Yesterday the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers punched their tickets to Super Bowl 50.
GOOD FOR THEM WE’RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE COWBOYS!
There’s been a lot of chatter in the three-week-old 2016 Off-Season and it has primarily centered around the 4th Overall Pick that rests on the shelf of the Dallas Cowboys Front Office. Who will it be used on? Well that’s something that we’ve been talking about quite a bit here at Inside The Star.
My fellow Staff Writer Sean Martin penned quite the piece that suggested the Cowboys slap that baby on a signal-caller (preferably of the Cal variety… Jared Goff to be specific). That’s a fair opinion, as all are, and I’m glad that Sean presented it for discussion.
There are a lot of people that think that’s a great idea – I’m not one of them.
I gave my own plea for how the 4th Overall Pick should be used, in a direction of the non-quarterback variety, right here. The gist of it is that I want to get some impact in 2016 form the 4th Overall Pick, which I guess is a silly thought, and I don’t want the Cowboys to fall behind the eight ball.
Think about this for a second. Every team, literally every team, will draft a player in the first round this year that will, in theory, immediately make them better. By taking a quarterback, considering we currently employ Tony Romo, we are not taking a step forward like the rest of the NFL – we are taking a step laterally. We’re spotting the entire National Football League that head start entering 2016. What a novel idea.
Just in case my point hadn’t come across crystal clear enough, I whipped up a fun hypothetical. If you had the 4th Overall Pick and the talent pool was all of the players from the 2014 NFL Draft (save Clowney, Robinson, and Bortles)… who would you take? You can read about all of the great talent you’d be passing up on if you felt the need for a quarterback was too high to not use that pick on.
The world, and Twitter, is full of different opinions. Last week I discussed this issue at length with many of the Staff Writers in the Twitterverse and even on the radio waves when I jumped on with Sean at WMSC Radio last Wednesday.
How could I properly demonstrate just how silly this whole “use the 4th Overall Pick on a QB” thing was? Well in a Twitter debate with a great follower named Duane Stephen… while trying to make my point I came up with the way.
I presented a poll to the loyal members of Cowboys Nation.
Who would you choose if you could have only one of these from the 2015 NFL Draft on the Cowboys moving forward?
— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) January 21, 2016
So let’s break this down for a second. You (Not you silly, the you who voted! Come on!) are telling me that if you could do it over… knowing what you know now… you would still take Byron Jones over Jameis Winston? Even with the shape that the current Dallas Cowboys are in at the quarterback position?
You: Yea man! Byron is amazing! Did you not watch him in 2015? That dude has so much talent and potential. I know that he didn’t get an interception, but he’s going to be so great for us for so long at safety/corner/wherever! I LOVE Byron Jones!
Me: Did you love him when we drafted him? Were you just as pumped on Draft Day 2015?
You: Oh for sure! He was the best player available so we had to take him. I know we needed a running back and pass rusher back then, but we got Randy Gregory and Darren McFadden so it all worked out. It made total sense and look what Byron’s done! I’m so happy!
Me: Oh ok. Cool. I’m right there with ya, You. Byron is a stud and I’m as pumped as anybody that he’s wearing the Star. He was arguably the best thing to come out of 2015. We park our cars in the same garage, You!
Alright now. We know that the overwhelming majority of Dallas Cowboys fans, 61% to be precise, would prefer Byron to either of the quarterbacks taken first and second overall, respectively, a year ago. I had another question though, so I ran a poll in parallel with this one.
If you could have any one of these QBs as the future of the Cowboys, who would it be?
— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) January 21, 2016
Ok wait a minute. Explain yourself, You.
You: It’s so hard to choose! Jameis is maybe the best talent to come out since Andrew Luck, but Jared Goff is so good! They’re about the same, I mean that’s what the poll says. I’d be happy with either one of them leading the ‘Boys for the future. I’m good with them both!
Me: So you’re saying that Winston and Goff are essentially interchangeable, right? You’re down with either one? You like them the exact same?
You: Yessir!
Me: So if Jameis Winston and Jared Goff are interchangeable… doesn’t that mean that you significantly prefer Byron Jones, or in your own words the “best player available”, over Goff?
You: Uh… I mean, I don’t know. I love Byron.
Me: And you said that you drastically preferred him over Jameis. 61% for Byron as opposed to essentially half, 31%, for Jameis… which you said was Goff since they’re interchangeable in terms of talent.
You: Well I never thought about it like that. I want Jared Goff, though.
Me: But if you could do it all over again you’d take Byron over Jameis. And Jameis is Goff. Because Byron was the best player available and fills a need that we had and will for a very long time. You just said that you’d rather have that over Jameis… who is Goff.
You: Alright that makes sense. I guess I do prefer the “best player available” when it comes down to it.
This whole thing was presented as a funny conversation (which I actually had out loud… just so you know), but it’s a legitimate way of thinking. If we would really prefer Byron Jones over Jameis Winston by that wide of a margin… why are we going to settle for Jared Goff? Especially with the 4th Overall Pick?!
It should be noted that the host of Cowboys Cast, Bobby Belt, also ran a poll.
https://twitter.com/SportsByDallas/status/690410401960456194
Goff wins this poll and Carson Wentz comes in at second, just barely above Jameis. But do you see how not far behind Jameis is even in this poll? 12%. Take that into consideration and remember that 30% of voters preferred Byron over Jameis.
The logic remains the same. The best player available is, for all intents and purposes, the preferred route among members of Cowboys Nation that voted (and my sincere thanks goes out to those that did). Even knowing what they know now. The talent there is worth it.
There’s a Byron Jones out there in the 2016 NFL Draft. And with the 4th Overall Pick chances are we’re going to have a good chance at getting him. Do you really want that pick to be a quarterback because he’s a great and talented prospect?
Or do you want a guy who’s the best player available? A guy who you already said you wanted?
The votes are in. Best Player Available is the way to go. Let’s do it.
[signoff author=”rjochoa” source=”fancred”]
What do you want to do with the 4th Overall Pick? Let me know! Comment below, Email me at Roel.Ochoa.Jr@Gmail.com, or Tweet to me at @rjochoa!
What if the BPA is Laremy Tunsil? Then what? At the end of the day, who determines who the BPA is and regardless don't you still ultimately consider your greatest need overlayed with the BPA?
I'm in agreement with Sean on this issue. The Cowboys can still have their cake and eat it, drafting Romo's heir apparent doesn't stop the organization from pursuing the Super Bowl, it only enhance the goal, both short and long term.
easy trade a lineman for a pick or player.
Well, I've always been of the belief that if you're going to draft scared and pick the safest bet, you always go offensive line anyway. There are busts on the o-line, but I would argue they are substantially less frequent in the top 10 than any other position, and even the busts usually are starting caliber linemen for a decade. Robert Gallery was a huge bust, but still an 8-year starter in the NFL.
Again, if you're going to scratch names off your list because you're scared to draft them, you'd might as well go all-in on it and just pick the absolute safest guy. Laremy Tunsil as our RT? Sure. At least he'll contribute from Day One, right? (I'm being a little facetious, here).
Last year we ended up with three first rounders, essentially, when we drafted Byron Jones and Randy Gregory, while scoring La'el Collins after the draft. We can easily get a 1st round talent at the top of the 2nd round this year (probably more akin to the talent pool we'd have to choose from if Romo/Dez weren't injured all of 2015 anyway).
I keep going back to this: the opportunity for a good team like the Cowboys to select #4 overall in the draft this year is an extremely rare gift. Do you see a future Hall-of-Famer there at #4 at a position other than quarterback? A true generational, can't-miss talent? If you don't, then why not take this opportunity to get a head start on the future… the next 10-15 years of the Cowboys franchise?
The Cowboys' Super Bowl hopes are only eliminated when Romo retires if they haven't planned for a future beyond him. There will be a lot of talented players on this team when Romo hangs up his cleats, but they will need a General.