Draft Review: Dallas Cowboys

Bruce Matson

Editors’ Note: As part of our ongoing post-draft coverage, we’re doing our very best to leave no stone unturned and bringing you draft recaps from each and every NFL franchise. Make sure you’re ready for your dynasty league rookie draft by staying up on all these articles, checking out our rookie SWOT series, rookie draft guide, rookie rankings, rookie draft cheat sheet and mock draft rooms. There are simply no better resources out there for dynasty fantasy football enthusiasts.

There are a lot of questions that need to be answered about Dallas’ future after finishing last season with a 4-12 record, their worst season since 1989. Tony Romo missed the majority of the season due to a broken collar bone which suffocated the Cowboy’s offense. Dez Bryant broke a bone in his foot causing him to miss weeks two-through-five, which hurt the offense’s production even more. Dallas couldn’t get the offense off the ground with Brandon Weeden, Matt Cassel and Kellen Moore at quarterback which made it seem Dallas was going to be a major player for one of the top quarterbacks in the draft.

The horrific play from the carousel of backup quarterbacks might not have gotten Dallas to the playoffs but they did help them earn the fourth pick in the draft. During the entire off-season the narrative of them drafting a quarterback with their first round pick echoed through out the media to the point it was hard to stomach listening to any coverage surrounding the Cowboys draft. The Rams and the Eagles both traded up ahead of Dallas a few weeks before the draft to take the two top quarterbacks, Jared Goff and Carson Wentz, which allowed a few players that were high on everyone’s board to fall to Dallas, putting the ball in their court to make a franchise altering decision that could effect their team for years to come.

cowboys picks

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First Round – Ezekiel Elliott, RB Ohio State

Before the draft, Elliott was considered far and away the top pick in rookie drafts and his value escalated to one of the top players in all of dynasty once he was drafted by the Cowboys. With 3,961 rushing yards during his college career at Ohio State, it’s hard to deny that Elliott isn’t a premium prospect. His ability to pass protect and catch the ball out of the backfield should help keep Tony Romo upright in the pocket. Dallas is currently rebuilding their defense but they decided to draft Elliott over Jalen Ramsey, mainly because they can plug Elliott into the starting lineup immediately.

As a team, Dallas rushed for 1,888 yards while averaging 4.6 yards per carry during last season with a combination of running backs consisting of Darren McFadden, Joseph Randle, Robert Turbin, Christian Michael and Lance Dunbar. The Cowboys have one of the best offensive lines in the league, allowing them to play any running back with a heart beat and receive palatable production. Elliott is going to step in and be the best running back on the roster. He should be handed the starting running back job during the beginning of training camp and not look back.

Second Round – Jaylon Smith, LB Notre Dame

This was a very interesting pick by the Cowboys as many analysts and fans were predicting them to select a pass rusher, but with Emmanuel Ogbah and Kevin Dodd coming off the board during the first two picks of the second round, Dallas had to turn their focus to a different direction. Obviously, despite the knee injury, Smith was still very high on Dallas’ board and there were rumors that the Patriots were interested in selecting Smith with their second round pick. News leaked during the draft stating that Smith’s knee surgery was performed in Dallas and the Cowboys front office has a close relationship with the doctor who performed his surgery, leaving us to believe Dallas received inside information that Smith’s knee is healing better than what we are anticipating.

Dallas is a great landing spot for Smith because their defensive line is horrible at stopping the run which will generate a lot of opportunities for tackles. Dallas gave up 1,931 yards rushing last season, which indicates there’s going to be a lot of instances where running backs are going to break through to the second level of the defense providing Smith the ability to stock pile tackles in the box score. He’s a very talented linebacker and he’s going to make an impact in IDP leagues if he can recover from his knee injury and return to full health. His knee is a major gamble because we don’t know when he will be healthy enough to play and we don’t know if any of his athleticism will diminish due to the injury.

Third Round – Maliek Collins, DT Nebraska

He’s a true nose tackle who will be playing the one-technique in Rod Marinelli’s system. This was a shocking pick as many people were predicting Dallas to address their needs for a pass rusher but ultimately that didn’t happen with this pick. Marinelli is very talented when it comes to coaching up interior defensive linemen to maximize their potential. This pick makes zero impact in fantasy as Collins is more than likely going to be a rotational player on Dallas’ defensive line.

Fourth Round – Charles Tapper, DE Oklahoma

With Demarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory both facing four game suspensions, Dallas needed to to add depth at defensive end in order for them to get through the first few games of the season. Tapper wasn’t incredibly productive during his four-year career at Oklahoma, only posting 135 tackles and 13.5 sacks. His role with the team is providing depth at defensive end while trying to make his way into the rotation for snaps. There’s not going to be much opportunity for him to get enough snaps to make an impact in IDP leagues and he should go undrafted in rookie drafts.

Fourth Round – Dak Prescott, QB Mississippi

Dallas desperately needed to draft a quarterback to backup Tony Romo and also to groom to potentially become the future starting quarterback of the franchise. The Cowboys tried to trade back up into the first round to draft Paxton Lynch but they couldn’t get a deal done to make the move. They patiently waited until the time was right in the draft to select their next back up quarterback. Prescott was very impressive at the Senior Bowl, which made him stand out to NFL scouts. He wasn’t hyper productive in college but his game gradually matured during every year of his career. Unless you’re in a super deep league or a 2QB league, you’re more than likely not selecting him in your rookie drafts. Keep him on your watch list because if Romo goes down with another injury his fantasy value is more than likely going to increase.

Sixth Round – Anthony Brown, CB Purdue

Brown needs to contribute on special teams in order to make the roster. He was selected in the draft to provide depth for training camp and possibly in season if he makes the team. This draft pick won’t put a dent in IDP leagues, because corner backs usually supply unpredictable production and he’s more than likely not going to get enough opportunities to become a productive fantasy starter.

Sixth Round – Kavon Frazier, SS Central Michigan

Frazier is a late round pick which means there’s going to be a very steep uphill climb to make the 53-man roster. There are some things to like about him, he’s an in the box safety who is not afraid to lay to wood to the ball carrier, which means he could generate a lot of tackles if he would ever get the opportunity to start. Right now, he’s not draftable in rookie drafts, because he’s not going to receive enough opportunities to make him worth a roster spot on your fantasy team, but place him on your watch list just in case he earns a large market share of snaps in the future.

Sixth Round – Darius Jackson, RB Eastern Michigan

The writing is on the wall, we know Dallas is planning on making Ezekiel Elliott the focal point of the offense. There’s still some value to be had for Jackson as a situational back-up. He’s very athletic, at 6-foot-1, 220 pounds he ran a 4.38 40-yard dash and a 6.82 3-cone during his pro day. He’s going to flash during training camp and preseason and Dallas is going to be forced to somehow keep him on the roster. If for some reason Elliott would go down with an injury, Jackson could step in and could be a very productive replacement. Jackson holds value as a longshot end of bench stash in deep dynasty formats.

Sixth Round – Rico Gathers, TE Baylor

As they were trying to find a diamond in the rough, Dallas drafted a lot of highly athletic prospects with their sixth round picks. Gathers is a very interesting prospect since he doesn’t have any experience playing football at either college or high school. He was a basketball standout at Baylor and he looks to translate his skills as a highly successful college basketball player to an NFL tight end. I would avoid him in rookie drafts because it takes a few years for blue chip tight end prospects to develop which makes the odds slim to none that he develops into an everyday fantasy starter.

UDFA to Watch – Andy Jones, WR Jacksonville

There weren’t many skilled players left after the draft to sign but Jones’ athleticism could allow him to make the team. He’s 6-foot-2, 200 pounds and during his pro-day he ran a 4.53 40-yard dash and he jumped and amazing 41 ½ inch vertical. During his senior season at Jacksonville he caught 60 receptions for 890 yards and eight touchdowns which allowed him to own a 26.49 percent market share of the team’s passing offense. More than likely he will just be another camp-body during training camp but his college production combined with his athleticism suggests there’s a chance he could turn some heads during preseason.

UDFA to Watch – Chris Brown, WR Notre Dame

A lot of Dallas Cowboy fans are real excited about picking Brown up as an undrafted free agent, but there’s a reason why none of the teams wanted to draft him. During his four-year career at Notre Dame he only caught 104 receptions for 1,410 yards and six touchdowns. He wasn’t a key contributor of the offense as he only owned just 17.80 percent market share of the passing offense. Like Andy Jones, the odds of him making the active roster is highly unlikely.

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bruce matson