Dallas Cowboys to Target DL, OL in 3rd Round of 2012 NFL Draft
The Dallas Cowboys will wisely target pass rushers and interior offensive lineman on Day 2 of the 2012 NFL Draft. The Cowboys made a stunning move during the first round on Thursday night by trading up to No. 6 overall to draft cornerback Morris Claiborne from LSU. That move shores up the Cowboy’s secondary for years to come as Claiborne will be paired with the recently-signed Brandon Carr. However, Dallas has work to do in the mid-to-late rounds of the draft to address other needs and team owner Jerry Jones knows that.
“We know what a pass rusher does for you, and teaming him up with [DeMarcus] Ware would have been a great combination if it had been there,” Jones said. “We didn’t see it [in the first round]. We know that if we got a good opportunity to really make a difference with a quality interior offensive lineman. We looked at what kind of impact that would have – [Tony] Romo’s confidence, Romo feeling good about the interior and all that. And then we looked at the secondary.”
In other words, the Cowboys saw that Claiborne was still going to be on the board at No. 6, a pick the St. Louis Rams had already offered to Dallas via trade before the draft began. The best two players on Dallas’ board left at No. 14 were LSU defensive tackle Michael Brockers and Stanford guard David DeCastro, but as Jones stated, the Cowboys didn’t believe either player was worth the pick since the opportunity to get Claiborne was there.
However, the Cowboys now must address the positions of pass-rusher and guard/center on Days 2 and 3 of the draft. Dallas could make a splash by trading for the New York Giants’ Osi Umenyiora, but that’s a stretch, even though it’s a move the Cowboys should consider.
Now we look to the best players still left on the board, although many of them will be gone in the second round of the draft while Dallas watches…unless Jones pulls another crazy move and trades back into the second round, which is definitely a possibility.
Of course, Alabama linebacker Courtney Upshaw is the best player still on the board. It’s a crime he wasn’t chosen in the top 15 picks, much less the entire first round. However, the Cowboys’ recent franchise tag of Anthony Spencer all but rules out another monumental move up to take Upshaw.
Players of value that could slide into the third round for Dallas are:
Defensive ends Trevor Guyton from California and Billy Winn from Boise State; outside linebackers Zach Brown from North Carolina and Cam Johnson from Virginia; guards/centers Brandon Brooks from Ohio State, Kelechi Osemele from Iowa State, Joe Looney from Wake Forest and James Brown from Troy.
Any of these players would be solid choices in the third round, although Guyton is the cream of this middle-round crop. There’s no point in predicting the second and third rounds in any shape, form or fashion after watching the first round unfold. There could be a large number of trades still ahead, so the only thing to do now is sit back and cross our fingers that Dallas makes smart moves.
Follow Jeric Griffin on Twitter @JericGriffin or on Facebook at Jeric Griffin – Rant Sports
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