DMN Blog: Cowboys have made sure they don't need to reach in draft
by Tim MacMahon
Jerry Jones said something during his stop in Arkansas that made a lot of sense.
"The good news with our team right now is we can go about any direction we want to in the draft and pick the best player," he said.
That's true because of the Cowboys' low-key work in free agency. When free agency opened, the Cowboys had three glaring needs: defensive end, inside linebacker and safety. They plugged those holes by signing Igor Olshansky, Keith Brooking and Gerald Sensabaugh to reasonable offers.
Brooking (two years, $6 million) and Sensabaugh (one year, $1.75 million) are stopgaps, but their presence means the Cowboys don't have to draft an immediate starter at any position. (A rookie safety could beat out Sensabaugh, but the Cowboys aren't in big trouble if that doesn't happen.)
The Cowboys still have plenty of draft needs (ILB, S, OL, NT, QB, WR, CB) but now they're looking for depth and players who can develop into frontline guys in a few years. And they should have 11 selections after getting a pair of late-round compensation picks. They can afford to go with the best-player-available approach, with tailback the only position on the roster there's not realistic opportunity to upgrade.
"We can do what last year gave us the best example ever of doing," Jerry said last week on 105.3 The Fan, "and that is literally let it fall and let the best player there come give us a bargain and we'll get a good football player."
The two examples Jerry cited: fourth-round RB Tashard Choice and fifth-round CB Orlando Scandrick, who proved what good values they were as rookies despite entering the season buried on the depth chart.
Jerry Jones said something during his stop in Arkansas that made a lot of sense.
"The good news with our team right now is we can go about any direction we want to in the draft and pick the best player," he said.
That's true because of the Cowboys' low-key work in free agency. When free agency opened, the Cowboys had three glaring needs: defensive end, inside linebacker and safety. They plugged those holes by signing Igor Olshansky, Keith Brooking and Gerald Sensabaugh to reasonable offers.
Brooking (two years, $6 million) and Sensabaugh (one year, $1.75 million) are stopgaps, but their presence means the Cowboys don't have to draft an immediate starter at any position. (A rookie safety could beat out Sensabaugh, but the Cowboys aren't in big trouble if that doesn't happen.)
The Cowboys still have plenty of draft needs (ILB, S, OL, NT, QB, WR, CB) but now they're looking for depth and players who can develop into frontline guys in a few years. And they should have 11 selections after getting a pair of late-round compensation picks. They can afford to go with the best-player-available approach, with tailback the only position on the roster there's not realistic opportunity to upgrade.
"We can do what last year gave us the best example ever of doing," Jerry said last week on 105.3 The Fan, "and that is literally let it fall and let the best player there come give us a bargain and we'll get a good football player."
The two examples Jerry cited: fourth-round RB Tashard Choice and fifth-round CB Orlando Scandrick, who proved what good values they were as rookies despite entering the season buried on the depth chart.
posted by The Gryphon at 5:39 PM
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