The Cowboys have some experience sitting out the first round of the NFL draft due to awful trades (see Joey Galloway and receiver Roy Williams), so it’s nice to know they landed a supremely gifted player in Amari Cooper this time around. That said, it’s pretty depressing for Jerry and Stephen Jones to hole up in the draft room and not be able to select a player.
For Cowboys fans who are feeling a little left out this evening, I’ve been able to decipher some whispers that are coming out of The Star regarding Friday and Saturday’s festivities. I know many of you are hoping the Cowboys land a safety with their first pick at No. 58. I think there’s a 30 percent chance that actually happens, so I’ll provide you some key names. Mississippi State safety/thumper Johnathan Abram is a player the Cowboys covet. The problem is he’s considered by some to be the top safety in this draft. He could possibly slide into the second round, but there’s no way he’s getting to No. 58.
“This is not a great safety draft,” said a Cowboys executive Thursday.
It’s more likely the Cowboys choose a defensive end like Boston College’s Zach Allen in the second round. He’s a player with some position flexibility, which would allow him to move inside at times. He finished his college career with 18 1/2 sacks and 40 1/2 tackles for loss. The Cowboys could wait until the third round to take a safety.
I believe Michigan State’s Khari Willis (5-11, 213) could be a prime candidate at that point. ESPN’s Mel Kiper has Willis listed as his fifth-best safety, although other experts have him dropping to the fifth or sixth round. I can tell you the Cowboys seem to like him enough they may pass on some of the safeties you’ve been hearing about such as Washington’s Taylor Rapp and Florida’s Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. I can also tell you Cowboys secondary coach Kris Richard may push for a player like Boston College safety Will Harris due to his size (6-1, 210) and speed (4.41). Harris isn’t getting a ton of attention because he didn’t stack up a lot of interceptions, but the Cowboys would definitely think about him late in the draft. He started 38 games at Boston College after being a lightly recruited player.
The feeling inside The Star is that Richard holds a lot of “sway” these days and he’ll have plenty of say in who the Cowboys draft on defense. The Cowboys were once known for losing focus later in drafts, but there’s a belief that Will McClay has helped streamline that in recent years. Like a lot of teams, the Cowboys haven’t assigned many first-round grades for this draft. Stephen Jones all but ruled out the team trading into the first round.
Our Doomsday Podcast scout-in-residence Glenn Smith, who once worked for Jerry, is convinced the Cowboys should consider LSU tight end Foster Moreau at some point Saturday. Moreau (6-4, 252) is a bit of a throwback player who has excellent blocking skills to go with adequate athleticism. The Tigers couldn’t afford to line up Moreau away from the line of scrimmage all that often, but he has the speed (4.6) and hands to help in several areas. He had 46 catches for 550 yards over his junior and senior seasons. He’s someone to watch as things unfold in the fourth round.
I hope you can feast on these draft nuggets while you watch the Cowboys sit out the first round.