Dallas looking at Gaurd and Center in the Draft
Josh Ellis
April 15, 2009 4:32 PM
(Editor's Note: With the Dallas Cowboys heading into the April 25-26 NFL Draft with 11 picks, DallasCowboys.com's 12-part Draft Series will break down the Cowboys position by position, analyzing what they have at the particular position, what their needs are and just who might be available, along with including some interesting draft nuggets. Part 8 will feature guards and centers.)
IRVING, Texas - And to think, Wade Phillips was hinting at replacing Kyle Kosier as the starting left guard last year during training camp.
Joe Berger had looked so good, the coach said, he was pushing Kosier. As it turned out, Kosier would only play three games for the Cowboys anyway, his season cut because of a foot injury. And Berger? He was only active for three games, and didn't play a down on offense.
Compared to the two tackles positions, guards and centers aren't usually high priorities in the NFL Draft. With help to their left and right, some believe an average interior lineman is more apt to succeed than an average player is at other positions. The loss of Kosier and the scramble to replace him clearly hurt the Cowboys offensively last season, so maybe now they'll have a greater appreciation for depth in the middle. The Cowboys haven't picked a guard or center earlier than round seven in the last five years.
What They Have: Andre Gurode and Leonard Davis are clearly keepers. Gurode's been a Pro Bowl center the last three seasons and Davis has earned a trip to Hawaii the last two. Kosier was solid as the starting left guard for his first two years since coming to Dallas in 2006, and the way the team missed him last season may have cemented his importance.
It would make sense for the Cowboys to simply insert Kosier back into his starting job, but he may actually have to compete for it. Montrae Holland, who the Cowboys acquired from Denver before the season, is virtually guaranteed a spot on the team after the Cowboys decided to fund his $500,000 roster bonus this spring. He was good in two starts in November, but after he suffered an ankle injury against Pittsburgh, the job reverted back to Cory Procter.
Procter wasn't always great as a starter, but he is a valuable piece for the Cowboys, since he can play both center and guard. On April 2, he signed the one-year, $1.54 million tender offer the Cowboys extended, though the contract is not guaranteed. The Cowboys also have practice-squad guard Ryan Gibbons coming back, and signed center Matt Spanos as a futures free agent in January.
What They Need: If the Cowboys decide to go after an interior lineman early in the draft, they would probably like to get one versatile enough to play guard or tackle, with the possibility of a transition to tackle when time runs out on Flozell Adams or Marc Colombo. Center can't be dismissed either since Gurode has history at guard. The Cowboys might even see guard as his natural position.
The team has one of the largest offensive lines in the NFL, so that eliminates any guards or centers who could be size-challenged.
Who's Out There: If it's pure size they covet, it's hard to argue with LSU's Herman Johnson, the biggest baby ever born in Louisiana. At 6-7, 364 pounds, he would become the Cowboys' largest offensive lineman. Other top guards include Oklahoma's Duke Robinson (6-5, 329), Oregon State's Andy Levitre (6-2, 305), Wisconsin's Craig Urbik (6-5, 328) and Trevor Canfield (6-4, 307) of Cincinnati. All of those players should be picked between rounds 2-5.
The best centers in the class are Alex Mack (6-3, 311) of California and Oregon's Max Unger (6-4, 309). Mack is considered a borderline first-rounder, though Unger may still be available when the Cowboys pick at No. 51 overall.
Texas Tech guard Louis Vasquez (6-4, 333) is the strongest of this year's offensive line crop. He bench-pressed 39 reps of 225 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Draft Nuggets: Any worries about Johnson eating himself out of the league should be alleviated by the fact he's shrunk since arriving at LSU. He weighed over 400 pounds when he first stepped foot on the Baton Rouge campus . . . Alabama G-C Antoine Caldwell is the first Crimson Tide player ever to earn a degree in fewer than three years . . . 6-5, 314-pound Oregon guard Fenuki Tupou must have been pretty imposing in high school, where he played quarterback, among other positions . . . Oklahoma guard Brandon Walker was a youth boxer, and his father Clifford fought professionally . . . Mack wrestled all four years of his prep career, compiling a 26-1 record as a senior.
Look Back: Picking a center in the second round wouldn't be an unprecedented move for the Cowboys, who already had Gurode on board when they chose Wisconsin's Al Johnson with the No. 38 pick in the 2003 draft. Gurode had started 14 games the year before, mostly at center, but Bill Parcells first saw him as a guard and felt Johnson was too good to pass up. Johnson began training camp as the starting center in 2003, but soon suffered a serious knee injury that would force him to miss the entire season. He returned in 2004 and was the regular starter for two seasons, though he did split time with Gurode in 2005. Gurode won the job outright in 2006 and became a Pro-Bowler, while Johnson moved on to Arizona in 2007. He played four games for Parcells' Dolphins last season, then signed with New England on March 16.
April 15, 2009 4:32 PM
(Editor's Note: With the Dallas Cowboys heading into the April 25-26 NFL Draft with 11 picks, DallasCowboys.com's 12-part Draft Series will break down the Cowboys position by position, analyzing what they have at the particular position, what their needs are and just who might be available, along with including some interesting draft nuggets. Part 8 will feature guards and centers.)
IRVING, Texas - And to think, Wade Phillips was hinting at replacing Kyle Kosier as the starting left guard last year during training camp.
Joe Berger had looked so good, the coach said, he was pushing Kosier. As it turned out, Kosier would only play three games for the Cowboys anyway, his season cut because of a foot injury. And Berger? He was only active for three games, and didn't play a down on offense.
Compared to the two tackles positions, guards and centers aren't usually high priorities in the NFL Draft. With help to their left and right, some believe an average interior lineman is more apt to succeed than an average player is at other positions. The loss of Kosier and the scramble to replace him clearly hurt the Cowboys offensively last season, so maybe now they'll have a greater appreciation for depth in the middle. The Cowboys haven't picked a guard or center earlier than round seven in the last five years.
What They Have: Andre Gurode and Leonard Davis are clearly keepers. Gurode's been a Pro Bowl center the last three seasons and Davis has earned a trip to Hawaii the last two. Kosier was solid as the starting left guard for his first two years since coming to Dallas in 2006, and the way the team missed him last season may have cemented his importance.
It would make sense for the Cowboys to simply insert Kosier back into his starting job, but he may actually have to compete for it. Montrae Holland, who the Cowboys acquired from Denver before the season, is virtually guaranteed a spot on the team after the Cowboys decided to fund his $500,000 roster bonus this spring. He was good in two starts in November, but after he suffered an ankle injury against Pittsburgh, the job reverted back to Cory Procter.
Procter wasn't always great as a starter, but he is a valuable piece for the Cowboys, since he can play both center and guard. On April 2, he signed the one-year, $1.54 million tender offer the Cowboys extended, though the contract is not guaranteed. The Cowboys also have practice-squad guard Ryan Gibbons coming back, and signed center Matt Spanos as a futures free agent in January.
What They Need: If the Cowboys decide to go after an interior lineman early in the draft, they would probably like to get one versatile enough to play guard or tackle, with the possibility of a transition to tackle when time runs out on Flozell Adams or Marc Colombo. Center can't be dismissed either since Gurode has history at guard. The Cowboys might even see guard as his natural position.
The team has one of the largest offensive lines in the NFL, so that eliminates any guards or centers who could be size-challenged.
Who's Out There: If it's pure size they covet, it's hard to argue with LSU's Herman Johnson, the biggest baby ever born in Louisiana. At 6-7, 364 pounds, he would become the Cowboys' largest offensive lineman. Other top guards include Oklahoma's Duke Robinson (6-5, 329), Oregon State's Andy Levitre (6-2, 305), Wisconsin's Craig Urbik (6-5, 328) and Trevor Canfield (6-4, 307) of Cincinnati. All of those players should be picked between rounds 2-5.
The best centers in the class are Alex Mack (6-3, 311) of California and Oregon's Max Unger (6-4, 309). Mack is considered a borderline first-rounder, though Unger may still be available when the Cowboys pick at No. 51 overall.
Texas Tech guard Louis Vasquez (6-4, 333) is the strongest of this year's offensive line crop. He bench-pressed 39 reps of 225 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Draft Nuggets: Any worries about Johnson eating himself out of the league should be alleviated by the fact he's shrunk since arriving at LSU. He weighed over 400 pounds when he first stepped foot on the Baton Rouge campus . . . Alabama G-C Antoine Caldwell is the first Crimson Tide player ever to earn a degree in fewer than three years . . . 6-5, 314-pound Oregon guard Fenuki Tupou must have been pretty imposing in high school, where he played quarterback, among other positions . . . Oklahoma guard Brandon Walker was a youth boxer, and his father Clifford fought professionally . . . Mack wrestled all four years of his prep career, compiling a 26-1 record as a senior.
Look Back: Picking a center in the second round wouldn't be an unprecedented move for the Cowboys, who already had Gurode on board when they chose Wisconsin's Al Johnson with the No. 38 pick in the 2003 draft. Gurode had started 14 games the year before, mostly at center, but Bill Parcells first saw him as a guard and felt Johnson was too good to pass up. Johnson began training camp as the starting center in 2003, but soon suffered a serious knee injury that would force him to miss the entire season. He returned in 2004 and was the regular starter for two seasons, though he did split time with Gurode in 2005. Gurode won the job outright in 2006 and became a Pro-Bowler, while Johnson moved on to Arizona in 2007. He played four games for Parcells' Dolphins last season, then signed with New England on March 16.
posted by The Gryphon at 10:19 AM
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