Dallas Cowboys Draft: The Jalen Ramsey Rumors
By Reid Hanson
The NFL Combine is still two weeks away but already the Dallas Cowboys have a #1 target on their Draft Board. Is CB/S Jalen Ramsey the man?
Between now and the NFL Draft on April 28th the Dallas Cowboys will be doing plenty of adjusting to their draft board but that doesn’t mean their board today isn’t significant or telling. According to draftinsider.net, the Dallas Cowboys have Florida State defensive back, Jalen Ramsey, as the top player on their board.
The Dallas Cowboys need in the secondary is well documented. Both 2015 starters have very uncertain futures with the Cowboys. Morris Claiborne, former #6 overall draft pick, is a free agent and Brandon Carr, the free agent prize of 2012, is due a significant sum in the final year of his deal.
The top proven cornerback on the roster, Orlando Scandrick, is coming back from a significant knee injury and 2015 rookie, Byron Jones seems to making the permanent move to safety.
J.J. Wilcox, who is trending in the wrong direction, is in the final year of his rookie deal and Barry Church, a strong run-defender, is possibly on the chopping block for salary purposes
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With so much uncertainty and under performance in the secondary, it should go without saying that defensive back is among their draft day priorities this April. To think the consensus top DB in the nation is at the top of their board though, is a little surprising.
The Dallas Cowboys don’t exactly have a track record of success in drafting cornerbacks. As I’ve mentioned before, the Cowboys struggle with evaluating talent in the secondary and excluding Byron Jones, they’ve only hit on one in nine attempts.
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Throw the ridiculous investment in Brandon Carr in there as well when critiqueing the Cowboys inability to evaluate. The Cowboys paid Carr like a top-5 CB even though he never played better than a top-25.
It’s difficult to tell whether Jalen Ramsey is better at safety or at cornerback. His build says safety but his athletic potential may be best utilized at CB. Where he fits will likely be decided in the position drills of the NFL Combine.
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NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein is already calling Ramsey the winner of the Combine. The Underwear Olympics is the perfect setting for an athlete like Ramsey to stand out and potentially elevate his value, but if he’s already #1 on the Dallas Cowboys’ Big Board, is his entrenchment at the top just a forgone conclusion? Probably. If he is indeed #1 right now, he’ll very likely remain there after the Combine.
I’m on the record calling for the Cowboys to target a pass-rusher with pick four or to trade back to mid-round and go for a value pick. It’s not because I don’t value other positions, it’s that I don’t trust the Dallas Cowboys to properly evaluate talent at positions other than offensive and defensive linemen.
If Jalen Ramsey proves to be a Richard Sherman-type CB or a Earl Thomas-type deep safety, then I’m all for it. Those are perhaps the hardest blue-chip positions to find and give the defense a decided advantage, but that requires Ramsey to be “that guy” and I’m not sure we know how to find “that guy”.
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Call me jaded but the colossal failure of Morris Claiborne cannot be forgotten. Mo had great measurables and rock-solid film. He was a sure thing – until he wasn’t. CBs are very difficult to evaluate and the Cowboys cannot afford to have another bust like they did when they drafted Mo.