Postcards from Mobile: Wes Bunting Talks Cowboys Senior Bowl Rush Prospects

Quinton Coples

Part one of this week's chat with the National Football Post's Wes Bunting covers the big-name pass rushers on the Senior Bowl squad. 


Cowboys Nation:  Let's start with the sexy names.  You were there so you didn't see the NFL Network coverage we were watching, but you know every year somebody or somebodies get the extra press.  This year it was the South team's defensive line, with Quinton Coples, Courtney Upshaw, Melvin Ingram and Brandon Thompson.

Reading your colleagues comments it seems a real Coke vs. Pepsi discussion when it comes to Upshaw and Ingram.  How did you see them playing?  What are your re-assessments of those guys and what did you hear down there about them? Add Coples to your rankings, since those three worked together.

Wes Bunting:  I'd say the most physically talented, and if he's to hit his ceiling he's the best, is Coples.  He's 6'6'', he's 285.  He can get after the passer however he wants.

I'd say the highest floor player is Upshaw.  You know what you're getting.  He's a power player.  The one thing he did better than I thought he would, was show more of a first step off the edge from a 3-point stance.  He did a nice job turning the corner with a little bend, which impressed me.  And then he'll get you where he's you think he's going around the edge, then he'll turn his speed move into a power move and just run over a tackle, which he did a couple of times.  He's the safest, I'd say.

Ingram is the least impressive prospect physically, but he's the most natural pass rusher of the three, which is funny because I think he was recruited as a running back.  He had the ability to work the speed rush and bend around the edge.  He was sudden on the inside when they asked him to work a counter move.  He's got this nifty little spin rush, and he worked a bull rush.  That's four different ways he could get after the quarterback.

I thought all three were very good.  They're all sure 1st round grades.  I'm going to move Upshaw up in my ratings just a little bit because he's so safe, and so powerful.  You should have seen him at the weight in.  He's strapped together. He's this little chunky guy, but shredded.

I thought Brandon Thompson (Clemson) was very good as well.  He wasn't talked about as much, from what I've seen, but he was very good as well.

CN:  Has Thompson solidified his place in the 1st, after his Senior Bowl week?

WB:  I'd say he's in the 25 to 40 range.  I wouldn't have any qualms picking him in the 1st, because he's one of the few defensive tackles who sure; you know what you're getting with him.  I can see him getting some love as a 5 technique.  Ideally I see him as a 3-technique or slanted on the nose in a 4-3.  He can do a lot of things.

CN:  Here's a more generic question.  The public is seeing a lot of these guys for the first time.  Is there a tendency to over-react to their Senior Bowl performances, and move a guy way up, or drop one way down, based on three weeks of practice in front of the cameras?

WB:  You see the guy athletically for the first time.  You have to understand that a lot of these media people are studying guys like Upshaw for the first time, so their impressions are based on this bowl week.  For me, I want to see how explosive they are, how they move.  With Upshaw, I have to give him more credit than I had.  I started him at 7.5.  I dropped him to a 6.9 and I'm going to raise him up to a 7.0  He's a little more explosive than I thought he was and his power is even more impressive than I thought.  I liked it to begin with, but it was even more impressive than I had seen.

CN:  Let's stay with the outside linebackers.  You were bullish on Shea McClellin before, but you had more good things to say about him during the week.  Review his game.  Can he be another one of these hybrid 3-4/4-3 guys who stand-ups on 1st and 2nd downs and then puts a hand down and rushes from a 4-man line on 3rd downs?

WB:  He's a unique prospect who had a solid week.  I saw him turn and track running backs a bit on tape, but I wasn't convinced because he wasn't asked to do it much.  He did it this week.  He's really fluid when he has to turn and run with them.  He did it against Isaiah Pead one time.   He's got really good straight-line speed.  He was okay during the linebacker drills but he competes.  He played 4-3 outside linebacker.  They played him inside in a 4-3.  Is that the ideal place for him?  No, but he got after it.

He's a good pass rusher from a 3-point stance.  He's learning how to rush from a 2-point stance.  He still gets a bit too upright.  But you can use him in a 4-man line with his hand on the ground.  You could maybe rush him inside.  You can blitz him off the edge.  He's got a great motor.   All those things added up.

I think he's going to be an NFL starter somewhere.  Will he be a 15 sack guy?  No, but as a complement to a big rusher, who gets 6-8 sacks a year?  He can do that.  People were asking if he's a better football player than Brooks Reed?  I think he's similar to Brooks Reed.  I think Reed has a better first step but I think McClellin can do a lot more overall than Brooks Reed.

CN:  Where does he slot overall?  2nd round?  3rd round?

WB:  I would say, mid to late 2nd to early to mid-3rd.  That's his range.   Anywhere from 45 to 70.

Next:  More hybrid type defensive ends who can play in 3-4 and 4-3 fronts.

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Can the Cowboys Find a "Sexy" Alternative to Jon Kitna?

The next Jon Kitna?

In part seven of this week's interview with ESPN Insider K.C. Joyner, he offers a surprising candidate to succeed Jon Kitna as Tony Romo's backup.  


For context, know that Kitna regularly finished last, or among the worst at Joyner's bad decision percentage metric.  In 2010, however, Kitna ranked first, meaning he had the lowest percentage of passes which were intercepted or almost intercepted due to poor judgement.  The old gunslinger ranked ahead of perennial leaders Philip Rivers and Tom Brady.

Cowboys Nation:  Jon Kitna has just retired, so you might think of naming the bad decision award after him.

Looking back, it appears Jason Garrett got the best run of Jon Kitna's career in 2010.   Dallas needs a backup who can give them that '10 level Kitna play.  When you review the list of free agent quarterbacks, you have to consider the marginal NFL quarterbacks, because the good ones are going to start somewhere.

I have two questions.  First, which of these candidates would be willing to play backup and second, which can excel in that role?

K.C. Joyner:  The thing about Kitna last year is, and I'll use a Bill James anecdote about pitchers.  James said pitchers like to throw fastballs.  They got where they are in life throwing a fastball better than anybody else and they just like to do that; it's what they've always been able to lean on.  So it's hard to get them to throw other pitches and change their games.

I think that's what it was with Kitna.  That's who he was.  "I'm a quarterback and I'm a gunslinger and that's what I do."  And it paid off for him.  He had some success in college and the pros.  And I think last year, Garrett got it through Kitna's mind that if you play that sort of game, your career is over.  We will not bring you back and you know you won't get another job in this league.  You have to play my game of high percentage football.

I think Kitna made a commitment to play it that way.  That's why we saw the Jon Kitna we saw in 2010.  You wonder, maybe if Kitna has encountered a Garrett earlier in his career he might have developed differently.  Showed him that there's risk-reward here and you can get the best of both worlds.  I don't think Kitna ever bought into that.  I think he was pitched that before, but never really took to it.  I think we might have seen the Cowboys Kitna much earlier in his career and we might be looking at him a lot differently today.

Getting that out of the way, there are a small number of guys who could potentially serve as good backups.  Chris Redmond in Atlanta had some really good numbers when he filled in.  It's a really small sample size, but he had some really good numbers.  He's accepted being a backup, so he's not going to come in and move for a starting job.

I don't see a lot of whole lot of good options.  Now here's one, and it's going to sound crazy and I doubt if it happens, but look at what Garrett did with Kitna.  What if he were to get Rex Grossman?  I'm just throwing it out there.  I don't think it would happen, but ...

CN:  If you needed him for a month, I'm sure he could do it.  He moved the Redskins, certainly against the Cowboys.  He's moved his teams, wherever he's been.

K.C.:  Imagine if Garrett had the same effect on Grossman that he had on Kitna.  Granted, Grossman is younger.  He's 31.  If he could make this kind of connection with Grossman, and again this is all supposition, Rex Grossman could be the best backup quarterback in the NFL.  He could be the Don Strock of the NFL, where Strock was that guy for Miami for about a dozen years.  Bob Griese gets hurt?  David Woodley gets hurt?  Dan Marino gets hurt?  Strock is your guy.

Now, Grossman is older, but he could stretch out his career a lot longer if he developed into a role like Strock's.

CN:  He does have the arm, and that's vital for a backup, because they're usually older, and they lose some zip on their throws, so you want a guy who had a good fastball to begin with.  Look at Brad Johnson, who preceeded Kitna in Dallas.  He never had a gun, and when he backed up Romo the offense ground to a halt, because all the deep throw options disappeared.

Kitna was a gunslinger, so even when he was in Dallas, at age 36 or so, he could still chuck it, and he could run most of Romo's playbook, maybe all of it.

K.C.:  I think a Jason Garrett could work wonders for a Rex Grossman if he embraced the system.  If Romo gets hurt, and that's been a theme of late, a Grossman could help the team win while Romo heals.

CN:  Dallas put a waiver claim on Kyle Orton when Denver released him.  One reason is that Orton had played in Ron Turner's offense at Chicago, which is similar to Jason Garrett's.  Rex Grossman ran Ron Turner's offense when he was a Bear, so he has some familiarity with what the Cowboys do.

K.C.:  (laughing)  Cowboys fans are going to read this and think, "Grossman?!  A Redskin?! On the Cowboys?!"  But it could be a good fit.

And Grossman had that issue a few years ago when he went to a party on New Year's Eve, instead of a practice, but I think Shanahan might have tried to push Grossman's buttons.

I think A.J. Feeley might be an option.  He's got the smarts, but I don't know that he's got the arm.  He might be a shorter-term guy.  I don't see other guys who stand out.  I'm not sold on Kyle Orton at all.

CN:  I've received several questions about David Garrard.  He didn't play this season. Do you have any insight into that?  Might he make a comeback?

K.C.:  There are injury concerns with Garrard.  Back injury concerns.  Jacksonville let him go about three days before the season and said Blaine Gabbert is our guy and that surprised people.   And I remember doing an interview with Jacksonville, because I did some research on it.  I said going in, if he was healthy, he had really good numbers in 2010, with a bad receiving corps.  I was told back injury.   I heard they looked at an x-ray of his back and it looked like an old, beaten-up lineman's back.

CN:  That's what happened to Troy Aikman.  He hurt his back and lost his power base, and that affected his arm.

Next:  Are two heads better than three, when it comes to Dallas' running back rotation?

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All-Star Games Provide Good Cowboys Options

Melvin Ingram

The two biggest All-Star games have concluded, and the results have to please Cowboys draftniks, as the anticipated strengths of the cornerback and guard classes were confirmed.  (Nearly all scouts will leave today, when practices conclude. To them Senior Bowl week is over.)  Some notes and conclusions:

1.  Fourteen is a good place to be.  The NFL Network put much of its early practice attention on the South team's front seven prospects, led by North Carolina end Quinton Coples, Alabama hybrid end Courtney Upshaw and South Carolina's Mr. Everywhere Melvin Ingram.  All stood out, and made themselves money, while costing the tackles who had to face them some dough.

Let's pick the top 10 apart.  Here are some players who figure as consensus top 10 selections:

1. Andrew Luck
2. Robert Griffin
3. Morris Claiborne
4. Matt Kalil
5. Riley Reiff
6. Justin Blackmon

That brings the next group frequently seen in the 10-12 of mocks:

1. Trent Richardson (he's a consensus top-10 grade, but backs do fall.  I've seen him as low as 18 in mocks.)
2. Dre Kirkpatrick
3. Michael Brockers  
4. Quenton Coples
5. Courtney Upshaw
6. David DeCastro
7. Jonathan Martin

That's thirteen names, not including Ingram.  If a Devon Still, or a Luke Kuechly or some late riser jumps into the top 13, say a Ryan Tannehill or a Mike Adams, Dallas gets a player or players to choose from that second pool.  This happens almost every year.  Who could have predicted two years ago that Tyson Alualu would go 10th overall?  Or that Jake Locker and Christian Ponder would go 8th and 12th last year?

The top guard and rushers in this class are in play for pick 14.  It's a matter of which one(s)?

2.  Barring a crazy drop by a player like Tannehill, cornerback is looking more and more like the 2nd round value....

Janoris Jenkins was one of the Senior Bowl's standouts and may have cemented himself in the 1st.  Brandon Boykin, Jamell Fleming and Casey Heyward also had strong weeks, according to many draftniks.  Josh Norman was one of the top players at the East-West Shrine Game.  Stephon Gilmore and Alfonzo Dennard also figure to go between the top juniors Claiborne and Kirkpatrick and this bunch.  Dallas should have a number of corner options at pick 45.

3.  Unless the Cowboys want to pick a guard
If the Cowboys miss on DeCastro in the 1st?  They should have 2nd round options.  The big-body guards played well.  Iowa State's Kelechi Osemele dominated in some one-on-one drills.  He's likely behind Georgia's massive Cordy Glenn, who may have locked himself into the late 1st after his workouts.  Brandon Brooks jumped into the guard mix after a strong week at the Shrine Game.  When guards like Kevin Zeitler and Lucas Nix look like 3rd round possibilities, Dallas will have interior line options.

4.  Do we get any direction from team interviews?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  Dallas interviewed all the players you expect them to.  Coples, Upshaw and Ingram got their time.  The top corners did as well, though there's some question as to whether Dallas completed one with Janoris Jenkins.  Osemele was interviewed.  The Cowboys know their bigger needs.  They're not trying to deny them.

5.  SEC clones?
Did you notice these numbers from the Senior Bowl weigh in?
Courtney Upshaw --  height: 6014,  weight: 273
Melvin Ingram -- height 6017,  weight 276

Almost identical sizes.  Diifferent games.  Upshaw is power and leverage.  Ingram has a bag of spins, clubs and counters.  Both were very effective this week beating blocks.  Who would you take if both were available at pick 14?

Barring an incredible value pick at quarterback in the first couple of rounds, I still see Dallas playing some DE/OLB, cornerback, guard parlay in rounds one through three, with a slot receiver/punt returner getting attention starting in rounds 3 and 4.

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Cowboys Free Agency -- Safety Best Buys?

Tyvon Branch

Part six of this week's chat with ESPN Insider K.C. Joyner covers the free agent safety crop, which lacks marquee names but has some intriguing lower-ticket prospects.

Cowboys Nation:  You've given us some lower-priced, best-buy corners, let's call them.  Can you recommend some at the safety position?  As with corner, the top names all seem flawed in some way.

The Cowboys loved Laron Landry when he was coming out of LSU, but he may need surgery on an Achilles tendon.  He has a chronic problem with one which has landed him on I.R. the last two seasons.  I know his first half of 2010 was really good, however.

K.C. Joyner:  I did track safety metrics in 2010, but didn't put them in the 2011 book.  I'm going to put them back in this year and give the readers two years worth of safety metrics.  I tracked all their materials, their direct coverage and deep assist numbers.

Landry has the injury concerns.  Michael Griffin has been abysmal in coverage in the past.  Chris Harris from Detroit?  That week 17 game, the shootout between Detroit and Green Bay?  Anybody who's thinking of picking up Chris Harris should watch that game, 'cause that's what you're getting.  It ain't good. He's slow.  He's not a guy you want in coverage.

Brandon Merriweather?  He thought he was a big deal in New England because he made the Pro Bowl, and he got a big head.  I don't know that that's a guy I want.

I'm looking at Tyvon Branch from the Raiders and his numbers are good.  Solid.  I hate to just use that word because it's so generic, but he's just a good safety.  He's not great.  He's not going to do anything fantastic, but he's good.  Might be the sort of guy Dallas wants to pick up.  He's not an elite guy, but he's going to do his job.  For Dallas, given how bad their safety play has been the last few years, a guy who comes in and punches the clock and does his job might be a good signing.

CN:  I do think the priority will be corner, because Terence Newman's decline has been so severe and because cutting him saves them over four million in cap space this season.  But we've talked about this, at left corner and at free safety, getting league-average guys there would greatly benefit their secondary play.

K.C.:  Thomas DeCoud from Atlanta is a good cover guy but he doesn't tackle very well.  He has some issues there but if you're looking for a guy to give you over the top help, he could be a good pick up.

Mike Adams from Cleveland looks intriguing.  He's had to play corner there for the Browns and he's done fairly well.  If you're looking for a guy who could give you depth and can be okay at safety and fill in at corner in a pinch, he's worth a look.

Steve Gregory from San Diego is not a bad safety, and they've used him in direct coverage a lot out there.  There are some names out there.  I'm looking at Tanard Jackson from Tampa.  He's had some off-field substance-abuse issues, but when he's on his game, he can be a good free safety.  At the same time, can you count on that player to show up every week?  That's a big concern.

There are some quality candidates at safety.

Next:  A sexy backup quarterback prospect?

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The Dreams of a "Football Man": Jerry Pines for Bowman & Willis Type ILBs

Jerry Jones dreams of an inside linebacking duo like San Francisco's, where Patrick Willis and Navorro Bowman both made the 2012 All Pro team.  Said Mr. Jones today:

“This is my dream. It’s not exactly the prototype for the makeup of the two guys you’d want in the middle – you might want more of a thumper, a big guy, to go along with Sean Lee. But if we can keep both those guys out there, adjust our defense, we might be going toward Bowman and Willis area like they have in San Francisco.”

That dream could have been a reality -- if Jerry had not daydreamed so much about Dez Bryant two springs ago.  As I noted in an earlier piece, the Cowboys flipped their 3rd round pick to New England to move up three spots in the 2010 1st round and draft Dez.  That lost pick would have put them in position to draft Bowman, a player who ranked 20th on Dallas' draft board that year.  (If you squint real hard, you can see Bowman's name in dry-erase marker ink, just to the right of the Houston Texans tag at the bottom of the draft board image.)

3rd round, 2010 NFL draft

Pick 90 -- New England (from Dallas):  Taylor Price, WR, Ohio
Pick 91 -- San Francisco 49ers:  NaVorro Bowman, ILB, Penn St.

Jerry's concerns about a bigger ILB to team with Sean Lee would have been moot with Bowman's selection. Lee (245 lbs.) is slightly heavier than both Bowman (242) and Willis (240).

Another Jerry Jones dream that disturbs the sleep here in Cowboys land.

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Bunting: Shrine Game Gives Cowboys Mid-Round Prospects to Ponder

Today's draft chat with the National Football Post's Wes Bunting wraps up the top prospects from the East-West Shrine Game.

Cowboys Nation:  With the shuffling going on right now, what's your top 10 right now, just by position?

Wes Bunting:  Do you want my top 10 or how you think they will go?  My top 10 would include Robert Griffin and Andrew Luck, two tackles, Matt Kalil and Riley Reiff.  You have the two corners, Claiborne and Kirkpatrick, Michael Brockers, Trent Richardson and then the receivers, Justin Blackmon and Kendall Wright.  You can argue whether he should be down in the 20s.  I think he's one of the guys who can run in this year's draft. He's a playmaker and I would have him on the cusp of being a top 10-15 pick.

Now how do you think they're going to go?

WB:  Luck goes one.  I think Griffin goes two.  I don't know which team claims him but I think he goes two.  I'd say Kalil at three, then Blackmon and Claiborne.  They're both clear top 10s.  Brockers I think goes top 10.  I think Devon Still could go top 10.  Riley Reiff and then Jonathan Martin probably rounds out the top 10.

CN:  That's good for the Cowboys fans.  There are none of the top rushers there, Coples, Upshaw and Ingram, and the interior lineman, DeCastro gets through.

WB:  I think DeCastro will fall a bit, because he's a guard, but once you get to 11, the Chiefs could take him. I think the Seahawks could take him at 12.  The Cardinals could take him at 13 and the Cowboys could take him at 14.  That's his stretch.

The one thing you have going for you is I think Trent Richardson could be there at 14.  I'm not saying you would take him, but who knows, maybe you would.  You could certainly get some trade value for him.  Running backs almost always fall.

CN:  Who excites you at the Senior Bowl?  Are there guys who have question marks about their games, which could be answered there?

WB:  You can separate these prospects seeing them one-on-one.  For instance, who do you like better, Melvin Ingram or Mike Adams?  Ozzie Newsome said this, and one thing I picked up when I did some work for the Ravens, and was listening to different guys' opinions.  One thing he does when there's a debate in the draft room between an offensive lineman and a defensive lineman or a corner and a receiver, he asks who would win that match-up?

When I look at my chart, I have Mike Adams at 6.9.  I have Melvin Ingram at 7.0.  I have Upshaw at 6.9.  Who wins those match-ups?  Those are things to look at when you have two guys side-by-side on the board.

CN:  Let's go to the Shrine Game one last time.  Norman jumped up after his very good week.  Did anybody else cement themselves in the top 100, in your opinion?

WB:  Jarius Wright was very good.  I think he can be an effective slot guy.  Devon Wylie has the skill set to be a top slot receiver in the NFL.  I was really impressed by him.  I think he can go somewhere in the 3rd-4th round range.  Brandon Brooks helped himself.  We talked about Hicks.  B.J. Coleman was a strong-armed quarterback who wasn't polished, kind of like John Skelton.  Those guys stuck out.

There was a Hampton corner, Pellerin, who was solid.  I think he's a 4th round option.  Norman was the best prospect down there.

CN:  Highest rated prospects now?

WB:  I think Jarius Wright goes 3rd-4th.  I think Josh Norman goes 2nd-3rd.  I think Brandon Brooks goes 3rd.  I think Dominique Hamilton, the DE from Missouri helped himself.  He's a tough guy to figure out.  I think he's a 5-technique.  I wouldn't be surprised if he goes in the 4th or so.  I'd say somewhere in there.  He's 6'5'', 320 lbs. and doesn't have that massive of a frame.  He can put even more weight one.

Devon Wylie, Fresno State could go 3rd-4th.  DT DaJohn Harris from USC could go in the 4th, somewhere in there.  Shaun Prater is a 3rd-4th.  Coleman is probably a later.  Pellerin is probably a 4th.  That's a solid group of guys who could go in the middle rounds.

CN:  You said last week there are ten bowl games this year.  Are there any we should follow, for news?

WB:  The [Casino] del Sol bowl was last week and I heard there were a handful of possible late-round picks there.  The rest of them might have two or three guys who get a look.

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Joyner, Part Five: More Pro and College Corner Options

Terrell Thomas

Part five of my chat with ESPN Insider K.C. Joyner discusses the Giants free agent-to-be Terrell Thomas, who comes off an August ACL tear.   Joyner also breaks down top college prospect Dre Kirkpatrick's 2011 season. 

Cowboys Nation:  I wanted to ask you about Terrell Thomas.  He missed all this year with an ACL tear.  What was he like before?  Might he be a quality player you can sign for less, if his knee checks out?  He's 27, which makes him one of the younger free agent options.

K.C. Joyner:  He was a red-rated corner in this past year's draft guide.  He was that good.  I wouldn't call him a true shut-down.  He was in the high 5s to low 7s in YPAs.  He was a good cornerback.  If you knew he was coming back to the level he showed before the injury he's a very good signing.  The injury concerns are significant, but he was good.

If you can get your doctors to get a good look at that knee and everything check out, he could be a good signing. Problem is, if your doctors can look at him, others will too.

He was one of the reasons a lot of people felt the Giants would be strong NFC East contenders.  They figured how good a corner he was.

CN:  I know you have broken down tape on some of the top college prospects for ESPN the last two years. Can you tell us anything about the top college corners?

K.C.:  I have breakdowns on Chris Claiborne and Dre Kirkpatrick but they're not going to make it down to the Cowboys.

CN:  Talk about Kirkpatrick.  Everybody in Cowboys land knows Claiborne will be long gone by Dallas' pick at 14.  They assumed Kirkpatrick was going to be gone too, but his arrest for marijuana possession last week has some people thinking he could slide into Dallas' reach.  Some people wish for this.

Is this a matter of be careful what you wish for, because you could get it?  Or might this be a happy accident for Dallas?

K.C.:  I took a lot of heat from Alabama fans for mentioning that he had a poor 2010 season.  I put the metrics somewhere on the site.  I mentioned that earlier this year and the Alabama fans gave me grief.  I think he might have been hurt in 2010.

In 2011, I did a seven-game sample and it was against the best offenses Alabama faced.  That's a caveat in the way because they didn't face a lot of really tough passing games.  They faced Auburn and Mississippi State, who didn't have great quarterbacking play.  They faced Florida and Brantley tore them up for a half, then they knocked him out of the game.  Penn State had a mediocre offense.  Arkansas had a very good offense.  They faced LSU and LSU was what it was.

He gets targeted 23 times, gives up a completion or a penalty eight times.  The receivers get 152 yards and three touchdowns.  That's a 6.6 YPA and three touchdowns on 23 passes.

It's not that good.  That's a 6.6 in college.  If you go to the pros and you say he's going to add a yard, a yard and a half playing against better receivers and better offenses and adjusting to the pro game, he's an average corner.  I'm not sold on the guy at all. He was not a shut-down corner last year.   He was a good college corner, mind you, but I don't think he's going to be this great professional cornerback.

I think he's going to be solid, but I don't think he's the guy who solves all your coverage issues.

You try to be careful when you say these things.  I think he's a good corner.  I don't think he's gonna be a bust.  I just think he's a good, but not a great corner.  Let's put it this way, if he fell to the Cowboys and you felt the off-field issues were not a problem, great, he could help you, but he's not a guy you trade up for.  You're not missing the next Darrelle Revis, probably.

I don't even think Morris Claiborne is a great corner.  It's not a great corner draft, in that you're finding elite guys at the top.  It is a depth draft.  The Cowboys should, if they really wanted to, get some decent 2nd round help in the draft.

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Gossip Boy: Jimmy K Plays Senior Bowl Spy

Our blog friend Jimmy Kempski from Blogging the Beast is in Mobile, and runs down the division's scouts and their players of interest.  Go here for the full rundown.

The most attention-catching Cowboys report comes on Arkansas' Joe Adams:

And finally, the Cowboys had a chat with a guy that I think has probably helped himself the most so far this week,  WR Joe Adams of Arkansas.  Very impressive player, but no size whatsoever.  He’s 5’10, 174, but looks thicker than 174.  He reminds me of DeSean Jackson, but with a bigger frame, and a little less speed... 

In the early mocks, I included a series of shorter, water-bug types receivers who can work the slot and return kicks.  5'10'' guys with pure speed.  This draft is loaded with such prospects -- Kendall Wright, Jarius Wright, Adams, Devon Wylie, T.Y. Hilton.  Adams made some eye-popping punt returns this year, topped by the Tennessee touchdown currently on BTE's front page.

We've stopped paying attention to these guys in recent weeks to focus on defensive prospects.  It appears Dallas hasn't.  (Keep in mind that the Cowboys will interview a few dozen players this week.)

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Best Buy Corners? K.C. Joyner Scans the Free Agent Market

Part four of Cowboys Nation's chat with ESPN Insider's K.C. Joyner looks at Terence Newman's starting partner Mike Jenkins, and raises some cheaper options at left cornerback. 

Cowboys Nation:  Let's return in house.  We had a long chat last year about Mike Jenkins.  He had been a top 10 corner in 2009, who was very tough against vertical passes, but in 2010 he came in next-to-last in your metrics, with a YPA of 11.4.  You were of the opinion that he played hurt.

He clearly played hurt this year.  He was injured in the Jets opener and kept going back on the field and picking up new dings.  They were upper body injuries for the most part, so they didn't affect his ability to run.  He just had shoulder surgery.

How much did he rebound this year?

K.C. Joyner:  We did wonder if injuries were the problem. He had a hit-or-miss year, game to game, but more hit than miss.   I have him with a 7.4 YPA.

CN:  7.4 up from 11.4 is pretty good.

K.C.:  Yeah.  I remember he was a red-rated [top-tier] corner in the 2010 draft guide, because he had a YPA somewhere between 5.0 and 6.0.   7.4  is right around league average.  Given what happened to him this year, he had a lot of injuries did he not?

CN:  Yes.  He had a neck problem.  He had shoulder injuries over and over.  He had a couple of games where he got knocked out and he kept coming back on the field.  I think he can definitely play better than he did this year because he was never healthy.

K.C.:  It's one of those things were he can play better.  I don't think he's a great cornerback.  I think he could be if he stayed healthy and worked at it.  The Cowboys have bigger fish to fry than worrying about Mike Jenkins right now.  I still think they need help elsewhere in the secondary.  Scandrick had a sub-par year.  Alan Ball... uh.... you can do better than he's been.

They could use depth there.  This year's free agent crop does offer depth.  I'm looking at the list and some of this could change on players re-signing with their teams.

You have Dwight Lowery from Jacksonville.  He was a very good cornerback with the Jets.  They moved him to safety.  I think he's a better safety than he showed in Jacksonville.  They had a terrible secondary there and he got burned a couple of times but I really think that was more the quality of the entire secondary than his ability.  [Note:  Lowery's secondary coach his rookie season was one Jerome Henderson.]

Tim Jennings has been a very good cornerback the last couple of years.  Now, he got benched in Chicago this year, but I remember looking at his metrics up to that point and thinking, wow, he's actually had a very solid season.  It might be a case of what happened to Antoine Cason in San Diego.  He was having a solid year and then Plaxico Burress beats him for three touchdowns in one game and Cason finds his way on the bench.  It's not that Cason is a bad corner, but he had a bad game and his team was trying to send a message.
I think Jennings would be a good corner.

CN:  He was 6.9 in 2010.  That's a solid number.

K.C.:  I remember tracking him when he was benched and his number to that point was in the mid 6's. In looking at the tape, I didn't see an obvious reason why he was dropped.  I had him rated as a red-level corner all year because he was playing so well.  [Joyner uses a red, yellow, green tiered system for rating WRs and CBs.  Reds are top level, yellows are league average and greens are below average.]

His play had  dropped some, but I think there may have been some politics involved and the Bears were trying to send him a message.

CN:  You said Lowery played both corner and safety?

K.C.:  He played corner for the Jets.  He had a YPA in 2009 that was right up there with Revis'.  He wasn't a starter there, but it was very good.  Rex Ryan evidently felt his skills were better suited to safety.  They moved him to safety and a hybrid cornerback/safety and Jacksonville played him exclusively at safety this year.

He's got good coverage skills for a safety and he could be a guy who could be developed into a pretty good safety.  I just think Rex Ryan has a particular type of guy he wants from a physical skills perspective.  They never said Lowery was a bad player.  It's just that he wasn't what they were looking for.  When he did get the chance to play in '09, he was very good, and he's still pretty young.  [Lowery turned 26 on Monday]

CN:  That's what I'm looking for, that best-buy type player who won't get all the attention.  The big name cornerbacks get insane money now.   Nnamdi Asomugha got a contract averaging $12 million a year.  Johnathan Joseph, who's YPAs were similar to Brandon Carr's in 2010 is getting almost $10 million a year in his Texans deal.  If some teams decide they have to have Cortland Finnegan, he could come around with at least $8 to 9 million, maybe more.

I'm looking for a guy who might be had for Orlando Scandrick money, maybe a bit more.  He's getting about $4.5 million a year.  If you can pay that and get a solid guy to be your 2nd or 3rd corner, the Cowboys upgrade from Newman and still keep a lot of cap space to pursue an offensive lineman or a pass rusher, if one is available.

K.C.:  Johnathan Joseph had a 6.1 YPA this year.  We all know how Asomugha seemed to be out of place in Philadelphia and he got burned on more than a few plays this season.  He had a sub-par year.  The Texans, who paid less to get Joseph got outstanding play from him.

I'm not sold on this name, but it's one I'll throw out there -- Jason Allen.  It could be that he had a better fit in Houston but he had a 7.2 YPA this year.  That's solid.

CN:  But he had a lot of trouble in Miami, correct?

K.C.:  In 2010 with the Dolphins, he had a great first four games.  I mean great.  Then he had one awful game and things went south for him.  He got down on himself.  The coaches seemed to get down on him and everything spiraled downwards from there.

He went to Houston this year, they worked on rebuilding his confidence.  I think he even was in Houston in 2010.  The Dolphins cut him and Houston claimed him, and he had the same issues there, he got obliterated.

I think Phillips came in and got him to stop obsessing over bad plays.  He played with a lot more confidence and rebounded to 7.2.

Next:  K.C. reviews the free agent safety options.

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The Free Agent Market May Dictate the Cowboys '12 Defensive Scheme

Make the switch for Mario?

Rumors from the Metroplex suggest the Cowboys may be contemplating a return to the 4-3 scheme which was the team's base from its inception until 2005.  Head coach Jason Garrett was coy on the subject, telling the press,

"we're still evaluating the tape and we'll see where we are going forward schematically. Let us go through the process and you'll see some of that stuff once we get back out on the field."

Like Bill Parcells, Garrett has preferred the 3-4 scheme. When he interviewed for the Broncos job that went to Josh McDaniels, Garrett wanted to bring 3-4 maven Dom Capers to coordinate his defense.  When he needed a defensive coordinator last season, Dallas inquired about fellow 3-4 gurus Mike Nolan and Vic Fangio, the current 49ers DC who was Capers' coordinator at Carolina in the '90s.  A move to the 4-3 would be new for him, though DC Rob Ryan knows both schemes well.  Ryan's current system mixes two, three and four man fronts.

The discussions may be prodded by the makeup of the free agent talent pool.  Whether Dallas stays in the 3-4 or moves to the 4-3, its biggest front seven need is for a rusher to complement DeMarcus Ware.  Anthony Spencer has disappointed at this task.  Aside from a six-sacks-in-six-games stretch to end the '09 season, Spencer has never approached Ware's production.

The free agent market lacks a premier 3-4 edge rusher. (So does the draft.)  It could present two blue-chip 4-3 ends, in Houston's Mario Williams and Detroit's Cliff Avril.  Both would likely command eight-figure yearly salaries, but compare them to last year's lost prize, cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha.

Who would you prefer for Jerry to purchase for $12 million or so per season:  a 30 year old cornerback, a 25 year old strong side end who recorded 11.0 sacks last year (Avril) or a 27 year old end who has averaged 11.8 sacks per sixteen games the last five years (Williams)?

Good coaches tailor their schemes to their personnel.  If the best rushers fit the 4-3, a switch makes sense -- if the Cowboys can obtain one.  Both players could be franchise tagged before the new league season begins the first week of March.

This may explain Garrett's elusive "you'll see once we get back on the field,'' response.  That suggests we'll have to wait until the mini-camps in May or until training camp in August.  If one or both of these ends hit the market, we could have our answer much sooner.  Jerry does know how to write big checks.  Will he get this opportunity?

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Cowboys Draft Notes: Peter Konz and Some Shrine Game Standouts

Part two of the latest chat with the National Football Post's Wes Bunting re-examines Wisconsin center Peter Konz and three standouts from the East West Shrine Game, all of whom could be Cowboys players of interest.

Cowboys Nation:  I have a question about Peter Konz's grade, because you've moved him to a 7.0 now.

Wes Bunting:  A lot of research goes into this and people should understand this isn't a sprint.  The more study I do and the more I compare him to past prospects... Just because I gave him a 7.0 doesn't mean I don't like him.  He's still a first-round pick.  When I watch more of him, I don't see quite the athleticism I want as a pass protector.  I think he's a good pass protector and I moved him down a little.  8.0 is almost an elite grade and I don't think Konz is in that range, so I moved him down.

Alex Mack got a 7.0 from me and he's a good NFL center and I think Konz can be too.  I just don't think he can come in and play at a potential Pro Bowl level from day one.

People want grades of these guys up right away and they want to read them, and that's fine.  My job is getting this board as tight as possible the day before the draft.  I'm still gathering information on these guys and evaluating them, so players will move up and down.

CN:  Tell us about some of the East-West Shrine Game standouts.  You tweeted about Josh Norman all week.  Today, you said you've moved him into your top 60.  Quite a coming out.

WB:  He's a really good player.  He was as impressive as I've seen at the East-West Shrine Game.  I talk about him like I talked about Roger Saffold two years ago.  You looked at Saffold and asked, why is he at the East West Shrine Game?  He's just dominating players.  And that's what Norman did.

He's 6'0''. He's 205.  He's got a great burst.  Athletically he's got all the tools.  And he's got a really good feel in off-man coverage where he anticipates well.  He goes after the football.  He's got good ball skills.  He can turn and run.  He's really got a knack.  He made three picks in one day, which is rare at an All-Star Game practice.  He finds the football.

The only concern is the first day this guy is running around, making plays in a Pittsburgh Panthers helmet and I was asking about it, and a scout told me, "trust me.  If there's one guy on this football field who you could have said would forget his helmet or had a mishap or something, it's Josh Norman.  He's kind of a fluky kid."
And that's one concern.   He's confident.  He's got a swagger about him.  It's off the field stuff.  How responsible he is?  But he's a big time talent.

CN:  I have a question about Akiem Hicks, the DT from Canada.

WB:  Oh, man.  We're at the weight in and you see this man-child come up and people are asking, who the heck is this guy?  He has 35-plus inch arms.  He's 6'4" and a half.  He's 325 lbs.  He looks the part.  Then he gets on the field and shows a quick first-step.  He's overwhelming on contact.  He can bend.  He can extend his arms.  He plays with leverage.  There's some suddenness to his game for a big guy.

Watching him, I thought he was about 300 lb. athlete getting up the field. Then you realize that's Hicks.

He's raw.  He's gonna need some development. He was a former LSU recruit.   He went the JUCO route because he couldn't qualify.  There was something amiss at LSU, but they wanted him, which tells you what type of talent he has as a defensive lineman.  There was some mixup with the NCAA.  I think he might have been on campus when he wasn't supposed to.  He ended up at Regina College in Canada, and ended up dominating there.

He needs some polish, but he's that perfect 6.1 grade -- boom or bust.  He can be a starter in the NFL.  It will take some time, and it depends on how much he wants it.

When I was at the East-West Shrine a few years ago, Israel Odonije was there.  He starts for the Bears now.  He's 6'6'', 275 lbs.   He looked the part too, and he was raw, but he's a smart guy and a hard worker.  There's some questions with this guy off the field, but he's the same type of player as Odonije.  He looks the part.  If he wants to start in the NFL it might take two to three years but he could do it.  And at that size, at 325 lbs. he can play inside and out in a 3-4 and he can play tackle in a 4-3.  He's a talented player.

CN:  Where does he project now?

WB:  Earliest?  Probably 4th-5th rounds.

CN:  The reader asked you to compare him to the Chargers' Vaughn Martin.  They drafted him in the 4th.

WB:  That's a name I was thinking of.  I'd say Kenrick Ellis is more polished than Hicks coming out.  Ellis went in the 3rd.  Martin is a good comparison.  I can see this guy going in the 4th as well.

CN:  Talk about this really big guard from Miami of Ohio, Brandon Brooks.  His dimensions are very similar to Marcus Cannon's.  Are they similar players?

WB:  He's a different player than Cannon.   He can bend lower.  His weight is distributed better.  I like him more on tape. Some people have him as a late-round pick.  I have him as a 3rd-4th rounder right now.  I watched him as a junior and didn't think he was that good, gave him a free agent grade.  Then I watched him this year and he was moved from tackle to guard and he looked good.  I gave him a mid-round grade.  Now, in this loaded guard class, I can see him going a bit higher than that.

He's stepping up to the scale at the weigh-in and he's 6'5'', and you're looking at him thinking maybe 320-325, 'cause he's a big kid.  They call out 354 and you think, where is it?  He's got a thick lower half. He's got powerful arms.  He'll get a bit overextended at times and he's doesn't have a great snap off the football in the run game, but he's so strong that he gains leverage and he'll just work people and stick through contact.  He was chucking people all day.  He was very good and balanced in pass protection as well.  And he improved as the week went on, which is always very good to see.

I think this is a starting guard in the NFL.

CN:  So people should not look at his weight and think, fat kid, and dismiss him.

WB:  No.  He's not fat.  He wasn't fleshy at all.  He's a solid, well-built man.

CN:  Is he scheme specific at that size?

WB:  I would say he's more of an angle guy, a power scheme guy.  I don't think he moved well enough in space to be a zone guy.  I think he's more of a right guard than a pull guard at the next level.  But he's a heck of a right guard.

Next:  running backs, Senior Bowl matchups to watch and more reader questions.  

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Who's the Cowboys' Best Free Agent Corner Buy? K.C. Joyner Looks at Three Big-Ticket Prospects

Is Cortland Finnegan up to this
matchup twice a year?

Part three of my discussion with ESPN Insider's NFL and college analyst K.C. Joyner looks at three of the biggest cornerback free agent prospects -- Carlos Rogers, Cortland Finnegan and Brandon Carr.


K.C. Joyner:  somebody else the Cowboys may get a shot at is Carlos Rogers, depending on the the 'Niners decide to do.   The problem with Rogers, he's got a 6.6 YPA, had six interceptions, he's the best combination of ball-hawk and cover guy, a guy who can do both, maybe in the league right now.

But he also is playing in a contract year, and this season all the Washington fans were asking, "where was this guy when we had him?"

CN:  We talked about him last spring, before the free agency period began and your run-down of the Redskins secondary was, Phillip Buchanon was good, Rogers was medicore and DeAngelo Hall was awful.  Now, he gets a one-year deal and he's great.  He's not a young guy, is he?

K.C.:  I think he's responding to San Francisco situation very well.  He was not happy in Washington, for whatever reason.  But he's 30.  So you've got the Nnamdi Asomugha question:  are you going to play big money for a guy whose best years are behind him?

If the Cowboys were looking at a one-year Super Bowl run, Carlos Rogers would be a smart move.  But I don't think they're looking at it that way, and I don't think they should be.

CN:  I see Cortland Finnegan's name raised a lot and maybe he was hurt last year, but I look at your 2010 metrics and he was bad.  He was 86th and he was one class above Terence Newman in '10. He's had good years in the past, but he's a short corner.

Did he bounce back in 2011?

K.C:  It's interesting because you've done some studies on YPAs in the past and cornerback numbers can move up and down wildly from year to year, and it's rare to see the guy whose YPA stays constantly good season after season,  Finnegan had a good year this year.  At last check he was in the mid-7s.  He had a solid season, but not a great year.

He has down years every once in a while, but it may mean that he was beaten on a couple of plays.  If you get 70 passes thrown your way and you happen to get beat on one 70 yard pass, you could have the same season from year-to-year and you could go from 6.5 to 7.5 just on the strength of that one pass.  It's important not to give up that pass, but it might not be indicative of your talent level as a whole.

I think that was more the case with Finnegan last year.  This year, he played well.  I like that he brings a certain physicality and anger and toughness to the secondary.  I think the Dallas secondary could use that.  They've had ball-hawking and I'd like them to be more feisty and really get after guys.  I think they've been more athletic guys and I'd like to see some more physical guys. From that standpoint he'd be a good fit.

CN:  Let's talk about Brandon Carr.  You mentioned him last year as someone to keep an eye on, but he was restricted.  This year he's on the market.  You pointed out that he's not the glitziest prospect.  He's been overshadowed on his own team by Brandon Flowers.  Flowers' metrics were better in '09 and '10 but just slightly, maybe half a yard better.

How did Carr play this year and might he be that good buy, because he's only 25 or 26 years old?

K.C.:  He'd be a good pickup.  Actually, Flowers had an off-season.  They're both still in the same boat, metics wise.  He's young.  Carr is a bit hit or miss sometimes.  I like his overall numbers but he is hit or miss.  That's a bit of a concern but I may be nit-picking the guy, because he's got a lot of what you want in a cornerback.  He can ball-hawk.  He's got some speed.

I guess I'm wondering how he would do if I made him my number one guy, because he hasn't been that guy in Kansas City.  That's been Flowers.  If you're putting Carr up there as the number one, I think he's better as an alternate rather than your shadow corner.  I think he'd be okay against the Eagles, 'cause I don't think the Eagles are that good when they face solid cornerback competition.

But if you want to face the Giants.  If you want to face Nicks and Manningham and Cruz you're going to need a true shadow corner.  You're going to face Hakeem Nicks you need a true shadow corner.  He's not that. I don't think he's quite to that level.  He'd help.  But if I'm putting him in a matchup against a healthy Hakeem Nicks, I'm taking Nicks seven days a week.  He's not necessarily going to dominate Carr, but if I'm the Giants, I'm not going to be afraid to throw that way.

CN:  When Finnegan is playing well, how would you compare those two?

K.C.:  Finnegan is a better corner.  I don't know if he fits that top guy role either.  Where I do like Finnegan, I mentioned the Eagles receivers.  They don't tend to do well against top level cornerbacks.  I think they'd fold their tents against Finnegan.  I think that if you put DeSean Jackson and you put Jeremy Maclin, you put them up against Cortland Finnegan?  Those two don't handle physical corners and I think Finnegan would get into their heads in no time.

But I don't think he would match up as well against the Giants receivers.  If Cortland Finnegan tried doing that physical stuff with Nicks?  Nicks would route-run him into a fit.  Not down on Finnegan.  He's a good corner, but when Nicks is on his game, he's hard.  And I'm not taking anything away from Victor Cruz, 'cause he had much better numbers than Nicks this year.

Manningham had a down year, but he's got elite chops at wide receiver -- and he's a guy the Cowboys might consider picking up, by the way.

Next:  Another veteran corner worth investigating, and did Mike Jenkins bounce back from his awful 2010?

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