Cowboys Draft: My Take On Our Projected Draft Board

Take this with a grain of salt, but I thought I’d take a shot at what I think the Cowboys’ board looks like with just over 2 weeks left until the draft. There is bound to be a surprise or two in here, but I can’t imagine there’s too much shakeup.

Instead of just doing the top 4, which I was going to do initially, I’m going to do the top 15 in the event that we end up trading down. So without further ado:

1.	DB – Jalen Ramsey	9.	DE – Joey Bosa
2.	RB – Ezekiel Elliott	10.	DE – DeForest Buckner
3.	QB – Carson Wentz	11.	CB – William Jackson III
4.	QB – Paxton Lynch	12.	DE – Shaq Lawson
5.	LB – Myles Jack	13.	DT – Sheldon Rankins
6.	QB – Jared Goff	14.	CB – Vernon Hargreaves
7.	OT – Laremy Tunsil	15.	WR – Laquon Treadwell
8.	DE – Noah Spence

 

There are more than a few things about this chart to argue with. The first is that we have Jalen Ramsey as our number one player. If you’ll recall, a few months back, someone created a rumor that the Cowboys had Ramsey as their #1 player. While I don’t think that was true back then, given that we didn’t have our board set, I truly believe that when all is said and done, he’ll be sitting atop our chart. To me, with the vibes that I get from the fan base and media, anyone else would be a surprise.

Another thing to note is that we have three quarterbacks in the top six. Jerry has gone on record by saying that we will absolutely not draft a quarterback with the 4th overall pick. Anything that these executives say prior to the draft should be taken with a grain of salt, let alone a proclamation about a particular selection. The fact of the matter is, you set up your board and stick to it 99% of the time. If Jalen Ramsey and Zeke Elliott are off the board in the first three picks, you better believe the Cowboys entertain the idea of concreting their quarterback position for the next 15 years.

Speaking of quarterbacks, yes, I put Paxton Lynch fourth on our board. I don’t think the Cowboys have shown any hesitancy in their evaluation for the Memphis product. If you’ll recall, Paxton Lynch was an overwhelming top 5 projection last fall.

This is a guy with raw talent, and would have to sit behind Romo for a year or two, but as would Wentz or Goff. They’ve visited with Lynch 2-3 times already, and have another visit planned right before the draft. Buckle your seat belts because if things play out perfectly (depending on your point of view), we may be looking at a situation where Lynch is the pick at four.

“Wait, you’re telling me Laremy Tunsil is 7th in our board?” No. Well, yes. But also no.

I think the Cowboys see Tunsil as one of the top 2-3 players in this draft. But, we just drafted Chaz Green in the third round last year, and have Doug Free still under contract. This doesn’t mean we wouldn’t consider drafting Tunsil at all. I just think we may value other players more in the top 6 when you factor in need and the over-valuation of quarterbacks nowadays. Having said that, if we traded back to 8-10 and Tunsil were somehow still available, you’ve got to pull the trigger, or trade farther back.

To me, Myles Jack is rated too low. In fact, on my personal board, Jack is the number one player. The versatility he brings to the field, in combination with his instincts and athleticism, is second to none. If his medical re-check comes back with no issues, he could see a jump on many boards, including ours.

Ah, the polarizing status of Joey Bosa. Cowboys fans have been stressing out for a couple months now about the thought that Joey Bosa could be the pick at 4. Yet, I’ve seen a ton of experts go on record as saying Bosa is certainly a top 4 player in this draft. Whether or not he is is, obviously, yet to be seen, but I truly believe the Cowboys don’t have a ton of interest in him at 4. Don’t get me wrong, they like him. A lot. But I think, at pick 4, they’re looking for a sack leader, and not a run defender, which I think most people see Bosa as.

Thus, I think that they likely have him a little farther down their board. You’ll notice I believe they have him ranked just behind Noah Spence, who will be more of a sack producer at the next level.

Another thing people may find surprising is how far down DeForest Buckner is. This is a simple explanation: scheme. Do I think Buckner would excel in a 43 defense? Absolutely. BUT, that’s not what he played in college. Thus, any projections about his production in our scheme would be just that: guesses. He’s a physical freak and has traits defensive coordinators love. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if we took him at four based on that. But, I would think they may want a little bit more of a sure thing (if there’s such a thing) in the top 5.

Lastly, you may be surprised by the ordering of my cornerbacks.

Do you remember the Cowboys releasing Tyler Patmon and rolling with Terrance Mitchell/Deji Olatoye? When they did this, the Cowboys went on record saying they were looking for players with a little more girth, who could get more physical with guys at the line in press coverage. This isn’t how Florida used Vernon Hargreaves. He was mostly used as an off Cover 1 and 3 guy because of his lack of top-end speed.

Enter William Jackson. He’s not a guy who gets his hands on you at the line as much as we may want, but he’s over six feet tall, and runs in the mid 4.3s.

This is a guy who can keep up with any receiver in the NFL, and is the best in the draft with his back to the ball. Hargreaves is an excellent player, but I feel that our front office may like Jackson’s traits a little more for this defense. Having said that, the Cowboys brought in Hargreaves as one of their 30 visits, and refrained from bringing in Jackson, so I could have missed the mark here.

Per Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net, the top of the Cowboys’ board looks a lot like the one described in this post:

From the great @TonyPauline: pic.twitter.com/VHFlYTK5UI

— rabblerousr (@rabblerousr) April 9, 2016

Now for the bottom line. I don’t think Jalen Ramsey is going to be available at pick #4.

I think all of the top 3 picks have needs in the secondary, and it would be very difficult to pass up on Ramsey’s elite talent. Thus, I think Cowboys fans will still be happy to hear that I believe there’s a very good chance Ezekiel Elliott will be taking the field with a star on his helmet this September.