Stephen Jones and Jason Garrett have this thing down to a true science the last 5-6 years.

They took DB Byron Jones with the 26th pick, then scooped up the best pure pass rusher in the entire draft in DE Randy Gregory late in the 2nd round. He slipped out of the overall top 10 after testing positive for weed a few days before the draft.

Now they have signed another top 15 talent in OL La'el Collins. He went undrafted after the death of his Ex girlfriend days before the draft because he was questioned by police. Police are now saying that Collins in not even a suspect and is basically not involved in the crime at all.

Everything about Collins screams he is a high character guy and a very inspirational player.

Either way, the cowboys landed 3 first round talents this year.

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas-cowboys/p...ice-of-one

http://espn.go.com/dallas/nfl/story/_/id...el-collins

The Collins signing may not be good news for Leary. The signing of Hardy, the drafting of Gregory, and the continued development of Lawrence and Crawford is definitely not good news for opposing QBs.

The Cowboys are loaded on offense. As long as the defense can just be respectable I think DAL is the team to beat in the NFC along with the Packers and Hawks.

They did spend most of their picks on defense, and if Gregory can clean up his off the field childishness, they may have transformed the defense with this draft.

The cowboys have shown a nack for finding real talent in the mid and later rounds, and even morso in FA after the draft.

LB Damien Wilson and DE Ryan Russell could be the next "no-names" to step forward and produce at a high level. They also landed another impressive OL in Chaz Green, who was a 3rd round pick. 3rd round OL are typically pretty talented players if they can make the transition to the NFL.

7th round pick OT Lawrence Gibson is one to really watch. He is a freakish athlete for a big guy, and could be developed into an all pro tackle in a few years. His technique is really weak right now, which is why he wasn't on many teams radar. He's a classic project player with possible serious upside.

Here is a good break down of each pick w/film on each guy.

http://dal.247sports.com/Bolt/Dallas-Cow...p-37109895

These later round picks often take a year or two to begin to bear fruit. Watch for 2014 picks WR Devin Street and DE Ben Gardner to possible get some PT this year and make an impact. DL Ken Bishop as well. We will see which guys can separate from the pack this year.

Gavin Escobar and JJ Wilcox were late picks in 2013 and began to show some skills last year. Joseph Randall will likely have a strong impact this year as well with Murray gone to Philly. He averaged almost 7 YPC in limited duty last season.

LB Devonte Holoman was a 6th round pick in 2013 and looked like a budding star but was forced to retire last season after a series of severe neck injuries. Many experts saw him as a guy who could have been a starter for many years. Its a shame because of all the injuries at LB last year, it would have been his breakout season.

(05-08-2015 11:34 AM)ericsrevenge76 Wrote:  They did spend most of their pick on defense, and if Gregory can clean up his off the field childishness, they may have transformed the defense with this draft.

The cowboys have shown a nack for finding real talent in the mid and later rounds, and even morso in FA after the draft.

LB Damien Wilson and DE Ryan Russell could be the next "no-names" to step forward and produce at a high level. They also landed another impressive OL in Chaz Green, who was a 3rd round pick. 3rd round OL are typically pretty talented players if they can make the transition to the NFL.

7th round pick Lawrence Gibson is one to really watch. He is a freakish athlete for a big guy, and could develop into an all pro tackle in a few years.

Here is a good break down of each pick w/film on each guy.

http://dal.247sports.com/Bolt/Dallas-Cow...p-37109895

These later round picks often take a year or two to begin to bear fruit. Watch for 2014 picks WR Devin Street and DE Ben Gardner to possible get some PT this year and make an impact. DL Ken Bishop as well.

Gavin Escobar and JJ Wilcox were late picks in 2013 and began to show some skills last year. Joseph Randall will likely have a strong impact this year as well with Murray gone to Philly. He averaged almost 7 YPC in limited duty last season.

LB Devonte Holoman was a 6th round pick in 2013 and looked like a budding star but was forced to retire after a series of series neck injuries. Many experts saw him as a guy who could have been a starter for many years.

Yep. And when Hardy's suspension is lessened that gives them a guy the O-line HAS to double team. Gregory and Lawrence will have a field day off the edge.

Offesnively, they have the best WR in the game (maybe the second best), a great slot option, a deep threat, and a security blanket. AND the best O-line in the league. That running game will be good enough.

(05-08-2015 11:45 AM)HometownTiger Wrote:  Yep. And when Hardy's suspension is lessened that gives them a guy the O-line HAS to double team. Gregory and Lawrence will have a field day off the edge.

Offesnively, they have the best WR in the game (maybe the second best), a great slot option, a deep threat, and a security blanket. AND the best O-line in the league. That running game will be good enough.

Agreed. I'm convinced Demarcus Lawrence is going to be a double digit sack machine, and Hardy already is. Lawrence broke his ankle in camp last year and it slowed his development because he missed 8 games. He got his first official sack in a playoff game that sealed the win over Detroit.

Its a great time to be a cowboys fan for the first time since the early 90's.

We are set to have quite a run the next 4-5 years. Romo is now in a great position to go out on top with at least 1 SB ring. Maybe more.

And he is still at the top of his game right now. Maybe better than ever.

You know Rod Marinelli is just drooling over all these new toys to play with on defense.

He must be like a kid at Christmas, when his parents got a big Christmas bonus and splurged on him.

(05-08-2015 11:32 AM)MemphisTiger15 Wrote:  The Collins signing may not be good news for Leary. The signing of Hardy, the drafting of Gregory, and the continued development of Lawrence and Crawford is definitely not good news for opposing QBs.

I'm not so sure about that just yet. The Jones are really high on Leary, but this is going to be the best OL in the NFL, possible of all time before its done. So the competition should make Leary and all the other guys that much better.

Even if Leary ends up on the outside looking in, he will be a very highly valued player in FA after being a starter with this group.

Leary is going to be around for a while either in Dallas or another NFL city, as long as that knee holds up.

The future is bright for Ron.


You nailed it on Crawford. He is one impressive young DL and looks to be a stud for many years to come.

The pass rush should be dramatically improved next year. A good pass rush can make average defenses top 10 units.

Randy Gregory's highlight reel is just awesome.

The guy has incredible explosion off the ball and hits like Ray Lewis. He destroys people when he gets a clean beat.

What explosion and what a vicious hitter, no wonder he was projected as a top 10 pick. The highlights are just amazing.

my only question is when they will draft Romo's eventual successor. He doesn't have that many years left in his tank.
If we have to turn to a backup QB this year for any reason, we may be in some trouble.

(05-08-2015 02:45 PM)EarthBoundMisfit Wrote:  my only question is when they will draft Romo's eventual successor. He doesn't have that many years left in his tank.
If we have to turn to a backup QB this year for any reason, we may be in some trouble.

Why do they have to draft one? Romo himself wasn't even drafted.

34/35 isn't all that old for a QB in 2015. Peyton, Rivers, Brees and Brady are going to play elite football past 40. Most QB's are in their prime well into their late 30's. I imagine they won't be taking any high draft picks at QB anytime soon.

Almost every team in the league is screwed when their starter is out. We are no different. The patriots aren't winning a SB without Brady, the saints aren't winning one without Brees, the packers aren't winning it without Rodgers and we saw what the Broncs did after Payton tore his thigh up last year.

Tony is going to be the guy for the rest of the decade, and he is going to have the most talented OL in the history of the NFL protecting him. And he will not be attempting 600 passes a season ever again. This is a power running team now, who just happens to have an all pro QB and multiple game breaking receivers to keep defenses honest.

The entire offense is built to maximize his longevity and career. Romo, the staff and the Jones' are quite vocal about the plan to have him play 4-5 more years.

That may be all well and good but you have one big problem with all of that. Jerry Jones still thinks he is the head coach

(05-08-2015 03:28 PM)gotigers1 Wrote:  That may be all well and good but you have one big problem with all of that. Jerry Jones still thinks he is the head coach

Jerry Jones isn't even the real GM anymore.

Garrett and Stephen Jones have been running things for 5-6 years now. Jerry just signs the checks and talks to the media.

Jerry took a big step back after the 2009 season, but he still does most of the talking to the media. Its makes Stephen and Garrett's jobs that much easier because they get to work behind the scenes in all football matters.