By: John Ramirez
It is no secret that the Dallas Cowboys can identify draft talent and develop those players. We have all seen it, starting with Tony Romo. An undrafted quarterback that ended up being the face of the franchise for 14 years. But three times out of the year can frustrate Cowboys fans the most. NFL free agency, the NFL draft, and the playoffs. Although I was not frustrated with the draft, I was not excited. In the first round at pick 29, the Cowboys selected Tyler Guyton. The Cowboys were able to trade back from 23 to 29, fill a position of need, and receive a third-round pick.
But a point of emphasis for me was a running back, now we all know the running back is not valued as it once was in the ’90s and early 2000s. However, teams still need to run the ball, it is a fundamental part of the game. If you can run the ball, you get an 8-man front, play action against a team expecting the run, and try to hit the home run ball. I guess what I am saying is there is still a need for running backs and not even one was taken for the Cowboys. Instead, we pick up an edge rusher in the second round. Do you know who was available in the second round to pick? Trey Benson the electric running back that helped Florida State to an undefeated season until they played Georgia. I will give you another player the Cowboys could have drafted. Does the name Blake Corum ring a bell? The running back that helped carry Michigan to a national championship. The Los Angeles Rams picked Corum with the 83rd overall pick. The Cowboys would go on to pick a linebacker five picks later.
Earlier in the third round the Cowboys would select Cooper Beebe the Detroit gave us in the trade mentioned earlier. I think this is a fine pick considering Guyton would be your left tackle, Tyler Smith would be left guard, Zack Martin remains your right guard and Terrence Steele is your right tackle. Beebe could come in and take over the vacant position of center. The next third-round pick would be used to select Marist Liufau, a linebacker from Notre Dame. He shows good fundamentals and can read his defensive keys well. Cornerback Caelon Carson from Wake Forest and lord knows we need a new cornerback considering our backups are players like Nahshon Wright.
Ryan Flournoy comes in for the Cowboys as the sixth-round pick. He comes out of the SE Missouri State, although I do not know much about him. His 40-yard dash time is 4.44, possibly making him the fastest receiver on the team and we need someone who can utilize that speed to get behind the defense’s secondary. In the seventh round at pick 233, the next pick would be Nathan Thomas another Offensive Lineman from Louisiana-Lafayette. The final pick for the Cowboys was Justin Rogers a defensive tackle from Auburn. He is a big man weighing 336 pounds, hopefully, he would bring depth and an ability to shut down an offense’s interior run game.
Even though there were no exciting names to be called by the Cowboys, it was still a solid draft that addressed some needs that the team needed to fill. We can only look forward to training camp and preseason to see how it all unfolds.
