The 2017 NFL draft is now just days away, which means the long-awaited event is finally upon us. With that in mind, I thought it would be a good time to issue a mock draft challenge to all of you and give everyone a chance to try their hand at being GM/Owner Jerry Jones for the Dallas Cowboys.
I did this mock draft challenge back in January, but things have changed since then. We should all have a much better understanding of the Dallas Cowboys team needs and the potential prospects they could be targeting.
Of course, we have to establish some kind of ground rules in order for this to be as close to realistic as possible. So, this is how it’s going to work.
Using Fanspeak’s mock draft simulator you will select the prospect of your choice for the Cowboys in each round. But, here’s the catch. You have to draft the player in the correct slotted area for the Cowboys. For instance, the Cowboys have the 28th overall draft pick in the first round, so you can’t draft a player that is ranked lower than that.
I personally agree with Matt Miller’s player rankings the most, so I used his big board for this exercise. Below is how my Cowboys draft turned out for this mock draft challenge.
Round 1 (28th overall) – Tyus Bowser, DE, University of Houston
Round 2 (60th overall) – Marcus Williams, S, Utah
Round 3 (92nd overall) – JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, USC
Round 4 (113rd overall) – Teez Tabor, CB, Florida
Round 6 (211th overall) – Donnel Pumphrey, RB, San Diego State
Round 7 (228th overall) – Avery Gennesy, OT, Texas A&M
Round 7 (246th overall) – Jeremy Cutrer, CB, Middle Tennessee State
I don’t know about you, but I would absolutely ecstatic if this is how the Dallas Cowboys draft actually turned out.
Tyus Bowser is a little bit under the radar as a defensive end prospect, but could be exactly what the Cowboys are looking for to improve their pass rush. He is one of the more athletically gifted DEs in the entire draft class and I think he can get anywhere from 6 to 8 quarterback sacks as a rookie.
With the exception of Byron Jones, I’m not a big fan of the safeties on the Cowboys roster. That is why I drafted Marcus Williams in the second round for the Cowboys. He is one of the better ball hawking safeties in the entire draft class and would allow the Cowboys secondary to get really creative with their coverages.
JuJu Smith-Schuster has #1 WR potential and would be really good insurance in case Dez Bryant continues to struggle with injuries. He could compete to play opposite Bryant as a rookie.
In the fourth round I think I got an absolute steal. Teez Tabor looks like a first-round CB on film, but his poor 40 yard dash time is going to drop him in the draft. He could end up being a Day 1 starter for the Cowboys.
The rest of the players I drafted will provide some solid depth and be key backup role players as rookies. Pumphrey would likely take over Lance Dunbar’s role, Gennesy will compete to be the Cowboys right tackle, and Cutrer could challenge for playing time as a rookie at CB.
All in all, I personally think this would be an excellent draft for the Dallas Cowboys.
How did your Dallas Cowboys mock draft turn out?
Use the comment section below to share with all of us how you did in the place of GM Jerry Jones.
1st Round Pick 28 EDGE CHARLES HARRIS MISSOURI (Finally get speed off the edge)
2nd Round Pick 60: CB CORDREA TANKERSLEY CLEMSON (Great cover corner)
3rd Round Pick 92 WR JUJU SMITH-SCHUSTER USC (Large,Fast & Strong WR they love)
4th Round Pick 133 S XAVIER WOODS LOUISIANA TECH (Center fielder who can hit)
6th Round Pick 211 RB AARON JONES UTEP (Perfect 3rd Down back for the Cowboys)
7th Round Pick 228 OT CONOR MCDERMOTT UCLA (Possible Chaz Green replacement)
7th Round Pick 246 DL JEREMIAH LEDBETTER ARKANSAS (Rotational D-line depth)
Using your logic, Gennesy is not there at 228. Using Matt Miller’s board, if you like Bowser, I think you have to go 1 King-CB or Tre White-CB 2 Bowser-DE 3 John Johnson-S. No O-linemen worth late round flier. I personally prefer 1-King-CB (would consider Tre White as well), 2-Melifonwu-S, 3-D Walker-Edge, 4-Kittle-TE, 6- Boulware-LB, 7A-Pumphrey-RB, 7B-Westbrook-WR
Rd1 s. obi melifonwu
Rd2 cb. adoree Jackson
Rd3 cb. Sidney Jones
Rd4 de. damarcus walker
Rd5 ot. storm Norton
Rd7 wr. fred ross
Rd7 DL. Jeremiah ledbetter
As you can see I overhauled the secondary. Melifonwu can easily replace church as the run stopper, but can also shut down the TE’s that killed us last year. Adoree Jackson can easily become 1 of the best slot corners in the league. And Sidney Jones when he gets healthy is going to be a baller, he’s still my favorite corner with the injury and id be ecstatic to get him in the 3rd. Damarcus walker could turn out to be a good player with some marrinelli magic. The other guys are just devepmental players that I hope could eventually turn into good players. God willing every one stays and/or gets all the healthy, how would this starting defense sound ?
FS Byron jones
SS Obi melifonwu
LB Sean Lee
LB Jaylon Smith
CB Sidney Jones
CB Anthony Brown
CB Adoree Jackson, or Orlando scandrick
And of course a DL rotation of Lawrence, Irving, mayowa, tapper, walker, Collins, crawford, Thornton, paea. Unfortunately I’m just hoping for irving, tapper, and collins to really break out and improve this year to make a difference on the DL. But atleast our secondary would be rebuilt and looking like it could be 1 of the best in the league. We didn’t get our war daddy DE in this draft but maybe next year Gregory pulls his head out of his butt, and we land another good 1 in the 1st rd of next years draft.
I think they are going to go pass rusher much higher and I doubt Sidney Jones is even another draft board. But, this wouldn’t be a bad draft for the Cowboys.
There is a high likelihood Sidney Jones doesn’t play at all this season with the achilles injury and based on JJ’s comments about redshirt players I don’t see that happening. Especially as a 3rd pick.
I like your draft for the most part. I was on Bowser months ago but never as a 1st round guy. When i started doing mocks in January he was usually a 4th to I think 6th round guy. He has flown up into the first round and i always get a little concerned about that. His tape is good and he does look like a Marinelli kind of guy. Love the Marcus Williams and Juju picks. I’m in the camp that believes we need a receiver sooner rather than later and I think Schuster is one of the guys we should be targeting. I’m not in love with Tabor though he has good tape but if he is there in the 4th round I would say it’s worth the risk. I’m not so concerned about his 40 time…just don’t like his attitude and off-field antics. Pumphrey is an easy guy to root for but I’m just not a fan of little backs. i know he has been durable in college but the NFL is a different game. I don’t know much about Gennesy but we need an OT so at that point your just looking for a guy that can hopefully make the team. I think Cutrer could be a steal at that pick. I think his upside is pretty high. If this was our draft I wouldn’t be mad. Let me take a fresh cut.
Bowser reminds me of Leonard Floyd, who the Cowboys were pretty high on last year. Ideally I would rather draft him in a trade back scenario, but I would be okay if they took him at 28. Marcus Williams would allow the secondary to do so many different things with their coverages. He would even allow Jones to play some CB if necessary. Smith-Schuster would be good insurance if Dez Bryant continues to struggle with injuries. I like Tabor the middle rounds. With a safety like Byron Jones or Williams playing over the top, his lack of deep speed is less of a concern. And I’m with you on smaller RBs. I would rather get those guys as undrafted free agents. Gennesy would provide competition at RT, but could play OG as well. And I really like Cutrer. He needs to get in the weight room and add some muscle, but he could compete for playing time as a rookie.
Ok so nobody wants to look at two mocks but I did two because I want to see what it looks like going DE first and what it looks like going CB first. Here is Mock #1:
28: R1P28
EDGE T.J. WATT
WISCONSIN
60: R2P28
DL MALIK MCDOWELL
MICHIGAN STATE
92: R3P28
CB AHKELLO WITHERSPOON
COLORADO
133: R4P26
S DELANO HILL
MICHIGAN
211: R6P27
QB JEROD EVANS
VIRGINIA TECH
228: R7P10
RB AARON JONES
UTEP
246: R7P28
WR KENNY GOLLADAY
I went with Watt in rd. 1 because 1) Did you see how good he was in his first year to start and 2) I believe his ceiling is tremendous. When JJ says he is better than he was at that point then just send the card in. With #60 I had to get Malik McDowell. Does he take a play off from time to time. Yeah maybe but with him and Watt and the pieces they have this will allow them to put the best line forward and anyone that doesn’t make the roster so long. Witherspoon has all the physical traits the Cowboys covet at 6-2 and 200 lbs, with long reach and good speed. He is a complete fit for what we are looking for. Also happens to be a pre-med student so he is super smart. Delano Hill is not a name we have heard a lot but at 6-1, 225 he is physical, can wrap up tackles, true in the box safety with cover skills with great upside. Dane Brugler has him as his #11 safety with a rd. 3-4 grade. True SS with 3 INT’s this past season. We need to draft a backup QB and Jerod Evans is a name that has been linked to Dallas. Aaron Jones has been on my radar for awhile. Yeah he’s only 5-9 but just under 210 lbs. Adequate speed with good vision, with both excellent pass catching and blocking skills. This is really all we need from a relief RB and he would be a welcome addition. Last guy is Kenny Golladay. He is another guy that is not getting a lot of love but he could be a real sleeper at WR. Has a 4th round grade from Brugler and at 6-4, 220 offers that big imposing target you look for. He is from Tony Roma’s Alumni Northern Illinois and had 2300 yards and 18 TD’s the last two seasons. Great football character and a RKG Garrett guy.
I think this would be an excellent draft of the Cowboys. I am concerned about Watt’s college injuries, but he has really good upside. I would be surprised if McDowell makes it out of the first round. I actually think Marinelli is really high on him and would be a consideration at 28. I also like Witherspoon. I think he could be a day 1 starter. All in all, I would be happy with this draft.
Using the Big Board from Jonah Tuls from Draft Breakdown (most recent), here’s what I netted…
1-28 – TJ Watt, EDGE, Wisconsin. Jonah’s 13th ranked player. Quincy Wilson, Takk McKinley, Charles Harris and Gareon Conley were taken just after. I don’t think corner is as dire as others make it.
2-60 – Rasul Douglass, CB, West Virginia. Jonah’s 43rd ranked player. Would have preferred Cordrea Tankersley, but he was ranked 63rd and per the rules, couldn’t select someone ranked lower than the draft slot. Other option would have been Jabril Peppers. Just not so sure.
3-92 – Dede Westbrook, WR, Oklahoma .There were three Wide Receivers and two CBs on the board. Chris Godwin, Cooper Kupp, and Dede Westbrook. I chose Westbrook. His downfield speed provides something that this offense doesn’t have. Sidney Jones was one of the Cornerbacks, but as has been mentioned, it’s not likely the front office takes ‘redshirt’ players this year.
4-133 – Joe Mathis, EDGE, Washington. They like to throw numbers at the defensive line and I’m giving them what they like. I’m a bit concerned about Demarcus Lawrence at this point. His back isn’t staying healthy and it’s important to have flexibility there. Between Tapper, Watt, and Mathis, the defensive end group is going to get an injection of talent in 2017. Also considered D’Onta Foreman.
6-211 – Jordan Evans, LB, Oklahoma – If you watched as much OU football as I have, then you know that Evans is a straight up playmakers. Interceptions and pass breakups for days. Evans is the definition of a ball hawk. Would allow you to mix and match your personnel in nickel using him and Lee to drop in coverage while sending Scandrick on a blitz or lining up Jaylon Smith to rush off the EDGE. Evans could also play strong side linebacker in base formations. Ranked number 202 on Jonah’s board, he’ is the BPA at this point. Other options were WR and interior DL. I want the playmaker.
And then my internet quit and lost the rest of the draft.
Attempt number two…
1-28. TJ Watt, EDGE, Wisconsin
2-60. Akhello Witherspoon, CB, Colorado. Could have also gone Schuster, Rivers, Basham, or Awuzie.
3-92. Josh Jones, S, NC State. Would have liked Xavier Woods, but he was ranked lower than pick 92. Desmond King was the other option at Safety. Dede Westbrook was available at WR. Jordan Willis the top rated EDGE player. Highly considered it, but think I can still add at the positions a bit later.
4-133. Taywan Taylor WR, Western Kentucky. He was the 92nd rated player on the board. Also could have gone a different direction in the third because Tedric Thompson was available to me here. Oh well. Taylor was a highly productive receiver with a lot of skills that can be used in a lot of areas on the field.
6-211. Charles Walker, DL, Oklahoma. Didn’t want to go that direction, but everything available were WR and my man Jordan Evans was already gone.
7-228. Aaron Jones, RB, UTEP. Need a young back to develop.
7-246. Keionta Davis, EDGE, Chattanooga. Best player available.
This would be a good draft for the Cowboys.
This is a pretty good draft. Taking Douglas in the second round is a little high for me though. I think he’s going to have to be a zone CB in the NFL.
I have mixed opinions on him mostly because draftniks seem to be mixed on him as well. I like his size and I don’t mind if he’s a zone corner. I think zone allows more opportunities to create turnovers.
If you like Bowser, you can get him in the 2nd round based on Matt Millers rankings.
1-Tre White-CB-LSU
2-Marcus Williams-S-Utah
3-Demarcus Walker-DE-Florida State
4-Dede Westbrook-WR-Oaklahoma
6-Ben Boulware-LB-Clemson
7A-Jeremy Clark-CB-Michigan
7B-Hunter Dimmick-Edge-Utah
No great passrushers at 28 or 60 so take the best CB and S. Walker is very underrated. Boulware is a tackling machine and will stick just for special teams if nothing else. Clark is a project that could be a safety or CB.