Latest mock has Cowboys committing worst draft sins imaginable
The Dallas Cowboys level and flow in their commitment to conventional wisdom when it comes to talent acquisition. They work according to their own rules and regulations. They famously don’t go anywhere near the pool, having always wanted to make the biggest free-hand throw. Instead, they sit in the hot tub and catch bubbles instead of making waves. When it comes to the draft, Dallas will do things like take an RB 4th overall and throw top draft capital at the linebacker position.
In other draft principles, they’ve changed their philosophy as well, but this time they’re rolling with the smart teams, rather than in opposition. The owner is no longer known as Trader Jerry, the guy willing to do anything to get upstairs and nab his man. Instead, the team has held its position or even moved back in the first round since stepping on for CB Morris Claiborne from LSU in 2012. Draft Wire’s latest mock draft lets Dallas mix and match again, but in some ways that seems pretty incredible.
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The actual draft has seen a lot of movement in recent years, with some teams abiding by the rules that it’s better to have more draft capital than less. Others feel the need to strategically nab a man they see as inherently better than the rest of the available pool; make specific differences.
But when it comes to mock drafts, predicting these moves becomes even more complicated. Some mocks try to emulate what they think will happen during draft weekend. Others like to project what they think a team should be doing when they come up with the clock.
DraftWire’s mock has a total of seven first-round mocks, and the one we’re focusing on involves the cowboys moving up instead of back.
Dallas, at least here, has a specific objective they’re interested in and chooses an old trading partner to take care of it. The Cowboys and Ravens team up here after Dallas screwed up Baltimore in their last successful promotion.
The year was 2010 and the Cowboys had the No. 27 overall pick while the Ravens sat at No. 25. Dallas wanted WR Dez Bryant so badly that they made a trade with the New England Patriots to move to the 24th seed. The Ravens ended up trading their spot when Bryant was unavailable. In this mock, Dallas worked with the Ravens to get their promotion instead of screwing them up.
Moving from 26 to 22 costs 80 points on the traditional trading chart; basically a value for the early fourth round.
So not only do the Cowboys make the mistake of forgoing draft capital, they do so for a running back in the deepest running back rank in recent history.
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Dallas could fall in love with the in-state product, stepping up with Baltimore to take one of the best players in the class. Tony Pollard is a free agent (although he could return to franchise tag), and Ezekiel Elliott just doesn’t have the juice he used to have. The Cowboys are at their best when they lead football and a talent like Robinson brings a lot of offensive freedom as opponents respect everything he can do. A three headed monster made up of Pollard, Robinson and Elliot in Dallas would be a sight to behold.
If the Cowboys went through with that move along with Pollard’s proposed tagging and an assumed Elliott reorganization, they would still have invested a lot of resources in the position. And while the Cowboys ran back heavily, that was never Mike McCarthy’s philosophy at Green Bay since he ran through the backs with the Packers and now has full responsibility for Dallas’ offense.
Not only that, the Cowboys see a lot of talent coming their way. Jordan Addison and Zay Flowers (whom the Ravens took) would always be linked from an offensive production standpoint. TE Darnell Washington would also be in that group. On defense, Maryland CB Deonte Banks and Pittsburgh DT Caija Kancey were soon off the board, two positions Dallas must consider.