Sunday Debate: Dallas Cowboys, Losers of 2016 NFL Draft

Brendan Pignataro and Mark Morales-Smith will be debating a different topic each weekend. This week will feature a debate of which team was the biggest losers during the draft weekend: The Dallas Cowboys or the Philadelphia Eagles?

The NFL Draft weekend has come and gone.  As always, it was compelling and head-scratching at the same time. The NFL is the only sport that can turn a draft into a three-day extravaganza, It is time now to determine which team lost the weekend and educate my colleague Mark in the process.

Related Story: Sunday Debate: Philadelphia Eagles are the Losers of the Draft

Many draft picks left me wondering what these teams could possibly be thinking. Some that stick out are the Bears trading up for an undersized (albeit talented) outside linebacker in Leonard Floyd, the Jets baffling decision to believe in Christian Hackenberg’s potential, and the 49ers trading multiple picks to move up in the late first round and take an offensive guard in Joshua Garnett who may have been there anyway.

But the Dallas Cowboys draft, especially their day one and two picks, had me befuddled the most. Here are their selections:

Cowboys picks: (1) Ezekial Elliot, RB Ohio State; (2) Jaylon Smith, OLB, Notre Dame (3); Maliek Collins, DT, Nebraska (4); Charles Tapper, DE, Oklahoma (4); Dak Prescott, QB, Mississippi St.; (6) Anthony Brown, CB, Purdue; (6) Kavon Frasier, S, Central Michigan; (6) Darius Jackson, RB, Eastern Michigan (6); Rico Gathers, TE, Baylor.

First and foremost, you cannot pass on the best player in the draft, especially if it is a need. Jalen Ramsey would have been an immediate upgrade to starting safeties Byron Jones and Barry Church, and also has more talent than either starting cornerback in Morris Claiborne and Orlando Scandrick.

Or they could have also taken a pass rush prospect with huge potential to dominate like DeForest Buckner. Pass rushers were another big need for the Cowboys. But I guess the Cowboys are fine with allowing over 30 points per game.

Ezekiel Elliot will be a force behind the Cowboys offensive line, we all know that. He will be a fan favorite in Dallas and in fantasy football. However, you don’t need a star running back to win in this league. I know people will say what about Marshawn Lynch? Well folks, Lynch had a great young quarterback and one of the best defenses of all time.

The Cowboys don’t have that. But they do have an offensive line that amazingly allowed Darren McFadden to run for over 1,000. And that was with Tony Romo playing only four games, and Dez Bryant hobbling through nine games. An average running back by committee is more than fine for them.

Dallas’ day two selections had me just as mystified. Do the Cowboys know that Romo won’t be playing forever? The man is 36 years old coming off an injury riddled season. They need to try and win now. Yet, Friday night they chose outside linebacker Jaylon Smith who will not play in 2016. There is even concerns of him playing beyond 2016. He could turn out to be the next Derrick Johnson, but he is not someone who can help Romo and company anytime soon.

Next, in round three the Cowboys drafted a need in defensive tackle in Maliek Collins. In a draft that was stacked with talent at defensive tackle, Collins wasn’t one of the safest choices. NFL.com draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said of the pick, “His production is not that great, but he’ll be fun project for coach Rod Marinelli of the Cowboys. He has a nice piece of clay to work with.” So to recap, the Cowboys on day two got someone who won’t play soon, and a project.

Onto day three, the Cowboys finally made a good choice in defensive end Charles Tapper. I like his skill set, and he probably will be a day one starter with both projected starters Randy Gregory and DeMarcus Lawrence suspended. The next pick was a stretch with quarterback Dak Prescott, who is a long shot to ever be a full-time starter in the NFL. Prescott is better suited as a quality long-term back up.

My colleague Mark chose the Philadelphia Eagles as the biggest losers of the weekend. I astonishingly agree with him that they had a terrible draft, but nowhere near how bad the Cowboys’ draft was. The Eagles gave up way too much for a quarterback that isn’t ready to play right now in Carson Wentz.

However, Philadephia doesn’t have an aging star quarterback like Romo that needs to win soon. They have a new head coach in Doug Pederson who has to clean up the huge mess Chip Kelly left behind. They could afford to think long-term, unlike the Cowboys.

Wentz will assuredly take his lumps if he is the starter from week one, but the Eagles may wisely hang onto Sam Bradford for this season or let Chase Daniel start the year while Wentz sits and learns the nuances of the NFL. The rest of the Eagles draft was underwhelming, but at least they picked up a few prospects to help their shaky offensive line.

I also think they got a steal in fifth round pick out of West Virginia Wendell Smallwood. NFL.com draft analyst Mark Dulgerian said of the selection,“The Big 12 rushing leader last season, Smallwood’s strong test numbers don’t quite translate to the field but he’s a well-rounded back with solid pass pro and receiving skills. Doug Pederson will find a way to get him in the rotation often next season.” Darren Sproles is now 32 years old and Smallwood could be groomed as his successor.

Jerry Jones may have won a lot of headlines this weekend, but he and the Cowboys are the biggest losers of the weekend. Just like Mark is every week after these debates.

More nfl spin zone: 2016 NFL Draft: 6 Worst First-Round Picks

Thanks for reading and feel free to join the debate below.