The 2017 NFL Draft is now over, and the Dallas Cowboys, together with the rest of the teams in the league are adjusting the direction in which their squads will go. During the free agency, most of the Cowboys’ secondary walked away, and their defense was endangered, but they managed to find a solution in the NFL Draft. Here are 10 surprising things in the Draft for the Cowboys.
1. Rod Marinelli Strikes Back
The Cowboys used to pick quality over quantity, but those days when they cherry picked one or two players they liked over what they needed are in the past. This year, the team needed to improve defensively, so seven out of 10 players went to the defense, thanks to the defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli. Four of those players – Taco Charlton, Jourdan Lewis, Xavier Woods and Chidobe Awuzie – are expected to make a name for themselves and make Dallas proud.
2. Taco or Chidobe
After the first pick, not everything seemed so great, but Chidobe Awuzie is the gentlemen who saved the 2017 NFL Draft for the Cowboys. He is going to be an important factor for the team, and he should fit perfectly.
3. What about Watt?
Are the Cowboys regret choosing Taco over T.J. Watt or everything will work out fine? What about Kevin King? Only time will tell, but the biggest franchise in NFL did a good job by going with Awuzie in the second round and picking up Jourdan Lewis in the third round. We all know that Lewis has the law problems he needs to deal with during the summer, but everything should just pan out.
4. Young Secondary
The secondary is young with the oldest defensive back on the roster being Orlando Scandrick and Nolan Carroll at 30. Byron Jones is 24, While is 22, whereas Woods, Lewis, and Awuzie are only 21. We must also mention Kavon Frazier and Anthony Brown who are 22 and 23 years old respectively, and they were drafted last year.
5. Dallas Cowboys B+
For this year, the Cowboys get a B+ for the draft, but if Taco turns out to be tremendous DE and another star, then the grade can easily be an A. Since we don’t know what is going to happen, this grade is based on what we saw so far. As a whole, the Cowboys did a great job although the other teams had some good picks. Just a reminder, Jaylon Smith (LB) and Charles Tapper (DE) will also join the squad.
6. Taco – Travis
Four years ago, the Cowboys picked up Travis Frederick as 31st overall and honestly, they couldn’t have chosen better. The center turned out to be great, and perhaps, Taco can be the next Travis. Players that were selected after Travis are Matt Elam, Jonathan Cyprien, Justin Hunter, Zach Ertz, Darius Slay, Giovani Bernard, Manti Te’o and Geno Smith. See where this is going?
7. Tight Ends
The tight end position is crucial, and the Cowboys need to believe that Rico Gathers will develop. Witten is basically one good player in this position, and if he gets hurt, this may influence the Cowboys’ game greatly. Interestingly enough, the team didn’t pick at least one tight end.
8. Obi Melifonwu
Obi Melifonwu, Connecticut safety was selected by the Raiders, and he is expected to do some great damage. Should the Cowboys have taken Obi over Taco as the 28th overall pick? Even though Obi ended up as 56th overall, he might have been a better choice, but you never know what will happen with these guys.
9. Trade Orlando or Not?
The Cowboys have put cornerback Orlando Scandrick on the trading block during the draft. This guy has been really productive for Dallas, and if he were to be traded, he would be missed. But who knows what may this team get.
10. Who stole the show?
The NFL Draft was stolen by the Cowboys wide receiver Drew Pearson when he picked up the mic. He reminded the Philly fans who the top dog is. You need to watch this speech several times.
