Dallas Cowboys: Ronald Blair could be late-round steal
There is an old saying in football that offense wins games, but defense wins championships, and for the Dallas Cowboys, there is something that can be said where they need to tidy up their defense in the 2016 NFL Draft and from there work on adding a piece here or there to their offense.
Dallas’ defense in 2015 wasn’t the greatest. It was far from being “Doomsday,” but it wasn’t completely terrible, though there is a lot of work that needs to be done if the Cowboys want to improve next season off the 4-12 year we all just watched.
For the 2015 season of the Cowboys, they were in the middle of the pack in points allowed (23.4) as they finished 16th overall in that category, and they were 17th in total yards allowed per game at 347.9.
Also in ’15, the Cowboys were fifth in passing yards allowed per game at 227.0, but 23rd in the league in rushing yards allowed per game at 120.9. The passing yards per game of the Cowboys comes from allowing 330 completions (506 attempts) and 7.6 yards per pass. In all, the Cowboys allowed 3,632 passing yards and 5,566 total yards in ’15.
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Where the Cowboys need more focus is the defensive end spot of the Cowboys. Demarcus Lawrence led the Cowboys with eight sacks in what was his second season on the roster. Other defensive ends on the defensive roster for the Cowboys in ’15 included Jack Crawford, Randy Gregory, Greg Hardy and Jeremy Mincey. Mincey and Hardy are unrestricted free agents.
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One player the Cowboys could sneak onto their roster through the late rounds of the draft is Ronald Blair.
Blair was a redshirt senior this past football season for Appalachian State, and the 6-3, 272-pound defensive end is the 19th-ranked defensive end on the CBS Sports Draft Prospect Rankings. The Greensboro, Ga. player could be a nice late-round selection by a team looking to add some depth to their defensive roster.
He’s projected to be a sixth-round draft choice. ESPN Insider has his 40-yard dash time at 4.85, as he is 6-1 and weighs 272 pounds. In comparison, the No. 1 ranked defensive end, Joey Bosa of Ohio State has a 40-yard dash time of 4.77, according to ESPN Insider, as he is 6-4, 275 pounds.
Coming out of college in 2010, Greg Hardy (who played for the Cowboys in 2015) had a 40-yard dash time of 4.79 at 6-4, 281 pounds, and he was a third-to-fourth round projected player. Hardy was eventually selected in the sixth round (175th overall) by the Carolina Panthers.
Blair did have 7.5 sacks this past season, including two against national runner-up Clemson on Sept. 12. In that game, Blair totaled eight tackles, with seven of them being solo. He also played in the Camellia Bowl on Dec. 19 against Ohio University. In what was his final game at the collegiate level, Blair totaled four tackles (three solo).
The defensive end was also scheduled to play in the East-West Shrine Game on Saturday, Jan. 23 but had a “minor injury” and will not play in that game.
Here are some highlights of Blair from the Clemson game. Make sure you watch the play at the 1:00 mark of the highlight package made by CollegeFBDude:
His best game of the season, in terms of tackles, was on Dec. 5 when he collected 11 total (five solo), plus 1.5 sacks. Against Troy on Oct. 31, he recorded seven tackles (three solo) and had a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown.
What jumps out to me with Blair is his athleticism on the defensive line, and in the highlight film of him against Clemson, he showed his skills in a variety of ways, and he even went straight through the offensive line a couple times to get to the quarterback or ball carrier.
For his 2015 season, Blair, who was also the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year, totaled 71 tackles (42 solo).
Eric Edholm of Yahoo! Sports included Blair in his 10-up, 10-down article, giving Blair an “up vote” in the article on Dec. 31, quoting an anonymous scout:
"“I like [No.] 49 — quick, good motor, good pursuit, flattens down the line well. He showed up against Clemson [in September],” Scout B said."
Even with the setback of not playing in the Shrine Game, besides having solid numbers his senior season, Blair was described as a leader by example in an article this past October.
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Brant Wilkerson-New of the Winston-Salem Journal wrote the following about Blair in October, quoting the head coach:
"“He does lead, probably leads more by example than anything else,” coach Scott Satterfield said. “When he speaks, people listen. He’s not one of these guys that talks all the time, but he’s certainly a leader just with his presence.”"
Though I believe the Cowboys will draft defensive line early in this draft, they could always use more depth on that part of the roster. With a late pick, Blair is a player to keep an eye on, and it will be very interesting to see how he performs at the combine this February.