A look at the Cowboys draft picks in a holistic way."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Dallas Cowboys NewsDallas Cowboys 2019 DraftTrash or treasure: A fresh look at the Cowboys’ top draft picks in 2019New Dallas Cowboys Geoff Swaim Jersey ,149commentsA look at the Cowboys draft picks in a holistic way.CDTShareTweetShareShareTrash or treasure: A fresh look at the Cowboys’ top draft picks in 2019Brett Davis-USA TODAY SportsWe haven’t even had our first look at the Dallas Cowboys rookie class, but everybody is offering opinions about it. Of course, all the draft hauls around the NFL are being similarly judged. And the evaluations are all over the place. A few teams get mostly panned or praised, but most have a range of takes.There are some well known problems with the early grades. It starts with the “early” part, as in “way too”. We will not really know how these picks pan out for at least two to three years. Jaylon Smith is a great example. His selection was almost universally viewed as a waste of a premium draft spot on someone who might never play a down in the NFL. No one is talking about that now, as he has become half of arguably the best off-ball linebacking duo in the league, alongside Leighton Vander Esch - who also was widely criticized as being a very poor value when he was selected. Another major issue with the premature draft critiques is that, for the most part, they reflect some kind of big board thinking. A given player was ranked at 138 on a board, so being taken at 63 by team X is clearly a reach. The problem is that those big boards are the very definition of generic, with no real attempt to match up the particular strengths and weaknesses of the person with the scheme and philosophy of the team and its staff. That is where the title of this article comes from. Smith and Vander Esch are one great example of how players many teams didn’t value as highly as the Cowboys were extremely valuable for Dallas, especially when the synergy of putting them side-by-side came into play. Another is the de facto first-round selection of the Cowboys this year, Amari Cooper. The Oakland Raiders, or perhaps we should say Jon Gruden, just did not see much worth in keeping him, especially when the Cowboys were willing to pony up that first-round pick. But Cooper came in and not only jump started the Dallas offense, he pretty much saved the season for them.So here is a look at the Cowboys first three picks Womens Geoff Swaim 2019 Jersey , the so-called “premium” rounds they had without that first-rounder, and how they fit specifically for what the team is trying to do.Trysten HillFull disclosure: I was one who was somewhat disappointed they passed on a safety like Juan Thornhill. I was not too surprised, however, because just like they did with Vander Esch last year, the Cowboys were signalling that they were very high on Hill. Especially defensive coordinator and line coach Rod Marinelli, who just about spent every moment he could communicating and even visiting with HIll. Still, that led to a lot of opinions like this one from ESPN on the biggest needs that were unaddressed in the draft. That certainly has some validity, but it also ignores what Hill did address: The way the Marneilli defense feeds off a high-motor, high-efficiency 3-tech that adds significant pressure from the interior of the line. Hill is seen as exactly that. Maliek Collins is a good 3-tech, but Hill is believed to be a possible upgrade. Besides, Marinelli uses a lot of rotation with his linemen to keep them fresh. Collins has had some issues staying healthy the entire season, and last year, the Dallas line looked worn down by the latter part of the season. That really came back to haunt them in the loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs, as we saw them absolutely shredded by the Rams’ run game. Addressing those issues was likely not only the driving factor behind Hill’s selection in the second round, it also led to the day three picks of Joe Jackson and Jalen Jelks. They had already taken some steps in that direction in free agency by acquiring Christian Covington and Kerry Hyder as well. Correct or not, the Cowboys approach on defense is that pass rush is the foundation, with a complementary run defense. There is no better example of what they seek than DeMarcus Lawrence White Terrell Owens Jersey , the big signing so far this offseason. Lawrence terrorizes quarterback, and has an outstanding ability to track down and snuff out runs. He just needs more help, and Hill looks like exactly that. Taking a defensive tackle over a safety was not ignoring their biggest need. They just had a different view of that need than outsiders.Connor McGovernThere was one big surprise pick, and that was taking an offensive lineman in the third. Given the past investments in the offensive line, and the optimism the team has about Travis Frederick and the reshaped physique of Connor Williams, there was certainly a bit of “What???” when McGovern’s name was called. But as the video of the decision to send his card up revealed, the team was high on him, and a bit stunned he was available at pick 90. In particular, Jason Garrett was all but shouting at Stephen Jones “We love Connor!” while the team was considering a last minute trade offer for the spot. This is the other side of the philosophy of the trenches being the foundation of the Cowboys. With Frederick still recovering from his GBS and the struggles the team still had at times last season, they clearly felt it was worth it to shore up the line. And it offers them options for 2020, when they may well lose La’el Collins to free agency. McGovern is almost certainly a pick whose real value will not show until two or three years down the road. But as noted above, they have been doing pretty well with some of those kinds of moves. Look for McGovern to make some significant contributions during his time in Dallas.Tony PollardPollard, on the other hand, is a player whose contributions could well start immediately. He is not a starter, but a role player for both the offense and special teams, where he is penciled in as the kick returner. He is projected to fill the same role they envisioned for Tavon Austin when they traded for him last year. Austin was hampered by injury, and likely also by the much-discussed shortcomings of former offensive coordinator Scott Linehan. Now Terrell Owens Jersey 2019 , Linehan’s replacement Kellen Moore has not one but two dynamic and explosive players that can be moved all over the formation (assuming Austin stays healthy). And Pollard may have more to offer, since he also has more ability as a runner. If Moore is given free reign and shows the hoped-for creativity with the offense, then Pollard can have an outsized impact for the number of plays he is actually on the field. His presence on the field doesn’t have to tip whether the play is a run or a pass, which is something the team truly needs. And once he gets his hands on the ball, he can do some serious damage.His selection looked like it was really designed to help Moore make things work. It is one more example of how the unique situation of the Cowboys drove things, something that does not always show up in the outside critiques. But some, like ESPN’s Todd McShay, caught a glimpse of what Dallas was up to. These three picks may have been a real waste for some teams. But for the Cowboys, they look like great fits for what the team is trying to do this season. That makes them potentially very valuable. We will have to see. Still, there is a lot of reason to hope they will work out. At long last the 2018 NFL season has come to a close. The New England Patriots are Super Bowl Champions once again, their third title in five seasons, thanks to a 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday in Atlanta.The Cowboys were not playing in Atlanta, they did so back in November and got a nice win of their own. Instead, the Cowboys were at home watching because they were sent packing by the Rams in the divisional round out in L.A., an unfortunate reality that most have made peace with by now.There’s no denying that the Rams are a very talented team with a bright future. They have one of the NFL’s most impressive young coaches in Sean McVay, one of the greatest defensive coordinators of all time in Wade Phillips, one of the best running backs in Todd Gurley Dallas Cowboys Joe Jackson Jersey , and plenty of other bells and whistles. Unfortunately for them, it wasn’t enough against the mighty Tom Brady and the Patriots defense.The Rams were really bad in the Super BowlIn their defense, L.A. was going up against the greatest coach and quarterback ever in Bill Belichick and Brady. It’s hard to beat those guys (unless you have magic Nick Foles powers) and that was obvious all throughout “the big game.”L.A. was kind of a mess, though. A big one. The Rams only scored three points (they did miss a field goal at the end) and despite being regarded as one of the league’s best offenses they didn’t get into the endzone a single time. That’s both an indictment of their performance and a testament to New England’s greatness. What people will likely remember about how the Rams fared in Super Bowl LIII will be the three points, Todd Gurley’s usage, and Jared Goff’s bad game. You see the Rams only handed Gurley (again... one of the best backs in the game) the ball 10 times. It was an extension of his curious usage throughout the playoffs (save for the Cowboys game of course) which is clouded all the more every time a Rams official says that Gurley was fully healthy.Jared Goff on the other hand, the number one overall pick in 2016, had one of the worst games from a Super Bowl quarterback that we’ve seen in some time. Now, Goff made it to the Super Bowl which is obviously a huge accomplishment, but as you’re likely well-aware the Rams aren’t exactly regarded to be a team that totally earned their place in the game of all games (Saints fans nod in agreement).Goff completed half of his 38 passes for a measly 229 yards but the biggest demerit was without question his horrific interception as the Rams were trying to tie the game. Down by seven inside New England’s 30-yard line Goff threw up the ultimate YOLO (you only live once) ball for what looked like no apparent reason. It’s like he closed his eyes and chunked it.This is one of the worst decisions that a quarterback can make at any point and Jared Goff did it in the Super Bowl. It was an all-around pedestrian effort from him, but this throw is without question the exclamation point of it. Can you imagine what would happen if a certain Dallas Cowboys quarterback had done this?Yes, the world would be on fire if Dak Prescott had a brain fart similar to Jared Goff’s on the biggest stage possible. He’d be called trash and garbage and all sorts of clever insults (some not so clever) while Goff’s whoopsie will be filed under team errors by the Rams. It’s part of the reality that Dak plays for the Cowboys and Goff for the Rams, but it also remains true that we should look at the draftmates objectively at all times.Jared Goff had a bad game in the Super Bowl but he’s still a very good quarterback. Remember this when evaluating Dak Prescott in the moments he has that aren’t so sterling. It’ll make the internet a much better place, and who doesn’t want that?
