NFL Draft Day 2

Day 2 of the draft, to put it simply, was extremely frustrating. The Cowboys traded down 4 times before making their first pick! It was not necessary at all to trade down and pick up extra picks later that aren't going to make the roster. Jerry Jones does this every year: he trades down for average value and then trades up again, causing us to miss out on good players that were drafted between our original and final spot. The only good thing was that after all the trading was done, we ended up with an extra 3rd and 4th rounder next year. This either means the Cowboys think next year's draft is really deep, or they are stockpiling picks to have enough ammo for a veteran WR trade.

The Cowboys would have taken Charles Godfrey, the defensive back from Iowa, had he been there at their 3rd round pick. As it was, they traded down a gazillion times to get Tashard Choice, a RB from Georgia Tech. We got good value for him in the 4th since he was projected for the middle of the 3rd round. Choice will be insurance in case Marion Barber leaves next year or Barber/Felix get hurt (Alonzo Spellman was our current third back). He will also give the Cowboys leverage in long-term contract negotiations with Barber.

The next pick, Orlando Scandrick CB Boise State, was also good value in the 5th. He was projected to go late 3rd/early 4th. Scandrick was also taken for injury/depth/insurance reasons. If Terence Newman walks as a free agent, Scandrick will be needed as a backup. For now, he will compete with our young corners Alan Ball, Evan Oglesby, and Courtney Brown for the 5th cornerback spot.

The last pick in the 6th was a "WTF JERRY!" pick. Jerry Jones usually has a couple of these a year in the later rounds. Every year the "WTF JERRY!" picks are players from small schools that do not fill a position the Cowboys need. Jerry touts these players as his sleeper projects. This year, Erik Walden, a DE from Middle Tennessee State, fits the bill. Many rankings did not have him as one of the top 50 DEs in the draft, and he wasn't even included in Pro Football Weekly's draft guide. I think we should have taken a nose tackle here to pair with Tank Johnson so that Jay Ratliff can move to his natural position outside at DE. I would even prefer a quarterback that can be brought along slowly as the backup, rather than having Father Time (Brad Johnson) as our current backup QB.

We didn't take a receiver in this draft, and I can live with that. None of the receivers in the later rounds would have beat out Miles Austin, Sam Hurd, or Isiah Stanback for a roster spot anyways. Plus, Stanback is basically like a rookie because he was injured most of last year, his rookie season. I believe that Stanback, the athletic QB-turned-WR, just might be the speedster that we've been looking for to pair with Terrell Owens.

Here's what we've lost and gained so far this off-season:

Julius Jones ---> Felix Jones
Tyson Thompson ---> Tashard Choice
Jacques Reeves ---> Pacman Jones
Nate Jones ---> Mike Jenkins
Keith Davis ---> Orlando Scandrick
Akin Ayodele ---> Zach Thomas
Anthony Fasano ---> Martellus Bennett
Jason Ferguson ---> Undrafted free agent?

That looks pretty good to me. We improved at nearly every position we lost a player, especially the secondary.

I give the Cowboys' second day a B- and the Cowboys' draft as a whole a B+.