Value Chart and The Top 5 Drafts in the NFL

Below is my value chart which graded each pick of a team’s by taking the point where the player was selected at and subtracting it from the grade I gave the player on my board (Example a player is taken #1 overall but is ranked #11 on my board then the team gets a -10 value). It’s a bit misleading as many teams took guys way off the map in the later rounds and they were hurt dramatically by that (any player taken not on my board was considered to be the #504th best player on my board). Also a team screwing up their first round is far worse than a team screwing up their 7th round yet on the value chart they are considered equal. So take this with a grain of salt but it does give you an idea of who had a good overall draft and who had a bad overall draft.

Seahawks -1366 (11 picks) Their 4 picks in the 7^th round were a combined -797 so I think with 11 picks and all of their holes filled they chose to go far off the map with their final few picks. A backup TE from Rice being chosen was the perfect example of them probably having too many picks this year.

Chiefs -1242 (8 picks) Unlike the Seahawks that had a solid draft except for a few strange late picks that threw off my value chart, the Chiefs had a bad draft and deserve this poor of a value grade. Only one of their 8 picks had a positive value and 5 of their 8 picks had a negative value of over 100. They started poorly by taking Fisher over Joeckel at #1 Overall and it never improved.

Vikings -1235 (9 picks), only 2 positive values were their first two picks (Shariff Floyd and Xavier Rhodes)

49ers -1162 (11 picks) I loved their first 6 picks (+79) but disliked their final 5 picks (-1241). Give me a great first few rounds over a great last few rounds though as the 49ers had a much better draft than the Cowboys due to the greater importance of rounds 1-3 vs. rounds 4-7. If I had time or interest I would weight the value board to account for this but it’s really not worth my time.

Ravens -1146 (10 picks) They are another team that had a good grade but ruined it by going off the map with their final few selections. 3 picks in the 6^th and 7^th rounds were of -859 with their other 7 picks being good value per my board.

Jaguars -994 (8 picks)

Raiders -962 (10 picks)

Packers -862 (11 picks) Another team that had a good grade but had a bad 4 final picks (-908).

Lions -829 (9 picks)

Bills -697 (9 picks)

Texans -680 (9 picks)

Broncos -660 (7 picks)

Giants -652 (7 picks)

Browns -601 (4 picks) It hurt that the Browns only had 1 pick in the first 5 rounds but only 1 of their 3 picks in rounds 6 and 7 (Garrett Gilkey +27) seemed to be good value.

Patriots -576 (7 picks)

Bucs -508 (6 picks)

Dolphins -508 (9 picks)

Panthers -491 (5 picks)

Saints -407 (5 picks)

Redskins -376 (7 picks)

Jets -375 (7 picks)

Falcons -275 (8 picks)

Bengals -240 (10 picks) Take out their last pick (-253) and they actually had a +13 grade on their first 9 picks. The Bengals get criticized for being cheap and conservative but I think a case can be made that they had the best first 4 picks (Tyler Eifert, Giovanni Bernard, Margus Hunt, Shawn Williams) of any team in this year’s draft.

Titans -222 (8 picks)

Rams -186 (7 picks)

Chargers -156 (5 picks)

Steelers -150 (9 picks)

Cowboys -82 (7 picks) This might surprise some people but it shouldn’t as Randle gave them a +73, Williams gave them a +28, and BW Webb gave them a +28 which combined almost mitigated the disaster that was Frederick (-67).

Eagles -28  If you take out the two picks in the 7^th round (-274) the Eagles had a +246 draft grade which is easily the best. Not bad for rookie head coach Chip Kelly yet they tend to always draft well so it doesn’t surprise me that much.

Bears -21 (6 picks) Their grade is also a bit out of whack as they only had 6 picks and their final 2 picks (+273) gave them a good grade despite me having serious misgivings about their 1^st round pick in Kyle Long (-146-worst pick value wise in the entire round).

Cardinals +132 (8 picks) It’s two straight years that the Cardinals had one of the best value drafts per my board. This year they did it with some steals in the middle rounds in Tyrann Mathieu (+69) and Alex Okafor (+73) and capped it off with a steal in the 6^th round in Ryan Swope (+91).

Colts +226 Surprising as I never mentioned them as one of the best drafts yet they made a lot of underrated picks in John Boyett (+91), Khaled Holmes (+68), and Justice Cunningham (+72).

 

Top 5 drafts

49ers: Their final few rounds ruined them on my value chart but after 4 rounds the 49ers had Eric Reid, Tank Carradine, Corey Lemonier, Vance McDonald, Quinton Patton, and Marcus Lattimore. That is 6 picks with 0 reaches in there with Tank Carradine being my favorite pick of theirs. Considering how deep their roster is already these 6 players will mostly battle it out for backups jobs in year 1 with only Eric Reid penciled in as a starter. What a luxury to have.

Cardinals: They were the #2 team on the value chart and did it with good picks throughout. I don’t agree with taking an OG in the Top 10 value wise but I will applaud them for taking Jonathan Cooper (Top 20 grade on my board) over Chance Warmack (2^nd round grade) despite Warmack being almost universally regarded as the better player. He wasn’t and Cooper will prove them right in the end. Whether it was round 1 or round 6 each of their picks made sense and was good to great value. This is a 2^nd straight draft where they aced it and if they do it a few more times they’ll be a top team in the NFC.

Vikings: I thought their late round picks were very poor but the first few rounds are so much more important than the mid to late rounds and the Vikings aced their 1^st round. They got the steal of the round in Shariff Floyd who was considered a Top 10 talent by everyone and then followed it up by snapping up the #2 CB on my board despite 3 cornerbacks already having been taken. Even their Cordarrelle Patterson pick makes sense, though I thought it was a bit of a reach, and they come out of this draft with two impact defenders and a high upside but raw offensive playmaker. They are a noticeably better team today than they were on Wednesday.

Steelers: The Steelers D had grown old the past few seasons and they lost Casey Hampton, James Harrison, and Aaron Smith recently. Those are 3 players that used to be the best in the NFL at their position so they were losses that will be tough to replace. In this draft they took a great first step in doing that by adding 3-4 OLB Jarvis Jones, S Sharmarko Thomas, and ILB Vince Williams. When looking at each of these players one word comes to mind: tough. They will fit right into that defense and give it more speed and playmaking ability which it desperately needs. They also chose Le’Veon Bell at RB who personally scared me as he’s such a boom or bust type player but fits the smash mouth temperament that the Steelers used to be known for and makes a lot of sense if they plan to go back to those roots.

Redskins: It’s an underrated draft due to them not having a 1^st round selection but the Redskins had a very poor secondary last year and they chose the right players to address it. In today’s NFL it’s no longer about shutting out an opposing offense it’s about getting turnovers. The days where teams won 13-0 are over and you can watch a 31-24 game and say that one or both of the teams actually played good defense. The Redskins clearly understand this change in mentality as they went for 3 ballhawks. In round 2 they chose David Amerson who had 18 INTs the past two seasons including 13 in 2011 which led the nation. In round 4 they chose Phillip Thomas who had 8 INTs in 2012 to lead the nation. In round 6 they chose Bacarri Rambo, my personal favorite, who had 16 career INTs at Georgia. All three players had other issues that dropped them on draft day but were considered DBs with elite ball skills. Romo had better watch out the next few seasons when throwing against the Redskins as they added playmakers to their secondary and will make you pay for your mistakes.

Draft Recap

With 3 days of commentary on the site I thought I should clean it up and put all of my Cowboys picks together in one column for a reader to peruse more easily.

Round 1: Travis Frederick

Travis Frederick Wisconsin #72 6’3 5/8 312 Jr.

Comparison: Philip Blake

Combine: Huge beard. Double major in computer engineering and computer science. Terrible 40 time being 5.50 or higher both times. 1.85 10 yd split. Surprisingly good in kick slide drill. Had slowest 40 time among centers and surprised me with only 21 reps as he’s a bigger center.

HGT	WGT	Arms	Hands	40	Reps	Vert	Broad	Shuttle	3 Cone	1 yr %
6035	312	33		5.58	21	28.5	907	7.81	4.76

Notes: In the 2011 Nebraska game was thrown aside on first play by Jared Crick for TFL (14:55 1^st), solid 4 sec run block on run away (13:10 1^st), had initial help from Konz and still couldn’t block Crick on run play who tackled him for short gain (5:55 1^st), solid pull block getting MLB for a sec but unable to keep him blocked as he made the tackle (2:50 1^st), good run block on Crick pushing him to the side he penetrated on to keep him away from play, stacked and shed but able to hold him enough to make Crick not make tackle. 2^nd team Big 10 in 2012. 2^nd team Big 10 in 2012. In the 2012 Nebraska game (Big 10 championship) he looked dominant and I loved his frame but his strength and athleticism didn’t jump out at me. He looks like a future 3^rd-4^th round pick who becomes a solid starter but is never elite 12/29/12. In the 2012 Wisconsin game (Rose Bowl) he turned NT David Perry for easy run up middle, beat on snap by DE Ben Gardner but recovered nicely to pancake him to side, got off balance on 2^nd block and pancaked by LB AJ Tarpley, couldn’t block LB Shayne Skov on screen ruining play, turned and pancaked Perry on inside run, whiffed on Perry for TFL on 3^rd and 1. He had a few poor plays but overall was pretty dominant against one of the 5 best DL in the country. 3^rd round 1/3/13.

Overall: Frederick is a big, mauling center which is very rare to find. He cut weight to add athleticism for the Combine but usually he plays in the 320s. For a team that plays a bunch of 3-4 defenses (most 3-4 defenses have a huge NT lined up over the center) or runs the ball regularly Frederick will be a great fit as he was a roadgrader at Wisconsin and should continue in the NFL. That being said I almost moved him to OG from C as the center position requires a quickness that he appears to lack and I worry about that. Some have Frederick as the #1 C on their board but I can’t as I’ve seen far too much film of him being exploited by quicker DL or blitzing LBs and I think it is a weakness that will be exploited at the next level. A system specific (only run oriented offenses) center with an elite frame and strength but below average in other aspects. Late 3^rd round as my #4 C 3/27/13.

Rankings:

Anderson’s 500	Mayock’s 100	Brandt’s 100	Daniel Jeremiah 50	Corey Chavous 200
98	92	45	NR	164

Jon’s Thoughts on the pick: This is flat out a terrible pick. Comparing the pick of where the player was chosen at vs. where I ranked him at gives me a score of -67 (#98 ranked player taken #31) which is the 4^th worst score in the 1^st round. What’s worse is that the scores worse than this (EJ Manuel, Kyle Long, Kenny Vaccaro) can at least be argued that I was the one going against the grain. EJ Manuel had a 2^ndround grade on most boards so yes it was a reach in the middle of the 1^st but it the score was inflated by me being the only person giving him a 4^th round grade. Yet look at the other four scouts ranks I compiled and you will see that NO ONE gave this guy a 1^st round grade. I gave him a late 3^rd round grade as did Mayock with Corey Chavous giving him a 5^th round grade and even Brandt giving him no better than a mid 2^nd round grade. For the Cowboys to trade out of #18 when a Top 5 talent like Shariff Floyd falls into their laps AND then draft a second tier center with their later pick is an absolute disaster. The only two positives to come out of this are that Jerry finally actually did address the offensive line and that they added another 3^rd rounder (#74) for Jerry to mad scientist with. This draft weekend is only 1/3 over and I’m already depressed. Thanks a lot Jerry!

Later analysis: What I find interesting is that Jerry Jones went from what would have been one of the best picks in the 1st round (Shariff Floyd) to one of the worst picks (Travis Frederick). The Frederick pick is bad enough and should be panned in its own right but losing out on Shariff hurts me much worse as it’s rare that a Top 5 player somehow drops to you, let alone at a position of need, and it angers me to no end to see the Cowboys spit in the face of destiny like this. It took a lot of luck for Floyd to drop like he did and it’s a phenomenon that happens once every half decade yet Jerry continually decides before the draft starts how he will pick and due to this he rarely is able to exploit the mistakes of others which is how you “work the board” the best. As if this night couldn’t get any worse I did some research and found out that the 49ers hosed the Cowboys in the trade as well. The 18th overall pick (per the trade value chart) has a value of 900 points which is 300 points more than the value of the 31st pick (which is 600 points, it’s nice that 18 and 31 have such round numbers to work with). So the 49ers would need to give the Cowboys approximately 300 points in value which works itself out to a late 2nd round pick (#60 to be exact) yet the 49ers somehow convinced Jerry Jones that their #74 selection (early 3rd round) was sufficient. So not only did the Cowboys miss out on a Pro Bowl caliber DT in Shariff Floyd and not only did they blow it by taking a center in the late 1st that no one had a higher grade on than a mid to late 2nd but they also were shortchanged in the trade by 80 points. It all adds up to my initial point when the trade occurred which is that I suspect it was worked out before the draft even began. Jerry probably got worried he was going to be stuck at #18 and have to take a player he wasn’t that interested in at that spot so he agreed in principle to the #18 for the #31 and #74 knowing it was a slight gain for the 49ers but also knowing that the depth of this draft is superior to the talent at the top. It all made sense in generalities yet suddenly the 18th isn’t just a number but is Shariff Floyd and the #31 isn’t just the 49ers pick but is a huge reach like Travis Frederick and suddenly that cute little trade of Jerry’s no longer seems too great. It happened before in 2004 when he had a trade in principle with Buffalo before they were on the clock and I suspect the same thing occurred this year. Only time will tell if missing out on Floyd hurts as much as missing out on Steven Jackson did but I suspect it will.

Round 2: Gavin Escobar

Gavin Escobar-6 months ago I would have been a fan of this pick but most scouts, me included, moved Escobar down due to his Combine and his level of competition. I had him rated as the #92 player and he was taken #47. To me it again feels like a reach and I just wonder why Jerry is drafting positions like center and tight end when safety is so much bigger of a need. I hope he doesn’t think Barry Church and Danny McCray are enough at safety as that would be an absolute trainwreck. I will be honest, I hate this pick and what’s sad is that to me it’s the worst pick in the 2nd round at this point. Below is his profile:

Gavin Escobar San Diego St. #88 6’5 7/8 254 Jr.

Stats:

Year	Rec	Yards	Avg	TD
2013
2012	42	543	12.9	6
2011	51	780	15.3	7
2010	29	323	11.1	4

Combine: Not fast looking on 40. 1.73 10 yd split. Almost got diving catch in out and up drill. Caught everything in gauntlet and wasn’t as good as Ertz in it but better than Eifert.

HGT	WGT	Arms	Hands	40	Reps	Vert	Broad	Shuttle	3 Cone
6057	254	33.63	9.75	4.84		32	904	4.31	7.07

Notes: GBN, “a solid underneath receiver with the frame to grow into a decent in-line blocker.” Redshirted in ’09 and had a very solid freshman year in ’10 (29 323 4 TD). Freshman All American in 2010. The coaches love him and think he is a future star 12/24/10. Enters the 2011 season ranked #49 on my Big Board. In the 2011 Louisiana-Lafayette game he had a nice 12 yd curl on sideline toe tapping and showing great hands, dropped tough ball on 8 yd out over his head but somewhat catchable, dropped ball on 8 yd out as he was hit hard, good catch on 3^rd and 7 with defender near him, great 20 yd catch on fade down sidelines vs. tight coverage jump catching ball (4:44 3^rd), no separation vs. LB on 15 yd pass over middle but LB called for PI, no separation vs. CB but caught 12 yd cross extended hands one handed with final 4 being YAC. Listed as the #44 player on my Top 100 Board going into the 2012 season. Listed as the #55 player on my Top 100 Board in the middle of the 2012 season. In the 2012 BYU game he had perfect technique getting edge block to go inside, +20 yds on seam route showing soft hands and then broke a tackle and cut away from a defender for YAC.

Overall: Escobar is a talented player that is dropping on draft boards due to a poor Combine yet possibly was a little overrated to begin with. As a blocker he’s adequate which puts him ahead of Ertz and Fauria who are flat out bad but well below the McDonalds, Williams, and Sims of this draft. He is 254 lbs with the frame, at 6’6, to add weight yet I doubt he’ll ever be more than an average blocker which is why his 4.84 40 was so detrimental to his stock as pass catching TEs need to have speed. I was surprised by the time yet when I went back to the film it was noticeable that he didn’t separate against too many people and I think that is where he probably was a little overrated. He looks like an average starter at the next level which is why he drops below Vance McDonald in the end as Vance is a far superior blocker than Escobar and I think at the end of the day that a team would prefer a dual threat like Vance over Escobar who looks like a pass catching TE without great speed. 3^rd round who just barely is behind Vance as my #4 TE 3/6/13.

Later analysis: Well McShay loves the kid apparently so at least someone thought he made sense in the mid 2nd. What’s worse though is that Escobar was a 3rd but Ertz was a late 1st and they only went a few picks apart. This pick isn’t nearly as bad as the Frederick pick last night but I once again would argue that their next pick, #74, would have seen Escobar available. They seem to keep reaching in my opinion.

Later later analysis: It’s too bad that the Cowboys were so hell bent on addressing the offensive line in the first round. Assuming they agreed with pretty much everyone else, it’s Jerry we’re talking about so no guarantees, that Zach Ertz was a superior player to Gavin Escobar then these first two picks couldn’t have been pretty good if they had just taken Ertz at #31 and Frederick at #47. The OG/C and TE positions would both have been addressed yet I would feel a heck of a lot happier than I do now. This draft had 4 talented tight ends and the Cowboys got one of them but while Ertz has Pro Bowl potential and projects as an immediate starter, Escobar projects as a first year backup that could eventually develop into a slightly above average starter. 

Round 3: Terrance Williams-Great pick though again it doesn’t fill the safety position which to me is by far their biggest need. That’s being nitpicky though as after 2 reaches the Cowboys finally get a steal with Terrance being #46 on my board (ahead of Cordarrelle Patterson by the way) and his deep speed is just what the Cowboys offense could use. By the way I have Keenan Allen ranked ahead of Williams so that would be my pick at WR in this spot. Below is the full bio, go Cowboys!

Terrance Williams Baylor #2 6’2 208 Sr.

Senior Bowl: Day 1: No separation on post vs. BW Webb for PBU, no separation vs. Sanders Commings on slant for PBU, blew right past Bacarri Rambo on 9 route but overthrown-not even close, beat BW Webb on deep in yet dropped easy catch, struggled the most of any WR on Day 1. Day 2: PI on Marc Anthony on double move yet still had very nice high point catch for long gain, jammed by Webb but eventually got off it and his acceleration was too much on deep route-INC on overthrow, had great block on 1×1 drill vs. CB-best of group, he really improved and looked like a stud on Day 2. Day 3: Has inconsistent hands, yet has the ability to make a great catch, yet his size/speed ratio is the best of any WR here. In the 2012 Senior Bowl he started at WR, pressed by Dwayne Gratz and couldn’t get into route, little separation for 9 yd out vs. Jordan Poyer, 7 yd reverse successful only b/c of his speed.

Stats:

Year	Rec	Yards	Avg	TD
2012	97	1832	18.9	12
2011	59	957	16.2	11
2010	43	484	11.3	4
2009	5	72	14.4	0

Combine: Tied for the 3^rd smallest hands among WRs. 4.52 40 which is disappointing considering what I saw on film-great burst on film. Good hands on tip toe sideline drill. Nice adjustment on outside shoulder drill. Only dropped one but didn’t look smooth on gauntlet drill-body catches and the ball moved a few times. Dropped one and double caught another on gauntlet drill. Good cut and catch in quick out drill.

HGT	WGT	Arms	Hands	40	Reps	Vert	Broad	Shuttle	3 Cone
6020	208	31.25	8.75	4.52	11	32.5	911	4.32	7.01

Notes: In the 2011 Kansas St. game he was unable to get diving catch on 3^rd and 5 that would have been tough but was catchable (2:30 1^st). In the 2012 Louisiana Monroe game he showed great speed with 48 yd TD blowing through secondary, had a great 22 yd sliding catch on a post for a TD. He has NFL speed (4.4 at minimum), good hands, and has been productive. 4^th round and could easily move up 9/28/12. 1^stteam Big 12 in 2012. Led nation in receiving yards. In the 2011 TCU game had a long TD on a WR pass trick play early in the game then had 43 yd TD on 9 route getting a step on CB Greg McCoy (6:11 3^rd). In the 2012 UCLA game he blew past CB Aaron Hester on 9 route for +50 yds-stepped out trying to avoid S otherwise an 80 yd TD, looks to have low 4.4 speed, scouts say he isn’t quite as fast as Kendall Wright. In the 2012 Texas game he outplayed Quandre Diggs getting 2 PI calls on quick slants and a +60 yd TD on a stop and go route that Diggs slipped on.

Overall: Terrance is the classic size/speed WR as he has small, inconsistent hands, doesn’t run great routes, and isn’t extremely quick yet he led the nation in receiving yards last year as he’s just so fast for a guy his size. At 6’2 208 he’s a legit 4.4 speedster (watch the tape not the 4.52 40 he ran at the Combine) and was the basis of the Baylor offense in 2012. He has a number of holes in his game and I’m not positive he’ll be able to work them all out but at worst he’ll be a capable #2 WR that can blow the top off a defense and give room for a #1 wideout to work and there’s enough talent in him that I could see him developing into a true #1. As such I’m keeping a high grade on him despite a mediocre Senior Bowl and a poor Combine as the kid is just too talented to not at least be a quality #2 for some NFL team. Early 2^nd round as my #5 WR 4/20/13.

Later analysis: I love the Terrance Williams pick. He’s great value (2nd round grade on my board taken in the early 3rd), adds the deep speed to our receiver corp that was what I thought was missing, and has the size to play outside. Expect Williams to play outside and Miles Austin to move into the slot at times in 2013 so they can get their top 3 wideouts all on the field at the same time. Williams had a poor Senior Bowl but the man that led the nation in receiving yards in 2012 had a 1st round grade on many people’s boards at the end of the season and is a great find in the 3rd. For once this weekend I was able to say, “Great pick Cowboys!”

3rd round: JJ Wilcox-Let me start by saying that some people love him. Mayock has him ranked #68 while I have him ranked #170 and Gil Brandt doesn’t have him in his Top 100. To me it’s another reach but the kid does have potential so there’s a chance this one works out. My pick at safety would have been Baccari Rambo who was a late 1st rounder on my board but isn’t surprising that he’s still available as I liked him far more than most. So to recap I have Barrett Jones, Vance McDonald, Keenan Allen, and Baccari while the Cowboys selected Frederick, Escobar, Williams, and Wilcox at those same spots while addressing those same positions. Below is Wilcox’s profile:

JJ Wilcox Georgia Southern 6’0 213 Sr.

Senior Bowl: Day 1: Easily beat by good route of Tavarres King on out. Day 2: No separation vs. Russell Shephard on 9 route, way too much contact but in hip pocket of Michael Williams the entire time. Day 3: Good day in goal line drill. In the 2013 Senior Bowl he backed up at S, definitely a SS not a FS, good burst and strong hit at end of run, beat by Jack Doyle but overthrown, good tackle on PR cov.

Combine: Had a 4.57 40 which with his size (213 lbs) puts him as a safety not a CB. Was on offense until his senior season. He just didn’t look fast in his 40. Tight in hips drill. Not smooth at all in out and up drill. Perfect in team catch drill. Short arms.

HGT	WGT	Arms	40	Reps	Vert	Broad	Shuttle	3Cone
6000	213	31	4.57	17	35	1004	4.09	7.02

Notes: Phil Savage considered Wilcox the best safety on the South roster at the Senior Bowl. Only played defense for 1 season.

Overall: A tall, athletic safety with good hands (former wideout) and very good lateral quickness JJ Wilcox has moved up draft boards after a solid Senior Bowl was followed by an impressive Combine. With only 1 season of experience at safety he’s raw and will likely need even more time to develop due to the level of competition he’s coming from yet the talent is there for him to develop into a starting SS. He lacks instincts for the position and wasn’t incredibly productive as a senior so I’m not as high on him as others are but he’s an interesting project with starter level talent if given time to develop. Early 5^th round as my #18 S 4/18/13.

Later analysis: Going into the draft I had the top 5 needs of the Cowboys (in order) as safety, defensive tackle, right tackle, right guard, and running back. Assuming you consider Travis Frederick as a center and not a guard (something most do but Jerry Jones stated one reason he took Frederick is to add competition to all three interior line positions so who knows) then the Cowboys have only addressed any of the Top 5 needs (safety) and their 4 most valuable picks have been used. That is a bad scenario and makes me more hopefully than ever that they can sign a stop gap free safety like Charles Woodson after the draft as that position flat out scares me at this point. JJ Wilcox is a guy that many liked in the 3rd round but few saw as a Day 1 starter. I wasn’t as high on him as others were but the biggest issue with him is how raw he is as he only has been a safety for one season, played offense in his first 3 seasons in college. To me they have yet to add a starter to any of their 5 biggest need areas. That is a damning revelation about this draft for the Cowboys.

Later later analysis: 

In a glass half full summary of the Cowboys first two days of the draft we can say that Jerry addressed the interior line (a big need) with his first pick, added an extremely athletic backup TE that will allow the team to play two tight end sets (will help the RT in pass protection with a TE often staying in to block), added some much needed deep speed to a receiver corp that was lacking it, and added a playmaking safety that was well liked by many scouts after a very good Senior Bowl.

-In a glass is half empty summary of the Cowboys first two days of the draft we can say the Cowboys blew it by missing out on the steal of the 1st round when Shariff Floyd fell to them, made it worse by trading for below market value back in round 1, made it even worse still by drafting an interior lineman that most had a 3rd round grade on, then followed it up by taking a prospect widely regarded as the #4 TE despite the #3 still being on the board (Vance McDonald) and the #2 being chosen just a few picks earlier (no one would have been mad if they had chosen Ertz at #31 and Frederick at #47 but they instead got Frederick at #31 and Escobar at #47 which is a much weaker haul), made it a little better with the value selection of Terrance Williams (though he didn’t address a huge need), and then chose a raw safety that likely won’t make an impact until 2014.

You decide which narrative you think is the closest to reality. I already have.

Round 4: BW Webb-While most won’t know who this kid is let me just say this is a good pick. For the Cowboys and the way they’ve drafted I’ll definitely take good. The top CB on my board was Steve Williams from Cal (#11 CB) but not much higher in grade than Webb who was my #13 CB (#2 still available) so I really like this pick both value wise and fit wise. Webb is an incredibly quick, feisty CB that just lacks the pure speed to be a starter. As such he projects as a slot CB and will battle it out with Orlando Scandrick for that role. Hopefully by the end of the year they are happy enough with this kid that they can cut Scandrick and his terrible contract next offseason. Good job Cowboys!

BW Webb William and Mary 5’10 ¼ 184 Sr.

Comparison: Dwight Bentley

Senior Bowl: Day 1: Perfect cov on post vs. Terrance Williams for PBU, tight cov on 9 route vs. Tavarres King for INC, beat by Terrance on deep in (hold too), #1 CB on Day 1. Day 2: Solid cov vs. Connor Vernon on double move for INC, good jam of Williams but then beat deep-has 4.5 type speed. Day 3: Continued his strong play in the goal line drill. In the 2013 Senior Bowl he backed up at CB, missed tackle on Denard Robinson on 0 route for YAC, 30 yd PR showing good speed and quickness.

Combine: Had one of the most underrated Combines at any position with the best shuttle (3.84-1^st among 60 DBs), best vertical (40 ½), and 3^rd best broad (11’00). Average 40 though (4.51). Solid in turn and run drill. Even better the 2^nd time. Good in hips drill. Good but not explosive in out and up drill. Very quick with nice burst in backpedal and run to sideline drill. Perfect in team catch drill.

HGT	WGT	Arms	Hands	40	Reps	Vert	Broad	Shuttle	3 Cone
5102	184	30.25		4.51	14	40.5	1100	3.84	6.82

Notes: 1^st team All Conference each of past 3 seasons and ends with 9 conference awards to his name including 2012 Special Teams POY as a punt returner.

Overall: With the proliferation of slot receivers and spread out offenses BW Webb is a great case test to determine just how important a slot CB is to an NFL team. With only mediocre height (5’10 ¼), below average weight (184), and below average deep speed (4.51) he likely will never be a starting outside CB but with elite explosion and quickness (1^st in vertical jump and shuttle among 60 DBs) he has all the makings of an outstanding slot CB. I love the kid as he has a chip on his shoulder to go with incredibly quick feet and very good ball skills yet I do question just how high I can rank the kid considering he projects as a career #3 CB. With the slot being a specialty position all it’s own now in the NFL I consider it paramount for teams to have a CB with the quickness to play the spot so he’s higher on my board than most have him. 3^rd round as my #13 CB who has the makings of a great slot CB 4/20/13.

Round 5: Joseph Randle-So it wasn’t just a rumor it was the truth. Randle is a great value here (+73, easily the best value of any of the Cowboys picks to this point) and makes a lot of sense. Now I pointed this out earlier in my RB series that Randle isn’t the best complement to Murray but is a great backup to Murray in other words they have the same strengths (speed, receiver out of the backfield, elusive) and the same weaknesses (not powerful, not a great inside runner). At this point though you take him without a thought as it’s incredible value. Here is my post about Randle in my draft preview series about possible fits for the Cowboys:

Joseph Randle

Positives: A fast, athletic running back that would fit perfectly into a time share backfield. He’s dangerous in space and has very good hands so he fits a passing offense perfectly

Negatives: Murray has good hands and is good in space as well so they don’t really complement each other but more get in the way of each other. Randle is terrible as a short yardage runner and I see him being a career time share back and not a 3 down type.

Fit for the Cowboys: If the Cowboys want a player that can pick up right where Murray left off when he inevitably gets injured next year then Randle is their guy. If they want a guy that can fill in some of Murray’s holes and be a great one two punch with Murray then Randle couldn’t be a worse fit. I personally like him but don’t think he makes great sense unless the Cowboys could add another RB to their roster that is a bruiser type. Peyton Hillis is currently a free agent and he would complement both backs to a tee so that would be the type of move needed if they went for the pairing of Randle and Murray as Murray’s flaws are even more pronounced on Randle.

And here is the full profile of Randle (by the way he was the #1 RB available on my board as well so for once the Cowboys and I draft the same player. Not to sound cocky but that’s usually a good thing as the guys the past two years we’ve agreed on Dez Bryant and Morris Claiborne have worked out pretty well).

Joseph Randle Oklahoma St. 6’0 204 Jr.

Comparison: Laurence Maroney

Stats: Big 12

Year	Yards	Avg	TD	Rec	Yards	TD	Fum
2013
2012	1417	5.2	14	28	224	0
2011	1216	5.9	24	43	266	2
2010	453	5.6	2	37	427	1

Combine: Surprisingly poor 40 (4.63) as he looked 4.4 on tape. Lost 6 fumbles in last two seasons. Tripped in high leg then cut drill. Below average in 3 bag cut drill. Not ready and skipped in mini gauntlet drill.

HGT	WGT	Arms	Hands	40	Reps	Vert	Broad	Shuttle	3 Cone	1 yr %
6000	204		8.75	4.63		35	1003

Notes: Had a very nice freshman year with spot duty behind Kendall Hunter in ’10 (450 2 TD 5.6 ypc). In the 2011 Arizona game had a nice 1 yd TD as he jumped over the pile (11:30 1^st), showed very good hands and fluidity as a receiver beating a DE to the corner, grabbing the ball in stride, and getting a 1^st down (4:40 1^st), has WR like soft hands and was used that way lined up wide and catching a quick hitch that he turned upfield for 12 yds (1:35 1^st), good strength on 5 yd TD run hitting a LB at the goal line and staying on his feet for a rather easy run (13:30 2^nd), great cut on defender making him fall down on draw play that netted him 23 yds (5:37 3^rd), good inside run with defender bouncing off him and getting another 2 yds showing toughness (5:15 3^rd), and showed his great receiving skills as he ran a seam route and was wide open yet also showed his lack of great speed as he easily was caught by defenders still getting a 63 yards though (13:00 4^th). In the 2011 Texas A&M game he had a 20 yd run showing very good speed and quickness (11:50 1^st), chop block (5:30 1^st), good job extending ball out as he got tackled on 3^rd and 2 for 1^st (13:30 3^rd), good juke of Terrence Frederick in open space reception getting 8 yds (4:44 3^rd). In the 2011 Oklahoma game he had a 32 yd run through a huge hole showing good speed and almost going the whole way but safety had the angle, showed his good quickness and vision avoiding and juking defenders to get 26 yds up the middle where most would get 5-10, good hands and looked smooth catching ball out of backfield and taking it 20 yds, easy 15 yd run through huge hole, nice speed and vision cutting upfield on 30 yd run-did have a huge initial hole though.  In the 2012 West Virginia game he had great burst for 14 yds, back to back runs hitting someone and going back not forward-could struggle in short yardage, dropped easy dump off in flat, impressed with his burst every time, hit S hard in hole for YAC and sending him to sideline, good patience and avoided 2 defenders in the hole getting more yards than what was blocked. In the 2012 Oklahoma game he had nice cut on 6 yd run, strong leap into end zone taking the hit and keeping ball, juked S Tony Jefferson in flat for +20 yds on dump off, dropped slant in tight cov-would be TD, juked Jefferson in open field at end of +30 yd run for YAC, leapt a defender on inside run. In the 2012 Texas game he had a nice juke of S Kenny Vaccaro in open space then broke a tackle for 69 yd TD-great speed shown too, good speed on 27 yd run through huge hole, broke two tackles on inside run showing underrated power. With Weeden and Blackmon in the NFL they’ve gone to more of a running attack and he has been the workhorse with Jeremy Smith rarely being seen. His numbers could be huge this year and he could elevate his stock dramatically as he still has great speed and quickness 10/14/12. 1^stteam Big 12 in 2012.

Overall: Joseph at 6’0 204 is a tall, undersized runner who has a great burst and often almost looks like he’s gliding on the field. He timed a disappointing 4.63 in the 40 but looks much faster than that on film and is very difficult to bring down in the open field. Unfortunately he isn’t a great inside runner as he doesn’t run with good pad level and rarely gets yards after contact in close quarters. My biggest complaint of his is that if he can’t juke a defender it’s basically over as he rarely breaks tackles and runs somewhat soft. Arguably the best attribute of Randle’s though is his hands as he has soft hands that easily catch the ball and he has experience in the passing game with 108 receptions the past 3 years. He won’t be a good inside runner or short yardage back but otherwise he has it all with good vision, good speed (not 4.4 but he plays 4.5ish), can make defenders miss, and has no history of injuries. Randle looks like a future above average starting RB albeit one who might need to be paired with a smash mouther runner to add the toughness that Randle lacks. Early 3^rd round as my #6 RB 3/23/13.

Round 6: Devonte Holloman-This is another good pick, 3 in a row for the Cowboys on Day 3 of the draft, as I had him at #191 Overall but might have underrated him a bit. He was one of three or four guys that I thought I maybe underrated (JC Tretter, Reid Fragel, and a few others were on that list) and almost changed my grade on. He’s a hard hitting, versatile LB that played some safety at times for the Gamecocks and was all over the field. A good pick especially for their new 4-3 scheme which asks their linebackers to cover a lot of ground which is his specialty. I by the way would have gone with LB Kevin Reddick from North Carolina but Holloman makes sense here. A solid pick, Go Cowboys!

Devonte Holloman South Carolina #21 6’1 3/8 243 Sr.

Stats: SEC

Year	Tackles	Sack	TFL	FF	PBU	INT	TD
2012	55	2	8	2	4	3	0
2011	51	0	4	0	4	1	0
2010	69	0	2	1	3	2	0
2009	30	0	1	0	2	1	0

Combine: Good hands and quickness in backpedal drill.

HGT	WGT	Arms	40	Reps	Vert	Broad	Shuttle	3Cone
6013	243	32.5	4.76	15	33	905	4.26	7.3

Notes: #19 in ESPN 150 for ’09. In the 2011 Georgia game he showed good speed on a pursuit play from the backside catching RB Isaiah Crowell on draw play that would have been a first down if not for his great pursuit (3:42 1^st). In the 2011 Clemson game he had very good coverage on post route vs. WR DeAndre Hopkins (6:05 4^th). In the 2012 Tennessee game he showed drastically inferior speed to TE Mychal Rivera allowing +25 yd gain-looked completely unable to cover him. In the 2012 LSU game he had deflected pass in coverage reading QBs eyes. In the 2012 Florida game he had blitz up middle for easy sack. In the 2012 Michigan game he had tackle and FF in open space vs. scrambling QB-great strip, nice tackle on screen getting off WR block, blitzed off edge avoiding FB block to dive tackle RB for TFL-all over the field in 1^st half. He’s all over the field yet his draft grade is difficult as he has S size but played LB all year essentially. His 40 will be huge for his grade. 5^th round as of now but he could go much higher or lower depending on measurables 1/19/13.

Overall: Devonte is a unique player as he played a combination of WLB and SS and did it at +240 lbs. That versatility is rare and while I don’t foresee him playing SS in the pros I do think he could play any of the LB positions in a 4-3 and even play ILB in a 3-4 if necessary. His best positions will be either WLB or SLB in a 4-3 though as he will be a very good cover LB and be capable of handling a RB or TE in man coverage. In the end Holloman is a mid round LB with great versatility but without great athleticism and projects as an OLB in a 4-3 that will excel in coverage. 5^th round as my #18 LB 4/14/13.

Draft Recap: In the past 3 drafts the Cowboys have been very good in the early rounds netting Dez Bryant, Sean Lee, Tyron Smith, Bruce Carter, DeMarco Murray, and Morris Claiborne. They’ve also been pretty terrible in the mid to late rounds drafting guys I’d never heard of such as Matt Johnson, Bill Nagy and Akwasi Owusu-Ansah or guys I’d heard of before but didn’t like such as Danny Coale, James Hanna, Caleb McSurdy, Josh Thomas, etc. This year’s draft was basically the exact opposite as I hated the 1st round pick and disliked the 2nd round pick yet the early 3rd rounder (Terrance Williams) was a steal and the late 3rd rounder (JJ Wilcox) made sense and was liked by others. Then the Cowboys followed it up with the best late round drafting  I’ve seen from them since 2008 when they took Tashard Choice (#3 RB for the Bills), Orlando Scandrick (#3 CB for the Cowboys), and Erik Walden (just signed a big money deal with the Colts as their starting 3-4 OLB) in rounds 4-6. The selections of BW Webb, Joseph Randle, and Devonte Holloman were each very good as they all addressed positions of need and netted them players at a point in the draft where people would consider them good value. You could argue that the Randle pick was one of the two or three best picks in the 5th round and I don’t think I’ve ever been able to say that about a 5th round pick chosen by Jerry. It’s sad that the Cowboys recent history of being so successful in the early rounds didn’t continue this year as they were close to having a great draft. Unfortunately the importance of nailing your first pick is so big that it will cast a shadow on this draft until Frederick becomes a legit starting center or guard. Even when that happens I’ll still always remember that we could have had Shariff Floyd instead of Frederick and Terrance Williams. Despite how good the #74 pick was for the Cowboys I still wouldn’t do that deal as Floyd was universally regarded as a Top 10 talent with most having him as a Top 5 player in this draft. To add him on a defensive line with DeMarcus Ware would have been special to see and I will always think of the 2013 NFL Draft as a missed chance by the Cowboys. That being said the picks got better as the draft went along and by Day 3 the Cowboys were actually making out pretty well. In all their haul includes a likely starting C or OG, a #2 TE that could allow them to use more two tight end sets, a speed receiver on the outside that will give Romo the deep threat he hasn’t had since Terrell Owens left, a raw but talented safety that will compete for a starting job if only due to the lack of competition at the position, a quick, undersized cornerback that will compete with Orlando Scandrick for the #3 CB role, a fast and elusive RB in Joseph Randle that will be superior to Felix Jones as the #2 RB, and a hard hitting, versatile LB in Devonte Holloman that will excel in coverage and on special teams. It all adds up to a pretty good draft, if you can just get yourself to forget what could have been at #18.

Cowboys sign 12 undrafted free agents

As of last night the Cowboys had signed 12 undrafted free agents. Jerry Jones expected the team to bring in around 20 so they aren’t likely done. Below are the players they signed, the rank they had on my board, and a brief snippet of a few of them.

LB Brandon Magee #294-A slow, hard hitting MLB that has some off the field concerns. Few had a draftable grade on him but I did as a 6th or 7th round type. A good pickup as a free agent.

S Jakar Hamilton NR (Not ranked)-Never heard of the safety from South Carolina State.

LB Taylor Reed #232-An undersized, instinctive LB that was incredibly productive for SMU the past 3 seasons. I loved the kid and thought he was extremely undervalued so this is the player of their’s that I like the most.

CB Dustin Harris #328-WHOOP! The former Aggie isn’t likely being brought in as a CB as he struggled at the position during his time in College Station but as a designated punt returner. He was 1st in the nation in punt return average in 2011 and 16th in 2012 so it’s a good pickup for that reason. He will compete with Dwayne Harris for the job and if it’s close he will be cut as Dwayne provides value as a slot receiver as well so Dustin will have to be far superior as a punt returner to make the roster.

CB Devin Smith #475-I had him as an undraftable player as he struggled mightily in pass coverage the past few seasons at Wisconsin. I’d be shocked if he made this roster and don’t even like him being added as a camp body. Terrible addition.

QB Dalton Williams NR-I’ve never seen or heard of the Akron QB.

RB Kendial Lawrence #330-A talented scat back that will battle with Phillip Tanner and Lance Dunbar as the #3 RB. He’s solid value but I thought they needed to add a power back who better complements Murray and newly acquired Joseph Randle. Zach Line out of SMU would have been my choice as a camp invite.

LB Cameron Lawrence #233-A very interesting pick as the kid is smart, instinctive, and is great in coverage. He was the last guy to pick off AJ McCarron in 2011 and the first to pick him off in 2012 with McCarron going +10 games in between without an interception. Lawrence is undersized and will battle for the WLB job in Kiffin’s 4-3. This is a very good pickup.

WR Greg Herd NR-Never heard of the WR from Eastern Washington.

TE Paul Freedman NR-Never heard of the TE from Virginia.

DB Jeff Heath NR-Never heard of the DB from Saginaw Valley. 

WR Eric Rogers NR-Never heard of the WR from Cal Lutheran.

Conclusion: There’s some talent in these 12 guys with Devin Smith being the only player I’ve heard of and not liking. Sorry guys that I can’t give more info on Cal Lutheran, Saginaw Valley, Eastern Washington, and South Carolina State players but likely these guys were small school prospects that shined at their pro day and are being brought in due to elite physical talent. Cameron Lawrence, Brandon Magee, and Taylor Reed are three late round draftable linebackers I had on my board so I think their inclusion in training camp is a smart move and I suspect that they all will be battling for one roster spot. If I had to make a guess I would say Lawrence is the odds on favorite with Reed being the sleeper and Magee being the least likely. In my Top 500 Lawrence and Reed were next to each other at #232 and #233 so obviously I think they are similar in talent but Lawrence had a draftable grade on most boards while Reed was a sleeper type that I liked more than most. As such I suspect Lawrence will make the roster in the end. 

Top 50 Undrafted Free Agents

With the draft over and 254 players chosen some fans would think that the talent has all been snapped up. Yet history shows that quite a few undrafted rookies will make squads, become starters, and some even will become Pro Bowlers. Dallas has one of the more famous examples on their roster in Tony Romo (the picture above is Romo at Eastern Illinois) but also has Miles Austin, Barry Church, Danny McCray, Phil Costa, and others. Below are my Top 50 free agents and with the Cowboys still having numerous holes on their roster I hope they can get a few of them. 

Position/Player Name/Rank on my board

QB Tyler Bray #37

QB Matt Scott #55

LB Kevin Reddick #63

LB Chase Thomas #72

OG Omoregie Uzzie #96

K Quinn Sharp #99

TE Joseph Fauria #110

DT Abry Jones #111

WR Marcus Davis #125

P Ryan Allen #127

WR Da’Rick Rogers #130

CB Johnny Adams #133

RB Cierre Wood #135

OG Lane Taylor #137

DT Kwame Geathers #139

S Tony Jefferson #143

OG Alvin Bailey #146

DT Joe Vellano #147

CB Rod Sweeting #151

C Patrick Lewis #152

S Javon Harris #155

DT TJ Barnes #157

WR Darius Johnson #160

CB Nickell Robey #162

CB Greg Reid #164

WR Rodney Smith #171

TE Brandon Ford #173

OT Nick Becton #177

RB Onterrio McCalebb #182

OT Nick Speller #184

S Jahleel Addae #185

RB Michael Ford #188

LB Jonathan Stewart #190

CB Travis Howard #192

OT Chris Faulk #197

LB Keith Pough #199

OT Xavier Nixon #202

S Robert Lester #204

S Dexter McCoil #208

RB Dennis Johnson #209

C PJ Lonergan #211

CB Branden Smith #214

S Rashard Hall #216

CB Nigel Malone #217 

CB Demontre Hurst #218

DE Travis Long #219

DE Emeka Onyenekwu #220

DT Mike Purcell #222

3-4 DE Lawrence Okoye #225

RB Isi Sofele #230

Day 3 Live Blog (Completed, no further updates)

254. Colts: Justice Cunningham-Mr. Irrelevant is given to the last player chosen in the NFL Draft. This year it’s a pretty good one as Cunningham has a value of +113 on my board as he regularly showed good strength and athleticism on film. He didn’t have great production at South Carolina but he showed NFL athleticism and I think this pick makes a lot of sense for a team’s #3 TE and possibly as a future #2 TE after a year or two of development.

243. Falcons: Kemal Ischmael-At one time I had a late 2nd round grade on him as he’s a whirling dervish that is elite in run support. Eventually he settled out as the #124 overall player on my board and much lower due to mediocre speed but at #243 he’s a steal and don’t be surprised if he becomes a key special teamer and their backup SS.

236. Bears: Marquess Wilson-He was #82 overall on my board yet goes #236 for the second highest value of the draft (+154) behind only Bacarri Rambo. Wilson has attitude and not only quit on the team in 2012 but attempted to sue them for harassment. Not a terribly smart decision to make months before the biggest job interview of your life but I’m giving him a bit of a break for a few reason. 1) Mike Leach is a dick. He’s been one at Tech, he’s been one to ESPN, and numerous players at Washington State agreed with parts of Wilson’s lawsuit. 2) He’s incredibly talented. His body control, hands, and ball skills are all elite. He isn’t fast but projects as a top level #2 possession receiver ala Mike Williams for the Bucs who also by the way had major off the field issues in his final season at Syracuse. 3) He had no serious issues pre-Leach. If he was a trouble maker before Leach’s entry then this would be different but in my opinion this was a situation where Washington State saw the confrontation between Wilson and Leach and decided that in 2012 they would suck no matter what and in 2013 Leach would still be there and Wilson wouldn’t so they might as well back Leach. If you can get past his attitude issues in 2012 then this is an absolute steal here as I downgraded Wilson to #82 due to his issues which I didn’t deem serious. If they had never happened he’s likely a late 1st/early 2nd and this becomes an even bigger steal. A high upside roll of the dice with only one problem that I see: Wilson will be mentored by Brandon Marshall. That scares me just thinking about it.

230. Colts: Kerwynn Williams-He was the #2 remaining RB left on my board (Cierre Wood was #1) and had a much higher draft grade than Vick Ballard when he came out last year. Why do I mention Ballard? Because he and Donald Brown (free agent after this season) are his only competition. He’s a sleeper for sure as he’s fast, had an elite yards per carry average (6.7 in 2011 and 6.9 in 2012), and despite his poor size (5’9 184) he showed great toughness and strength as a workhorse back for them last year (1,512 yds rushing and 697 yds receiving). Great pick this late.

218. Eagles: Jordan Poyer-The Eagles have had one of the 5 best draft in my opinion and continue it in the 7th round with Jordan Poyer. I personally wasn’t as high on him as others were (#85 on Mayock’s board, #117 on mine) yet the kid was a 1st team All American and looked like he belonged at the Senior Bowl so this is a shock to see him drop this far. He’s a strong, physical CB with poor speed and quickness that projects as a cover 2 CB, FS, or slot CB. He isn’t a great athlete but when his physical skills allow him to make a play it gets made as he has good instincts, ball skills, and hands. I wasn’t that high on him but come on he’s at least one of the Top 150 prospects so to get him here is a steal. Crap!

211. Lions: Michael Williams-I ranked him the #210 player overall and he went #211 so it’s not a steal by any means but considering 6 of the past 10 draft picks have been players I’ve never heard of (it happens every year in the 6th and 7th rounds) makes Williams a welcome addition. He’s a future #3 TE on a roster with low upside as he isn’t that athletic but he could be a 10 year pro due to one thing: his blocking ability. Every team needs a quality in line blocking TE and with so many guys nowadays used to splitting out wide as matchup problems it’s created a real opportunity for old school guys like Williams. He played for Nick Saban so he’s well coached and he has good dependable hands so he can be a solid 5 yd hitch outlet type receiver but his main value will be as a blocker. Solid pick this late.

192. Colts: John Boyett-Back to back picks see one of my favorite safeties in this draft come off the board. While Rambo is a FS with elite ball skills Boyett is an undersized SS with the biggest heart in this draft. He is an all out effort type player that really can be called a warrior on the field. In the Rose Bowl two years ago he made so many tackles (17 if I remember correctly) that on the final play of the game he didn’t move after making the tackle. I never could get a verified story so it’s either he passed out due to exhaustion or he got a concussion. Either way it was evident that he had given his team his all and it wasn’t the first time nor will it be the last. Expect an elite special teamer and a possible starting SS down the road. A steal that gets a +91 on my value chart.

191. Redskins: Bacarri Rambo-An absolute steal at this point. On my value chart I gave it a +165 which is far and away the best value of any pick in this draft. Now no one agreed with me that Rambo was a Top 5 safety in this draft, let alone the #1 safety that I ranked him as, so history will determine if this is a player I just got wrong or if this is a steal by the Redskins and I got it right. Even if I overrated him a bit it’s still a great pick at this juncture as the kid had 16 career INTS and was a multi year starter in the SEC. All I can think of for why he dropped this far is he was suspended for a positive drug test early this season and he might have failed quite a few of them. It must be off the field as on the field he was smart, instinctive, a sure tackler, and fast. He also went to the Senior Bowl and blanketed the tight ends there with Rambo getting an interception in the game to cap off his career. He’s a true ballhawk and this IS my favorite pick of this NFL Draft. Crap!

188. Bears: Cornelius Washington-The #3 remaining player on my board (Bacarri Rambo and Matt Scott were the top two) and a potentially great pick. Washington is a beast with his size/speed ratio and was dominant at the Senior Bowl. The reason he dropped though was because he was just a guy for Georgia and had very VERY limited production for them. Is he just a measurables guy or is he a guy that was late to develop and is only now emerging. He has 1st round talent which is why even with his lack of production I gave him a late 2nd round grade so he’s a spectacular value as a roll of the dice type pick right here.

187. Cardinals: Andre Ellington-I wasn’t nearly as high on this kid as some were, Mayock had him as the #75 guy on his board, but in the 6th round this makes sense. He was #228 on my board but had a 6th round grade and with the RB board decimated at this point I could definitely make the argument that he was the #1 guy remaining. Another solid pick by the Cardinals that are having a sneakily good draft.

So just to recap the column on the left is Jerry’s picks and the column on the right are my picks of the same position at the same spot. We both agreed on Joseph Randle and little else.

Travis Frederick                   Barrett Jones

Gavin Escobar                     Vance McDonald

Terrance Williams               Keenan Allen

JJ Wilcox                               Baccari Rambo

BW Webb                             Steve Williams

Joseph Randle                      Joseph Randle

Devonte Holloman             Kevin Reddick

185. Cowboys: Devonte Holloman-This is another good pick, 3 in a row for the Cowboys on Day 3 of the draft, as I had him at #191 Overall but might have underrated him a bit. He was one of three or four guys that I thought I maybe underrated (JC Tretter, Reid Fragel, and a few others were on that list) and almost changed my grade on. He’s a hard hitting, versatile LB that played some safety at times for the Gamecocks and was all over the field. A good pick especially for their new 4-3 scheme which asks their linebackers to cover a lot of ground which is his specialty. I by the way would have gone with LB Kevin Reddick from North Carolina but Holloman makes sense here. A solid pick, Go Cowboys!

Devonte Holloman South Carolina #21 6’1 3/8 243 Sr.

Stats: SEC

Year	Tackles	Sack	TFL	FF	PBU	INT	TD
2012	55	2	8	2	4	3	0
2011	51	0	4	0	4	1	0
2010	69	0	2	1	3	2	0
2009	30	0	1	0	2	1	0

Combine: Good hands and quickness in backpedal drill.

HGT	WGT	Arms	40	Reps	Vert	Broad	Shuttle	3Cone
6013	243	32.5	4.76	15	33	905	4.26	7.3

Notes: #19 in ESPN 150 for ’09. In the 2011 Georgia game he showed good speed on a pursuit play from the backside catching RB Isaiah Crowell on draw play that would have been a first down if not for his great pursuit (3:42 1^st). In the 2011 Clemson game he had very good coverage on post route vs. WR DeAndre Hopkins (6:05 4^th). In the 2012 Tennessee game he showed drastically inferior speed to TE Mychal Rivera allowing +25 yd gain-looked completely unable to cover him. In the 2012 LSU game he had deflected pass in coverage reading QBs eyes. In the 2012 Florida game he had blitz up middle for easy sack. In the 2012 Michigan game he had tackle and FF in open space vs. scrambling QB-great strip, nice tackle on screen getting off WR block, blitzed off edge avoiding FB block to dive tackle RB for TFL-all over the field in 1^st half. He’s all over the field yet his draft grade is difficult as he has S size but played LB all year essentially. His 40 will be huge for his grade. 5^th round as of now but he could go much higher or lower depending on measurables 1/19/13.

Overall: Devonte is a unique player as he played a combination of WLB and SS and did it at +240 lbs. That versatility is rare and while I don’t foresee him playing SS in the pros I do think he could play any of the LB positions in a 4-3 and even play ILB in a 3-4 if necessary. His best positions will be either WLB or SLB in a 4-3 though as he will be a very good cover LB and be capable of handling a RB or TE in man coverage. In the end Holloman is a mid round LB with great versatility but without great athleticism and projects as an OLB in a 4-3 that will excel in coverage. 5^th round as my #18 LB 4/14/13.

177. Bills: Dustin Hopkins-Okay it’s the last time I mention a punter or kicker I promise but Hopkins is my #1 kicker (surprisingly taken 2nd behind my #3 kicker Caleb Sturgis) who has elite leg strength and accuracy. Hopkins was a 3rd round value on my board and the best kicker to come out in a few drafts so the Bills got themselves a quality 4 year starter at a cheap rate due to the rookie wage scale.

176. Texans: David Quessenberry-A player I was hoping Dallas could get late as he can play OG or RT and had a great Senior Bowl. He’s versatile, strong, and quick so David will fit right in with the Texans and don’t be surprised if they keep him outside and have him compete at RT as he’s more athletic than people give him credit for. A great value pick coming in with a +92.

174. Cardinals: Ryan Swope-While the 49ers are having one of the best drafts this year the Cardinals and Rams aren’t too far behind. Swope at #174 is a flat out steal. I’ll just say it: If Swope was black he would have been drafted in the 3rd round. He’s fast (sub 4.4 40 at the Combine), is sure handed, had some of his best games against the top level competition in the SEC (Alabama comes to mind), is tough, and is a former RB with great yards after the catch skills. At 6’0 200 he’s a legit outside receiver with deep threat but has the versatility to play in the slot if needed. He was rated higher by me than Stedman Bailey, Markus Wheaton, or Josh Boyce who all went well ahead of him. Another chip on the shoulder for Swope. Great pick.

165. Lions: Sam Martin-Okay I get it I shouldn’t talk about punters. I know half my readers have their eyes glazing over already but it will be quick I promise. The top 2 punters in this draft by everyone I read were Ryan Allen and Jeff Locke. Locke has already gone, I had Allen #1 and Locke #2 but most had them reversed, yet somehow the Lions decide to take Sam Martin. Ryan Allen is the two time defending Ray Guy Award winner as the nation’s best punter. He was 1st in the nation in punt average at 48.04 which is the 2nd highest punt average the past 6 years by any punter. Sam Martin averaged 40.9 per punt and noticeably struggled at times this season. Yes it’s just a punter but wow this isn’t even a good punter and with Ryan Allen still on the board it’s an embarrassingly bad pick.

158. Seahawks: Luke Willson-I know Russell Wilson gives Seattle carte blanche for a year or two but really? I scouted Rice, a lot, why do you ask? Because my #3 TE (who was on the board when the Cowboys took my #4 TE in Gavin Escobar) played TE for Rice. I never noticed this kid partially because he wasn’t a starter and possibly because he didn’t make plays. The kid caught nine passes all season as a backup for Rice. It annoys me enough when backups from ALABAMA get drafted but backups from Rice now do too? This seems like a gigantic reach as I wonder if anyone other than Seattle would have even given him a camp tryout let alone drafted him. Terrible pick from a team that can’t be criticized by the mass media so I’ll do it for them. By the way in the first 142 picks there were only 3 players taken that I didn’t have on my Top 500 list. In the past 16 picks there have been 5 players so it’s clearly getting to that stage where each team has a hole or two left to fill and is taking sleepers, Combine freaks, and other project types that vary board to board.

151. Cowboys: Joseph Randle-So it wasn’t just a rumor it was the truth. Randle is a great value here (+73, easily the best value of any of the Cowboys picks to this point) and makes a lot of sense. Now I pointed this out earlier in my RB series that Randle isn’t the best complement to Murray but is a great backup to Murray in other words they have the same strengths (speed, receiver out of the backfield, elusive) and the same weaknesses (not powerful, not a great inside runner). At this point though you take him without a thought as it’s incredible value. Here is my post about Randle in my draft preview series about possible fits for the Cowboys:

Joseph Randle

Positives: A fast, athletic running back that would fit perfectly into a time share backfield. He’s dangerous in space and has very good hands so he fits a passing offense perfectly

Negatives: Murray has good hands and is good in space as well so they don’t really complement each other but more get in the way of each other. Randle is terrible as a short yardage runner and I see him being a career time share back and not a 3 down type.

Fit for the Cowboys: If the Cowboys want a player that can pick up right where Murray left off when he inevitably gets injured next year then Randle is their guy. If they want a guy that can fill in some of Murray’s holes and be a great one two punch with Murray then Randle couldn’t be a worse fit. I personally like him but don’t think he makes great sense unless the Cowboys could add another RB to their roster that is a bruiser type. Peyton Hillis is currently a free agent and he would complement both backs to a tee so that would be the type of move needed if they went for the pairing of Randle and Murray as Murray’s flaws are even more pronounced on Randle.

And here is the full profile of Randle (by the way he was the #1 RB available on my board as well so for once the Cowboys and I draft the same player. Not to sound cocky but that’s usually a good thing as the guys the past two years we’ve agreed on Dez Bryant and Morris Claiborne have worked out pretty well).

Joseph Randle Oklahoma St. 6’0 204 Jr.

Comparison: Laurence Maroney

Stats: Big 12

Year	Yards	Avg	TD	Rec	Yards	TD	Fum
2013
2012	1417	5.2	14	28	224	0
2011	1216	5.9	24	43	266	2
2010	453	5.6	2	37	427	1

Combine: Surprisingly poor 40 (4.63) as he looked 4.4 on tape. Lost 6 fumbles in last two seasons. Tripped in high leg then cut drill. Below average in 3 bag cut drill. Not ready and skipped in mini gauntlet drill.

HGT	WGT	Arms	Hands	40	Reps	Vert	Broad	Shuttle	3 Cone	1 yr %
6000	204		8.75	4.63		35	1003

Notes: Had a very nice freshman year with spot duty behind Kendall Hunter in ’10 (450 2 TD 5.6 ypc). In the 2011 Arizona game had a nice 1 yd TD as he jumped over the pile (11:30 1^st), showed very good hands and fluidity as a receiver beating a DE to the corner, grabbing the ball in stride, and getting a 1^st down (4:40 1^st), has WR like soft hands and was used that way lined up wide and catching a quick hitch that he turned upfield for 12 yds (1:35 1^st), good strength on 5 yd TD run hitting a LB at the goal line and staying on his feet for a rather easy run (13:30 2^nd), great cut on defender making him fall down on draw play that netted him 23 yds (5:37 3^rd), good inside run with defender bouncing off him and getting another 2 yds showing toughness (5:15 3^rd), and showed his great receiving skills as he ran a seam route and was wide open yet also showed his lack of great speed as he easily was caught by defenders still getting a 63 yards though (13:00 4^th). In the 2011 Texas A&M game he had a 20 yd run showing very good speed and quickness (11:50 1^st), chop block (5:30 1^st), good job extending ball out as he got tackled on 3^rd and 2 for 1^st (13:30 3^rd), good juke of Terrence Frederick in open space reception getting 8 yds (4:44 3^rd). In the 2011 Oklahoma game he had a 32 yd run through a huge hole showing good speed and almost going the whole way but safety had the angle, showed his good quickness and vision avoiding and juking defenders to get 26 yds up the middle where most would get 5-10, good hands and looked smooth catching ball out of backfield and taking it 20 yds, easy 15 yd run through huge hole, nice speed and vision cutting upfield on 30 yd run-did have a huge initial hole though.  In the 2012 West Virginia game he had great burst for 14 yds, back to back runs hitting someone and going back not forward-could struggle in short yardage, dropped easy dump off in flat, impressed with his burst every time, hit S hard in hole for YAC and sending him to sideline, good patience and avoided 2 defenders in the hole getting more yards than what was blocked. In the 2012 Oklahoma game he had nice cut on 6 yd run, strong leap into end zone taking the hit and keeping ball, juked S Tony Jefferson in flat for +20 yds on dump off, dropped slant in tight cov-would be TD, juked Jefferson in open field at end of +30 yd run for YAC, leapt a defender on inside run. In the 2012 Texas game he had a nice juke of S Kenny Vaccaro in open space then broke a tackle for 69 yd TD-great speed shown too, good speed on 27 yd run through huge hole, broke two tackles on inside run showing underrated power. With Weeden and Blackmon in the NFL they’ve gone to more of a running attack and he has been the workhorse with Jeremy Smith rarely being seen. His numbers could be huge this year and he could elevate his stock dramatically as he still has great speed and quickness 10/14/12. 1^st team Big 12 in 2012.

Overall: Joseph at 6’0 204 is a tall, undersized runner who has a great burst and often almost looks like he’s gliding on the field. He timed a disappointing 4.63 in the 40 but looks much faster than that on film and is very difficult to bring down in the open field. Unfortunately he isn’t a great inside runner as he doesn’t run with good pad level and rarely gets yards after contact in close quarters. My biggest complaint of his is that if he can’t juke a defender it’s basically over as he rarely breaks tackles and runs somewhat soft. Arguably the best attribute of Randle’s though is his hands as he has soft hands that easily catch the ball and he has experience in the passing game with 108 receptions the past 3 years. He won’t be a good inside runner or short yardage back but otherwise he has it all with good vision, good speed (not 4.4 but he plays 4.5ish), can make defenders miss, and has no history of injuries. Randle looks like a future above average starting RB albeit one who might need to be paired with a smash mouther runner to add the toughness that Randle lacks. Early 3^rd round as my #6 RB 3/23/13.

With the Cowboys on the clock in a few picks I thought I’d update my best available since it’s been decimated the past 1 1/2 rounds.

S Baccari Rambo #26 (only 1st rounder left on my board)

QB Tyler Bray #37

QB Matt Scott #55

LB Kevin Reddick #63

DE Cornelius Washington #69

LB Chase Thomas #72

RB Joseph Randle #78 (If they don’t take him at #151 then the rumor of them liking him was just that, a rumor)

WR Marquess Wilson #82

WR Ryan Swope #83

OT David Quessenberry #84

K Dustin Hopkins #85

145. Chargers: Steve Williams-My#1 CB remaining on the board just went and I think it’s a steal for the Chargers. Steve is undersized but lightning fast (ran a high 4.2 or low 4.3 at the Combine depending on who you ask) and was a dominant CB at Cal. He is the last CB off the board that I think has a chance to develop into a starter in the NFL with all the CBs from here on out projecting as slot  and nickel cornerbacks due lack of speed or poor hips. This pick nets the Chargers a value of +69 and is one of the best picks in the last dozen or so.

144. Saints: Kenny Stills-I wasn’t as high on Kenny as some were BUT he fits this offense perfectly. Stills has just enough size and height to stay outside and is a legit 4.4 speed guy so he’ll be another solid wideout that will allow the Saints to spread a defense out. They have Marquess Colston but other than that what they like to do is have 3 or 4 solid wideouts and just pick on the weak link of a defense. Stills projects to me as a #3 or #4 WR who could maybe be a decent #2 down the road. I’m not a huge fan of the kid but he goes to a perfect team for him so if he can make it anywhere in the NFL it will be here and gives Stills his best shot at becoming a productive receiver.

Johnny Manziel on when he will go pro, “I think coach Whitfield and a bunch of guys they’ll know when the time is right for me so we’ll see.” Interesting he said coach Whitfield and not coach Sumlin. He has hitched his star to the QB coach that has helped everyone from Tim Tebow to Cam Newton to Tom Brady and everything from his smirk to his answer makes me think he’s gone at the end of the year. Ladies and gentleman the Top 5 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft Johnny Manziel!

136. Eagles: Earl Wolff-He was the #2 safety left on my board (Baccari Rambo still hasn’t gone and will be a steal somewhere in the next 30-60 picks) as he was a fast, big hitting athlete with elite production. I was surprised how little respect he got in this draft process as he had +100 tackles (productive) and ran a 4.4 40 (athletic). He should start for them and is another good Eagles pick this year. Crap!

131. 49ers: Marcus Lattimore-Tell me if you’ve heard this one before: The 49ers made a great pick. Lattimore isn’t nearly as high on my board as others but even on my board this is value (+11). Some had a late 2nd/early 3rd round grade on him and thought that in 5 years he’d look like a tremendous steal so the upside is there for this pick and the fit is perfect. Gore will be 30 years old when the season begins and while the 49ers have two talented backs behind him (LaMichael James and Kendall Hunter) they are of the smaller variety and the 49ers needed to add a future power back to their roster. The ideal scenario would be to start Lattimore on the PUP list (missed the first 6 games of the season) and if his recovery is sufficient by game 7 that he can play in 2013 then great he’ll beat out Antony Dixon as the #4 RB and if he isn’t recovered (I doubt he will be) then you IR him in 2013 and bring him back in 2014 to compete. A good value (some will say great value) and a perfect fit.

127. 49ers: Quinton Patton-Another pick by the 49ers becomes another steal for the 49ers. They are having a great draft and it continues on Day 4 with Patton. He was the #1 WR still available and #8 player overall which nets them a “value” of +51 picks as I had a 3rd round grade on him. It’s interesting as some argued he was a late 1st/early 2nd talent so in my write up I said he was overrated as he doesn’t have great speed or size. At #127 though the script is flipped on me as now he’s underrated and should not have lasted this long. I thought his quickness, route running, and hands made him an ideal fit for the Patriots so it’s interesting that they passed on him not once but twice when they chose Aaron Dobson and Josh Boyce as wideouts. The 49ers added a talented young WR to one of the few positions of need for them. Great value + need area = great pick.

126. Bucs: William Gholston-Great pick as at one time he was universally regarded as a 1st rounder yet a down 2012 and the acknowledgement by scouts that he lacked any real burst and was questionable going forward as a 4-3 DE prospect really hurt him. I had him as a 3-4 DE with an elite frame as the kid is 6’7 and could hold 290 with very little fat on him if he wanted to be bulked up. I question his motor, his instincts, and his burst yet even with all of those issues I gave him a 2nd round grade as my #57 prospect so this is a steal here.

125. Packers: Johnathan Franklin-Well all you fantasy drafters out there better pay attention. Franklin is a very talented back and fits the Packers pass happy offense better than Eddie Lacy does so it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Franklin not Lacy becomes the starting tailback in 2013. Either way the Packers drafted a starter and a quality backup at a position where they’ve for years scrimped at and I think both picks are steals.

121. Colts: Khaled Holmes-Well when the 4th round began only 1 center had gone but 22 picks later 4 centers have gone. While most analysts had some combination of Schwenke, Frederick, and Barrett Jones as their top 3 centers I actually liked Holmes as my #2 center. He has incredibly long arms, has great strength, and really has a knack for helping out his guards as he has great awareness. He is a poor athlete but with his ’34 arms I think he’ll be able to overcome this and I think the Colts might have drafted themselves their starting center in 2014 with this pick.

114. Cowboys: BW Webb-While most won’t know who this kid is let me just say this is a good pick. For the Cowboys and the way they’ve drafted I’ll definitely take good. The top CB on my board was Steve Williams from Cal (#11 CB) but not much higher in grade than Webb who was my #13 CB (#2 still available) so I really like this pick both value wise and fit wise. Webb is an incredibly quick, feisty CB that just lacks the pure speed to be a starter. As such he projects as a slot CB and will battle it out with Orlando Scandrick for that role. Hopefully by the end of the year they are happy enough with this kid that they can cut Scandrick and his terrible contract next offseason. Good job Cowboys!

BW Webb William and Mary 5’10 ¼ 184 Sr.

Comparison: Dwight Bentley

Senior Bowl: Day 1: Perfect cov on post vs. Terrance Williams for PBU, tight cov on 9 route vs. Tavarres King for INC, beat by Terrance on deep in (hold too), #1 CB on Day 1. Day 2: Solid cov vs. Connor Vernon on double move for INC, good jam of Williams but then beat deep-has 4.5 type speed. Day 3: Continued his strong play in the goal line drill. In the 2013 Senior Bowl he backed up at CB, missed tackle on Denard Robinson on 0 route for YAC, 30 yd PR showing good speed and quickness.

Combine: Had one of the most underrated Combines at any position with the best shuttle (3.84-1^st among 60 DBs), best vertical (40 ½), and 3^rd best broad (11’00). Average 40 though (4.51). Solid in turn and run drill. Even better the 2^nd time. Good in hips drill. Good but not explosive in out and up drill. Very quick with nice burst in backpedal and run to sideline drill. Perfect in team catch drill.

HGT	WGT	Arms	Hands	40	Reps	Vert	Broad	Shuttle	3 Cone
5102	184	30.25		4.51	14	40.5	1100	3.84	6.82

Notes: 1^st team All Conference each of past 3 seasons and ends with 9 conference awards to his name including 2012 Special Teams POY as a punt returner.

Overall: With the proliferation of slot receivers and spread out offenses BW Webb is a great case test to determine just how important a slot CB is to an NFL team. With only mediocre height (5’10 ¼), below average weight (184), and below average deep speed (4.51) he likely will never be a starting outside CB but with elite explosion and quickness (1^st in vertical jump and shuttle among 60 DBs) he has all the makings of an outstanding slot CB. I love the kid as he has a chip on his shoulder to go with incredibly quick feet and very good ball skills yet I do question just how high I can rank the kid considering he projects as a career #3 CB. With the slot being a specialty position all it’s own now in the NFL I consider it paramount for teams to have a CB with the quickness to play the spot so he’s higher on my board than most have him. 3^rd round as my #13 CB who has the makings of a great slot CB 4/20/13.

113. Rams: Barrett Jones-Great value as the kid was my #1 center. No he isn’t a great athlete and yes he had Lisfranc surgery so he might not be ready for the start of training camp but the kid is intelligent, has elite versatility (won the Outland Trophy in 2011 as the best OT in the nation and the Remington Award in 2012 as the best C in the nation), and will be a “glue guy” that plays for 10 seasons in the NFL. Great pick.

111. Steelers: Shamarko Thomas-Shamarko was the #3 safety on my board and had an early 2nd grade yet goes in the 4th after at least 7 safeties have already been taken. This is a steal AND fits a need as Polamalu is slowing down and Clark has a year or two left at most. One of the 3 best picks in the 4th round.

110. Giants: Ryan Nassib-I wasn’t as high on Nassib as others were but here it’s probably universally regarded as a steal. Nassib is an extremely smart, experienced player with limited upside. Greg Cosell and Jon Gruden both had him as their #1 QB in this entire draft so to get him in the 4th is a great pick. CRAP!

107. Titans: Brian Schwenke-Finally 76 picks later the #2 center is drafted after the first one was taken by Dallas. Now for anyone who wants to defend the Frederick pick keep in mind that the BIGGEST fan of Frederick wouldn’t say he was dramatically better than the #2 center whether you think that’s Barrett Jones or Schwenke. It all just adds up to Frederick being a huge reach. Yes still pissed.

By the way when I talked about why Eric Fisher was overrated and not worth the first overall pick I specifically mentioned how his “amazing Senior Bowl” is deserving of criticism due to none of the top pass rushers being there. Okafor was the top pass rusher there and it’s not surprising that he’s the first off the board. Yet it wasn’t until the 4th round so keep in mind that while Fisher did dominate at the Senior Bowl he did it against 4th rounder Okafor and still undrafted guys like Malliciah Goodman, Michael Buchanan, and others. The DE spot this year at the Senior Bowl was very weak yet no one has mentioned that while praising his Senior Bowl. It’s an interesting argument and is one of the many reasons I went Joeckel over Fisher as Joeckel shut down 3rd round picks Sam Montgomery and Corey Lemonier as well as practiced against 3rd round pick Damontre Moore. He also shut down Top 10 pick Barkevious Mingo and other SEC standouts. Back to your previously scheduled broadcast…

103. Cardinals: Alex Okafor-Last year the Cardinals had the best draft per my value chart (comparing my rankings vs. where they were drafted at) and they are well on their way to doing it again with Okafor being the #2 available player on my board (Baccari Rambo is 1st). One thing though is to me he is 100% a 4-3 DE yet he will now have to convert as a 3-4 OLB which I don’t like at all. Great value but a poor fit in my eyes.

102. Patriots: Josh Boyce-This is a much better pick of a WR. He wasn’t in my Top 3 available (the ones mentioned just below) but Boyce lit up the Combine and has the physicality to be a good possession receiver. It’s interesting to note that two of the Patriots first few picks were “Combine” guys with Jamie Collins being the #1 LB per Combine measurables and Boyce being the #1 WR. Maybe it’s a different drafting philosophy in New England after so many bad picks as I don’t remember them focusing on measurables this much. Solid value here and fills a need.

101. Jaguars: Ace Sanders-I hate this pick. When word came out that 5’8 Sanders left school early many thought it was a terrible decision and he might go undrafted. Apparently they, and I, were wrong but I don’t see how you can take his guy over wideouts like Quinton Patton, Marquess Wilson, or Ryan Swopes. All of those three are bigger than Sanders who might be nothing more than a punt returner at the next level and two of the three are also faster than Sanders. Very big reach (-128 value per my chart).

98. Eagles: Matt Barkley-He was the highest rated player left on my board (#10), an absurd value at this point(went 88 picks lower than my ranking), and I think it will be looked at as a great selection down the road. I always thought Barkley was unfairly criticized as the kid can play and while he lacks the howitzer or read option element that most teams look for now in QBs he is accurate, experienced (4 year starter in HS and 4 year starter in college), put up good to great numbers the past 3 seasons, and was the #1 QB in this draft in my opinion. He’s a superior version of Andy Dalton. That’s the way I graded him out and I think in 5 years he’ll be the 15-20th best starting QB in the NFL. Don’t be surprised if the Eagles trade one of their 3 QBs before the season begins though.

Scratch that they traded out.

98. Jaguars: I loved the Jaguars first two picks (Luke Joeckel, Johnathan Cyprien) but hated their 3rd pick (Dwayne Gratz) so it will be interesting to see how their Day 3 goes.

A couple of thoughts on the Cowboys Day 2 Draft

 

-Going into the draft I had the top 5 needs of the Cowboys (in order) as safety, defensive tackle, right tackle, right guard, and running back. Assuming you consider Travis Frederick as a center and not a guard (something most do but Jerry Jones stated one reason he took Frederick is to add competition to all three interior line positions so who knows) then the Cowboys have only addressed any of the Top 5 needs (safety) and their 4 most valuable picks have been used. That is a bad scenario and makes me more hopefully than ever that they can sign a stop gap free safety like Charles Woodson after the draft as that position flat out scares me at this point. JJ Wilcox is a guy that many liked in the 3rd round but few saw as a Day 1 starter. I wasn’t as high on him as others were but the biggest issue with him is how raw he is as he only has been a safety for one season, played offense in his first 3 seasons in college. To me they have yet to add a starter to any of their 5 biggest need areas. That is a damning revelation about this draft for the Cowboys.

-I fully expect Joseph Randle to be the Cowboys backup RB by the end of Round 4. He and Johnathan Franklin are both still available and rumor had it that the Cowboys were going to target Randle in the 3rd or 4th round. If he drops to them in a few minutes I think they snag him without a 2nd thought.

-I love the Terrance Williams pick. He’s great value (2nd round grade on my board taken in the early 3rd), adds the deep speed to our receiver corp that was what I thought was missing, and has the size to play outside. Expect Williams to play outside and Miles Austin to move into the slot at times in 2013 so they can get their top 3 wideouts all on the field at the same time. Williams had a poor Senior Bowl but the man that led the nation in receiving yards in 2012 had a 1st round grade on many people’s boards at the end of the season and is a great find in the 3rd. For once this weekend I was able to say, “Great pick Cowboys!”

-Two days later and the Frederick pick still makes me mad. While I wasn’t a huge fan of Frederick others liked him and thought he was a slightly superior or equal prospect to Barrett Jones and Brian Schwenke, widely regarded as the other two top centers in this draft. We chose Frederick at the end of Round 1 and the other two centers have yet to be chosen with Round 4 or 5 likely their home. I’d love to know how close in grade Frederick was to their #2 center as if it was remotely close it just proves again that the Cowboys reached and reached bad.

-In a glass half full summary of the Cowboys first two days of the draft we can say that Jerry addressed the interior line (a big need) with his first pick, added an extremely athletic backup TE that will allow the team to play two tight end sets (will help the RT in pass protection with a TE often staying in to block), added some much needed deep speed to a receiver corp that was lacking it, and added a playmaking safety that was well liked by many scouts after a very good Senior Bowl.

-In a glass is half empty summary of the Cowboys first two days of the draft we can say the Cowboys blew it by missing out on the steal of the 1st round when Shariff Floyd fell to them, made it worse by trading for below market value back in round 1, made it even worse still by drafting an interior lineman that most had a 3rd round grade on, then followed it up by taking a prospect widely regarded as the #4 TE despite the #3 still being on the board (Vance McDonald) and the #2 being chosen just a few picks earlier (no one would have been mad if they had chosen Ertz at #31 and Frederick at #47 but they instead got Frederick at #31 and Escobar at #47 which is a much weaker haul), made it a little better with the value selection of Terrance Williams (though he didn’t address a huge need), and then chose a raw safety that likely won’t make an impact until 2014.

You decide which narrative you think is the closest to reality. I already have.

Top 20 available for Day 3 of the NFL Draft

QB Matt Barkley                       #10

S Baccari Rambo                     #26

DE Alex Okafor                         #30

QB Tyler Bray                           #37

S Shamarko Thomas                #39

QB Ryan Nassib                       #48

C Barrett Jones                        #52

C Khaled Holmes                     #53

QB Matt Scott                           #55

3-4 DE William Gholston         #57

LB Kevin Reddick                   #63

RB Johnathan Franklin            #66

PR Cornelius Washington        #69

LB Chase Thomas                    #72

CB Steve Williams                   #76

WR Quinton Patton                 #77

RB Joseph Randle                  #78

WR Marquisse Wilson          #82

WR Ryan Swope                     #83

OT David Quessenberry      #84