Day 1 draft thoughts...

So the Cowboys took CB Byron Jones out of UConn in the first round.

Where to begin..?

Lets start with the good.  This guy is a freakish athlete who set an unofficial world's record in the broad jump at the combine and topped out several different combine categories.

He's a big corner at 6-1 199 who ran a 4.36 40 at the UConn pro day.  He physically looks like a #1 CB.

He's a guy from a very non-dysfunctional family.  The Cowboys love him as a person.  He fits their "right kind of guy" blueprint to a tee.  He clearly has great talent and they feel like he is going to work hard for them.

A lot of scouts think very highly of him.

Now the bad.

He had an jury that took him out for most of his senior year.  That injury undoubtedly suppressed his rankings entering the pre-draft process so take this next bit with some salt.

I pulled the NFL and Yahoo's list of the top 150 or so prospects entering the combine. He wasn't on either of them.

That is a little concerning.

I looked in the two draft magazines I purchased this year...He didn't make either magazine.  At all. Nowhere.

Magazines will miss sometimes, but this is becoming a little more concerning.

conclusions

I think the timing of the injury could explain a lot with regards to the lists.  That and the fact that CBs more than any other position jump all over the board leading up to the draft, but thinking you know more than everyone else in drafting is usually a pretty good sign of fatal groupthink in your selection room.  That concerns me.

I recently heard a story told by former scout Brian Broaddus on former Cowboy's 1st round bust DE Shante Carver.  Broaddus worked for the Packers back then and they had Carver as a seventh round grade and had crossed him off their board because Carver had a real problem with chewing tobacco.  He chewed so much of it that it was painful for him to eat.

Now Carver had the knack and talent for pass rushing but only weighed about 235.   The Packers rightly concluded they would never be able to get him to eat enough to get up to the 260 range required to handle an NFL pounding.

Jerry and the Cowboys clearly thought they were outsmarting the league.

Carver had some sacks in the NFL, but it was quickly apparent he was too small to start and would never gain any weight.  He was quickly replaced by a more sizeable 1st round DE.  He was out of the league in a few years. (I have long thought the Cowboys made a huge mistake in not limiting Carver to being a pass rush specialist getting 15 passing plays a game, but I suppose that was not conceptually "what they invested in".)

Now this is the anti-Carver here.  Where Carver had red flag around him and an excellent collegiate resume, this kid is just the opposite.

While I am excited we landed a 6-1 199 CB with 4.36 speed who looks pretty solid on and off the field and a lot of scouts like, the draft follower in me can't help but think this kind of pick rarely is a home run.

Still it is a need position and the scheme protects CBs. We just need him to tackle his guy after the catch.  He seems like a guy who will do that.  With this CB situation he will get every chance to play.

If he turns into a solid #2 CB I'll be happy.