Just about week ago, I wrote an article discussing which players the Cowboys might spend their first-round draft pick on. Naturally, the majority of options involved drafting someone to fill in the gaping holes along the interior of the offensive and defensive lines.
It makes sense. Dallas just signed its franchise quarterback to a gigantic contract extension, so an offensive lineman would keep that investment safe(er). The team also hired a new defensive coordinator in the offseason, so he will undoubtedly have some requests to help out his unit.
The Cowboys have drafted exactly one offensive lineman in the first round in 32 years.
Either of those moves makes total sense, and both of those moves also ignore one superseding truth: The Cowboys don’t usually make sense.
Jerry Jones falls in love with players. Most of the time these players are about speed and playmaking ability — not size, strength or the ability toprotect the quarterback.
The Cowboys have drafted exactly one offensive lineman in the first round in 32 years. The team hasn’t drafted a defensive tackle in the first round for more than 20 years. Why should we expect that trend to change now?
Should the Cowboys brain trust stick to its “winning” formula, they will be looking at a speedy playmaker on either side of the ball. When you talk about playmakers in this draft, the first name that comes to mind is Tavon Austin out of West Virginia.
In terms of need, Austin makes absolutely no sense. He is a wide receiver, one of the few positions where the Cowboys have some stability. He stands at a puny 5-foot-9 and weighs less than 180 pounds. Worst of all, he can’t protect Tony Romo.
What he can do is fly. He gets up to full speed instantly and can cut on a dime. He had countless long touchdown runs in college and was a player that every defense had to worry about.
Think of the damage that Washington Redskins wide receiver Santana Moss has inflicted on Dallas through the years. That’s exactly the kind of player Austin is. Don’t think Jones hasn’t noticed.
In the end, cooler heads will hopefully prevail, and the Cowboys will address one of the desperate needs with their first-round pick. For those of us wishing for that, however, history is not on our side.
Tavon Austin can't protect Tony Romo but he sure can fly.
