Dallas Cowboys 2016 NFL Draft Review

There’s almost nothing worse than having an owner double as your general manager. Just ask fans of the Sacramento Kings, Washington Redskins, and Dallas Cowboys. They do weird, unexplainable, and downright head-scratching things all the time. In the Kings case, Sac-Town fans are still trying to figure out that four vs five players innovation thing.

So yes, it’s bad. But that weirdness is even more magnified during the draft – where you have to carefully track drafted players, take calls for possible trades, make calls for possible trades, and constantly weigh all of this hysteria throughout the draft, not just in your allotted selection spot. Talk about pressure! One slip up and your massively overreaching for Melvin Gordon at the 15^th spot in the first round (second round prospect at best), or selecting Johnny Football and out of a job in almost no time (Ray Farmer).

That same pressure hung over Jerry Jones this past Thursday. You could feel it when the clock ticked down to the few minutes of the ten minutes allotted. Like he wasn’t able to get the trade he wanted[1] so he had to take the one player that made complete sense but horrible sense in Dallas’ fourth spot (Ezekiel Elliot). To make matters worse, he passed on a top three playmaking linebacker (Myles Jack) in the second round to gamble big on an iffy linebacker (Jaylon Smith) grading out as a second rounder at best, who will miss all of next season.

So if you’re describing Jerry’s draft choices, at least the first two, you have to start by taking some Tylenol right?? Well here’s the rest of his draft along with a review… get the rest of your Tylenol ready.

1^st round, 4^th overall – RB Ezekiel Elliot (OSU)

2^nd round, 34^th overall – OLB Jaylon Smith (Notre Dame)

3^rd round, 67^th overall – DT Maliek Collins (Nebraska)

4^th round, 101^st overall – DE Charles Tapper (Oklahoma)

4^th round, 135^th overall – QB Dak Prescott (Mississippi St)

6^th round, 189^th overall – CB Anthony Brown (Purdue)

6^th round, 212^th overall – S Kavon Frazier (Central Michigan)

6^th round, 216^th overall – RB Darius Jackson (Eastern Michigan)

6^th round, 217^th overall – TE Rico Gathers (Baylor)

Cowboys 2016 NFL Draft Grade: D

Dallas Cowboys 2016 NFL Draft Review

Best Player: Ezekiel Elliott

Zeke wins this one hands down. But how good is he really? He’s no home run back. So definitely a level below Adrian Peterson and Todd Gurley. He’s not as dynamic as Le’Veon Bell, Jamaal Charles, and LeSean McCoy. Could he hang with DeMarco Murray, skinny/P90X Eddie Lacy, Carlos Hyde, Doug Martin, Lamar Miller, and Justin Forsett? Not just yet. So that places him with the fourth tier/solid running group: C.J. Anderson, Jeremy Hill, and Thomas Rawls. But he is a step above Jonathan Stewart, Chris Ivory, DeAngelo Williams, Dion Lewis, David Johnson, and overweight Eddie Lacy.

Head-Scratcher: Jaylon Smith

For everything already mentioned in the introduction, Jaylon Smith unhappily accepts this award. Moving on.

Surprise: Rico Gathers

Anytime you draft someone that makes headlines like, “Can he transition from basketball to football?” and “Cowboys could test Rico Gathers at defensive end.” he definitely wins the Surprise Award. Twice! He hasn’t played a meaningful moment of football since middle school. And he would double as the Cowboys’ 2016 Head-Scratcher, if it weren’t for him being drafted in the sixth round. A spot with little risk and high reward potential.

Steal: Dak Prescott

Let me get my scout head on. For Dak Prescott. Moves his feet well in the pocket. Goes through his progressions like a veteran quarterback. Good accuracy. Good improvisation skills when the play falls apart. Moves like a running back once he tucks and runs. Nice touch on the ball. Good presence in the pocket. Coming back for one more college year definitely helped. With some experience, he could be a player that steps in if Romo were to ever go down and win a couple of games.

Most likely to turn heads at training camp: Maliek Collins. Here’s his current breakdown:

Unrelenting motor, check.

Nifty spin move, check.

Good push-back, check.

Decent size and weight, check.

Future as a situational pass rusher, check.

The Rest: Charles Tapper (C), Anthony Brown (D), Kavon Frasier (D), and Darius Jackson (C).

Bottom Line: Could have taken Elliot in the sixth slot of the first round and added a fourth rounder, but whiffed that. Passed up Myles Jack for injured Jaylon Smith. Passed up most imposing defensive tackle, A’Shawn Robinson, when they clearly needed a space eating defensive tackle. This draft seems like it only contains four players that might make the team this upcoming season.

[1] How bad was it? According to Monday Morning Quarterback, Jones had an offer from the Ravens for the fourth pick and would receive their first rounder (sixth pick) AND a fourth rounder. But Jerry wanted a third instead of the fourth, knowing the Jags at the five spot wouldn’t draft Ezekiel Elliot, and so he waited for the Ravens to call back which they didn’t. When he was left with a minute to decide, he took Elliot. Even if he was scared the Jags might take Zeke, or another team would, which they wouldn’t have (just signed Chris Ivory to $7.5 million deal) because nobody in their right mind would have done so. This includes seventh spot San Fran (have Carlos Hyde), eighth spot Titans (have DeMarco Murray), ninth spot Bears (desperately need defense), or the tenth spot Giants (too much of an overreach). Couldn’t he have just traded more picks for Zeke? So for instance, he trades back to the Ravens sixth spot and gets a fourth but someone trades up and gets Zeke, wouldn’t you just offer that team a good amount of picks for Zeke??? Or does that make too much sense??? Where’s the Tylenol!?