For the last several months there have been countless mock drafts. And I can't remember any of them predicting what actually took place with the Cowboys 1st round pick. The Cowboys gave up their 2nd round pick and their pick at #14 to get the Rams pick at #6. And with that pick they took Morris Claiborne, the top cornerback in the draft.
I'm excited by the pick. The Cowboys were aggressive and got the guy they wanted. And they have now completely overhauled the cornerback position and transformed it from a weakness to a strength in one offseason. That isn't easy to pull off.
Now the big question is what can the Cowboys do to get back into the 2nd round. Claiborne was a great pick and should be a playmaker for years to come. But the Cowboys need a lot more than one player to turn the team around.
There are already some rumors that the Cowboys might package Mike Jenkins and one of their 4th round picks to get back into the 2nd round. That would make sense especially considering that Jenkins is entering the last year of his contract and he is asking for big money.
We'll see how it plays out. If the Cowboys can trade Jenkins then great. But if they can't then they are absolutely loaded at cornerback. I definitely consider the first round trade and the pick to be excellent. But that is just the first pick. The Cowboys need to hit on 3 or 4 more guys to make this a successful draft.
I don't like this pick. I hate taking DB's in the top ten anytime, unless we're talking Ronnie Lott or Ed Reed.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Dallas's history of picking DB's high is dubious at best. Newman was solid, not great, by any means, and we all know what happened with Roy Williams after Woodson retired.
I would have very much preferred a pass rusher, even though I admit there's not a consensus elite rusher in this draft. So, trade down then.
Even if this guy is a top corner, that means nothing if the pass rush is lacking, especially up the middle.
I will give it up to JJ that they didn't pay much of a price to move up that far, just a 2nd, which is rather cheap all things considered. I just wish the player was a D-lineman or pass rusher instead of a little CB who's kind of an idiot.
You call Claiborne an idiot, but I doubt you have ever actually watched a game he played in. His football IQ is high and his ability to make a play on the ball is unprecedented. So what if he had a low Wonderlic score. That doesn't amount to anything! This will be an elite player for years to come. Not to mention the first round is almost over and PLENTY of first round graded players are still available. I see us getting back into the 2nd round somehow.
ReplyDeleteI like the pick I don't care what his wonderlick score was all he has to do is cover a number on the field in a diffrent jersey sounds easy enough to do
ReplyDeleteHe said he tanked the wonderlic because it had nothing to do with football...this is one of the best moves the cowboys have made in a long time...lets see what day 2 brings us.
ReplyDeleteGreat player, I do hate to lose the 2nd rounder though... but I'll take it as I really didn't like any of the other players that would have been available, and trading down might have been difficult. I honestly don't care about the low wonderlic score, he seems intelligent enough, he did say he blew it off because it had nothing to do with football, and honestly, playing corner doesn't require you to be a genius.
ReplyDeleteWell Denver, as I was born and raised in the deep south, and I'm in Mississippi now, that's SEC territory in case you didn't know, I have watched a LOT of LSU football over several decades, so you lose that little guess. As well as guessing we would get back into the first round.
ReplyDeleteAnyway it's not the PLAYER I mind, it's the position. For a corner, Mo is top notch, but CB's just don't seem to make that much of a difference, at least compared to other defensive positions.
BTW, in 2010 LSU had Claiborne AND Patrick Peterson, yet lost 2 games giving up 24 and 31 to Auburn and Arkansas respectively. With not one, but two such talented and highly ranked CB's how in the world did anyone score at all against the Bengals?
Because they were corners.
As for the Wonderlic, it means SOMETHING, or else teams wouldn't give the test and keep score. You guys actually believe him when he says he blew that off? LOL! Think his agent recommended that? What else would he say? Hey, I'm stupid? The very fact he would think the test meant nothing shows his ignorance on some things. I agree it has little to do with football intelligence, and he does seem like a decent kid, but I'd still hate to have everyone know I scored so low on something like that. Embarrassing.
Still, after thinking about things, I don't dislike the pick as much as I did earlier. It IS an area of need, and Claiborne seems like a great prospect (For a CB), and there wasn't a consensus elite pass rusher available.
There's no question that if he's as good as advertised he'll make our defense better, but I really, really wanted a nasty DE or NT in the draft.
I do like our other picks though, as a group.