The draft is almost here!!!! I feel like a kid at Christmas in my excitement for it. I have been tempted to make one of those paper chains—-where you cut a link off for each day that passes by until there are none left!! I know—I am a loser. I have no defense for myself. So here is the last position specific deep review. And this one is kind of a biggie for us this year! Cornerback. Just me, but I don’t think there is a bigger need on the roster.

(I will take this guy please - Antoine Cason, Arizona)

We do need someone to help Marion share the load in the run game. No doubt. But you only really need one star back, and you can get by with a “JAG”- just a guy, if you have to, to take the other carries. I am not saying we should. I am saying we could. We need youth at WR. No question. But we have all of the WRs from last year coming back, and possibly a healthy Terry Glenn which we didn’t have last year. The passing game worked pretty well last year without question. Can another stud weapon help? Of course, but it takes a spot way behind our biggest need.

Please get me a player that can hold down the #3 CB spot—-and even better compete for the #2 spot! Please. The Cowboys are a legit Super Bowl contender, but all those also ran QBs seem to disappear come playoff time. Not too many bus drivers throwing against your backfield in January. Only Field Generals, and those guys find the weak spot in the secondary—and for too long we have not had an answer for the third and 4th options opposing offenses throw our way. Take a look at some of the QBs we will face in the regular season this year:

Derek Anderson (Pro Bowl last year just in case you want to overlook him)
Donovan McNabb (twice)
Aaron Rogers (he’s here only because he torched Dallas for nearly 300 yards in one half last year)
Carson Palmer
Kurt Warner
Mark Bulger
Jeff Garcia (always gives us a fit!!)
Eli Manning (twice)
Matt Hasselbeck

The only guys on the list that don’t scare me are Kyle Boller, Jason Campbell, and Alex Smith—by the way each of those guys was a first round pick!! So my point is this, we have to tighten up the pass defense!!

Terrence Newmann is a Pro Bowl guy. There aren’t 5 CBs in the league I would take over him. Anthony Henry is a competent to good CB when healthy. There are no Pro Bowls in his future per my crystal ball, but he is good enough to get the job done, but then what? It’s been a rotating rolodex of guys. I don’t want a guy—-I want someone who can either lock down the slot—or at least allow Newmann to take it, and not worry about the weak side of the field when #41 has to slip inside.

Pacman Jones. Uggghhh! First, he is a thug, low down, no good jerk. There is no PR machine in the world that can convince me otherwise. I also know that he can play corner. I remember him making some good plays. I also remember him watching a WR step in front of him, catch a ball, and take it 70 yards while he watched. He is NOT Deion Sanders. He is NOT Terrence Newmann. I think a lot of people have lost that perspective. He can be better than Henry if his head is in the game, but even if it is—–can you count on him to stay out of the club? Heck no! No matter what happens—the Cowboys have to find a young guy they can count on. And if Pacman holds the line—than you have 4 good corners by drafting one high, and in todays game of spread game sets—you need 4, maybe 5!!

So lets get to it and look at the guys out there for the taking. First let me say that this appears to be a deep draft for CBs. This is a good thing. Several will likely go before we get on the board. Even with that, there will be solid players left at both #22 and #28. The “best one left” will likely provide an upgrade to what we had last year. Second, although I like to think that I am—-I am not a pro scout. I watch A LOT of football. But I am not so different from any other fan. I am watching the skill guys, I am watching, for great blocks, and great front 7 defensive pressure. I can’t even pretend I watched for the footwork of these guys covering their assignments—or that I closely monitored their ability to jam the WR at the line, or play press coverage. I do know speed, and I, like 100 million other people, can appreciate a pick 6 going back the other way for a defensive TD. So even more than the other positions I will give you what the experts are saying.

So without further ado—lets get to it:

Lets start with my personal favorite of this group, DRC! Thats Dominique Rogers Cromartie to you. That last name may be familiar to you. His cousin is Pro Bowl Cornerback Antonio with the Chargers. The Cowboys could have drafted him a few years ago, but decided to go with Bobby Carpenter. The good news about Carpenter is we have not had a bench blow away in over 2 years. Enough about that. I had never heard of DRC until the Senior Bowl. He played his college ball at Tennessee State. He absolutely dominated college foes. Listen to this stat—–in 4 years as a starter he only had 55 receptions completed on him. IN 4 YEARS!!! No one is going to ever do that in the NFL, but that would be about .75 catches against him a game. What would that do for your defense? I watched the Sr. Bowl just to watch him play. It was worth it. He is AWESOME!!! The big and only concerns teams have about him is his ability to take the step up to the NFL level from 1AA. Demarcus Ware and Osi Umenyora are working out just fine—this won’t be a problem. Like all rookies–he will struggle some, but his is going to be a great player. I would trade up into the late teens to get him, but my guess is he is off the board in the top 15.

Leodis McKelvin is another guy we have to talk about, but lets not talk about him too much. It will only make us sick to see him go at 8 to Baltimore—or soon there after. McKelvin is a Troy State product (again see Demarcus and Osi if this is a concern). Great CB. A little smaller height wise, but built a bit thicker to handle bump and run, press, and strong man coverage. Oh, and he can fly!! He is a smart guy with great hands! He is going to be another good one. If he is there—snag him. BUT he isn’t going to be there. Likely landing place is the Saints if not the Ravens.

Don’t fear—-there are some other promising guys out there still—its a deep draft for these guys…

Aquib Talib. Hey—he even went to my high school, Richardson Berkner. On the field at Kansas he was a great player. I am not saying he will be this good—repeat not saying that!!—but watching him play reminded me of watching Prime at FSU. He is very smooth in everything he does. He makes it look really easy. When he gets the ball in his hands—-there is a very good chance its going a lot of yards back the other way. Good frame standing around 6′2, 200 pounds. He is a shutdown corner. So why would he still be there for the Cowboys to draft? You know what, he probably won’t be. Why might he be? Two failed drug tests for Marijuana are a start. Thats not a small thing. Can you trust him to do the right thing. His college coach swears he is not the same kid that showed up at Kansas as a freshmen. He even went as far as saying Aquib is the kind of guy he would trust his kids with. Thats a big statement. I am sure Jerry has had more than one conversation with him. If he is there—-snag him! BUT I don’t think he will be available either.

So my top 3 are now gone!!! Relax, remember its a deep draft. Seriously, maybe one of the best drafts in a long time to need a CB. These next few guys are broadly labeled as safe “cover 2 guys.” Those are guys that you now can handle the job with a little bit of safety help. Guys like Champ Bailey, Asante Samuel, and yes Terrence Newmann are guys that can cover one whole side of the field for you by themselves. We have that with Newmann—-so a solid cover 2 guy meets the need, but you also want a guy that can grow into a lock down solo corner. All 3 of these next guys fit that mold.

Mike Jenkins from the University of South Florida is next on our list. Jenkins is another one of those “shut down corners.” He played most of his career at the right corner spot—that would fit well with what we need. He is also a 6 foot, 200 pound guy with very good speed. He has good hands, and plays the pass well. From the games of USF I watched he breaks up a lot of passes. I said he has good hands, and he does—-but you would hope a little more NFL coaching turns a few more of those break ups in to picks. He plays with tremendous effort. What’s not to like? Again not a lot. Scouts say he has a tendency to bite on fakes, and spends too much time looking into the backfield. But he has catch up speed and the ability to recover when he gets beat. Here comes one of those character things… Too my knowledge, Mike is the only guy in this year’s draft who got tazed by the police!! If you can live through getting tazered you can obviously take a big hit!!! Details of the event are sketchy. During his Jr. year he was involved in a “non-violent” disturbing the peace kind of incident. He ended up getting tazed!! How do you explain that in a non-violent situation. He was suspended from the team for some of the Spring of 07, but worked his way back on and had a great Sr. year. Despite all of that—I like Mike Jenkins. I think he slips into the 2nd round–maybe. He definitely won’t be there at #61 for the Boys 2nd round selection though. He is one of those at #28 or probably not at all guys. As a guy to battle for the 3rd spot and play special teams—I really like him. I would not be so in love with him at #22 though.

Brandon Flowers out of Virginia Tech is getting strong consideration as a first round pick. I know this is not politically correct after the tragedy there, but I have never liked Va Tech—in anything. I just don’t. I almost refuse to watch them. I would almost rather watch, gulp, baseball. So I didn’t see Flowers play much at all. However, here is what I have seen and heard. I have seen for myself that he hits like a truck!!! He is not a big guy at all, and that could be an injury concern at the next level. BUT he is a punisher. He plays like a strong safety on the corner. He has a great work ethic and a desire to be the best. His coaches rave about his dedication, and self motivation. He is compared to Ronde Barber. The big knocks on him are that he can play too aggressive—-and that he goes for the “big lick” all of the time as opposed to just wrapping up and making a solid tackle. Playing back their with Roy William no offense in the league would be able to run a crossing route without fearing the retribution coming their way with Flowers there as well!! And that would be awesome! There is a flip side to that coin—if Williams and Flowers took each other out (which happens all the time) its a long TD after the Receiver bounces off and gets free. I love watching catalytic, game changing, big hitters!! But its always nice to see a gain of 6 on a reception—as opposed to a missed knock out blow and a 60 yard reception for 6 points. With Flowers we would get the good—but beware of that danger. If all of the above guys are gone, and Flowers can be had at #28? Well that depends on the next guy we are about to talk about.

If Antoine Cason is there take him!!! Antoine Cason isn’t fancy. He isn’t flashy. He is one of those guys that might never make a Pro Bowl. My guess is he will make it to the next level and be that guy that comes in and plays 10 years for his team and does very little that makes the highlights. And by that I mean he may not be taking pick 6s back on the post game reels, but you also won’t see him getting burned the other way for big plays that show up on the other side of the scoreboard. In terms of the guy I think is the safest, longest term fit—- a don’t worry about that guy, ________ is covering him—he is the perfect fit. He is not overly fast, he is not overly big. If he were 2 inches taller, or 2 tenths of a second faster in the 40 he would probably be the guy most everyone was drooling over. All he is—is probably the most complete ready to play guy in this draft outside of DRC. I would love to see the Boys end up with Cason. Oh—and failed drug test, and character concerns. NEVER! This guy is a winner, a leader, and the kind of guy that bleeds team and lives for football.

So those are the guys—if the Boys take a CB in the first round. One of these guys will be on the team. If they go in round 2 or later you are on your own! At least for now. On draft day I will have my best players still on the board list going. Justin King from Penn State is a name I keep hearing as a mid to late 2nd round pick. Thats all I can tell you about him.

So—I challenge you all to read up on these guys, and let me know who you want! I am certainly no expert, but I do know this—-the draft is so much more fun when you know the players and have your own short list of guys you are dying to get! It hurts when they go elsewhere—but its awesome when you land them!!