Romo sit and watch someone else make history.

They need the best OG and C in this draft. It is possible at their pick, the Cowboys will get the best OG in the draft. I don't think the best C will fall to them in the second round; it is more likely a team desperate for C help will grab him high first or early second. But the Cowboys may get lucky.

After that, I go for an ILB and S in the 4th rounds, if talent is there. That adds depth and youth to much needed positions. Then I work on other areas, perhaps a NT, TE, etc..

One thing, given the current Cowboys situation, that you can do is pickup a decent man-coverage cb and DT in free agency without breaking the bank. You can pickup 300+ lb defensive lineman who are young and cheap, if you look. We have a 320+lb DT in Brent who is young, and Ratliff sliding to DE solves one of those position issues. Then you have Lissemore and Hatcher as a nice, fairly young tag team at the other DE. Spears and Coleman can give you additional backup options at NT. You could, with a well-placed and not-too expensive free agent DT pickup, have a nice 4 man rotation at DT, a nice two man rotation at both DE spots with some youth mixed in.

Same thing with CB .. Jenkins is inconsistent but some of that is on the secondary coaching, which has never been great in Dallas. Jenkins can be a #1 CB and with his maturity shown this year appears to have turned the corner. He'll be fine. Dallas overpaid for Scandrick, but as a 3rd CB he is actually quite decent. What I think you look for is an established, bump and run, man cover who isn't afraid to tackle as your CB target. Forget any big name guys and go for consistency. If there is anything the Cowboys lacked at the secondary position, it was consistent play.

Sign Elam and then you have a very workman like, respectable secondary that can play in this league. And you fix the OL problem, which is by far the worst problem on this team, and fill in some depth on a young, but very thin MLB corps.

In addition, I would like to see another pass-rushing LB brought in. I would almost, because of his DL experience in college, rather move Spencer to DE. He could add 10-15 lbs to his frame and be as athletic as Ratliff and a little bigger, and utilize his strength at run defense and hide his deficiencies in coverage and pressure that he had as a 3-4 OLB. Finding either a free agent, trade, or draft pick that can rush the passer and drop back in coverage is paramount. As you can see from the Giants, pass rush masks a lot of other defensive depth and talent problems and can get you to the Superbowl.

The same can be said, to a lesser extent, of a Patriot's defense where the strength lies not in their CB play, but a solid (if underrated and non-glitzy) front seven that controls the line of scrimmage and makes you earn your yards.

Being a good GM is not just about hitting on a draft pick or big FA signing. It is about managing globally the talent available and putting those players in position to be successful. Get creative, don't overpay or reach in the draft, use what you have to their best ability, and learn to find value in different places. In this NFL, that can get you to the Superbowl as both the Giants and Patriots are showing. And the Packers showed last year, as well...

That's my two cents.

 

[Midswat]

Good first post, but I disagree with the notion that you can find a decent corner in free agency without breaking the bank.

Corners seem to be some of the highest paid, and often times most over rated players in free agency. What I mean is, their play never seems to be justified with their new team.

And regarding Jenkins being a leader, #1 corner, etc... some in the Dallas media (Bryan Broaddus specifically, and at least one more guy who I'm not entirely sure who) have said that they've heard that the team isn't as high on Jenkins, and that he "isn't a Garrett guy."

Take from that what you will.

 

[carphalen5150]

Boykin and Ta'amu will be long gone by then. I'd like it, but some guys would really have to slide.

 

[Freddie]

Boykin and Ta'amu will be long gone by then. I'd like it, but some guys would really have to slide.

You may be right. If what I'm hearing is correct, there could be anywhere from 1 to 7 corners selected in the first round. Perhaps some more in the 2nd also. What, do you think I'm the luckiest guesser in the world?

 

[LAZARUS_LOGAN]

Nice mock. I'd love it.

My favorite pick is the 6th rounder.

Hey Mid. Janzen Jackson... pretty good player. Did he transfer to McNeese State? Because all the clips I see of him, he is a Tennnessee Volunteer.

 

[Midswat]

Hey Mid. Janzen Jackson... pretty good player. Did he transfer to McNeese State? Because all the clips I see of him, he is a Tennnessee Volunteer.

He was a Vol. Had some off the field issues and left the team. Came back in July of last year. Left a few weeks later. Enrolled at McNeese State.

He was one of the many extremely talented Lane Kiffin recruits that turned out to be chuckle-heads. See Bryce Brown (#1 rated recruit in the country) and Nu'Keese Richardson for other examples.

 

[wyvrn]

Good first post, but I disagree with the notion that you can find a decent corner in free agency without breaking the bank.

Corners seem to be some of the highest paid, and often times most over rated players in free agency. What I mean is, their play never seems to be justified with their new team.

And regarding Jenkins being a leader, #1 corner, etc... some in the Dallas media (Bryan Broaddus specifically, and at least one more guy who I'm not entirely sure who) have said that they've heard that the team isn't as high on Jenkins, and that he "isn't a Garrett guy."

Take from that what you will.

I think that depends on how you define good. There are typically 1-2 special players at certain positions each offseason, and then several other pretty good ones. People around here, including the media, think we need a 'leading' cornerback. I challenge people to define that term. Not many teams have truly shut down corners. Most have a couple of pretty solid guys and get by just fine. If you want to prioritize any position with your first rounder, then fine you may get a really good one. But as the Eagles showed, having elite corners and nothing else doesn't get you very far.

I agree you can get fleeced in free agency if you go for one of the name guys, but I also think you can find solid players without paying too much.

And if Garret doesn't like Jenkins attitude, well I guess you can see the Cowboys waste more first round draft picks hoping to finally get a decent corner. That means other positions on the team are going to get ignored again because the Cowboys can't draft good corners consistently.

 

[CobraKai]

Boykin and Ta'amu will be long gone by then. I'd like it, but some guys would really have to slide.

Boykin will after the Senior Bowl. But Ta'amu had a less than stellar last year in school. I could see him lasting until the fourth.

 

[CobraKai]

You may be right. If what I'm hearing is correct, there could be anywhere from 1 to 7 corners selected in the first round. Perhaps some more in the 2nd also. What, do you think I'm the luckiest guesser in the world?

I dont think anyone would really argue with what you're saying as it's almost common sense. Kirkpatrick and Claiborn, are locks for the first. Dennard probably too. There's three right there. Of course more will be taken in the second.

 

[LAZARUS_LOGAN]

If theres one thing the playoffs taught us, it's that offense wins in the regular season, but defense still wins championships.

One of the most useless cliches. It wasn't the Packers' defense that won them the Super Bowl last year. It wasn't the Saints' defense that won the the Super Bowl the year before. It wasn't the Colts' defense that won them the Super Bowl. I could go on.

 

[CobraKai]

One of the most useless cliches. It wasn't the Packers' defense that won them the Super Bowl last year. It wasn't the Saints' defense that won the the Super Bowl the year before. It wasn't the Colts' defense that won them the Super Bowl. I could go on.

Colts, Saints and Packers all had pick sixes in the Super Bowl. Saints pick six iced the game. And the Colts finally won the Super Bowl after their run defense toughened up in the post season.

 

[Cr122]

I'd be happy with this draft as long as we address the interior OL in free agency. Nicks, Grubbs, ect;

 

[LAZARUS_LOGAN]

Colts, Saints and Packers all had pick sixes in the Super Bowl. Saints pick six iced the game. And the Colts finally won the Super Bowl after their run defense toughened up in the post season.

So you're syaing ONE defensive play was the difference? Not the offense scoring. Ok. Right.

 

[RoyTheHammer]

If you could somehow keep all the other NFL teams from drafting these guys until where you have us selecting them, i'd def hire you as my GM.. and also my personal body guard because you must be a pretty intimidating mother fucker to keep these guys from being picked at anywhere near where they are projected to go.

 

[RoyTheHammer]

I'd be happy with this draft as long as we address the interior OL in free agency. Nicks, Grubbs, ect;

Nicks, yes. Grubbs, pass.