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Cowboys: The Two Camps About A Quarterback

By Daniel Ruppert

Jan 30, 2016; Mobile, AL, USA; North squad quarterback Carson Wentz of North Dakota State (11) throws while under pressure from South squad defensive end Dadi Nicolas of Virginia Tech during first half of the Senior Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 30, 2016; Mobile, AL, USA; North squad quarterback Carson Wentz of North Dakota State (11) throws while under pressure from South squad defensive end Dadi Nicolas of Virginia Tech during first half of the Senior Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Cowboys’ fans have two camps when it comes to talk about Dallas drafting a quarterback, and both make sense.

If you have been listening to all of the chatter on the Dallas Cowboys website, forums and social media, you know that there’s a great divide on what fans want to see the Cowboys do in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. On one hand, many fans want to see a quarterback and think anything else is a mistake. On the other side of the argument is fans who think it would be a waste to spend a first round pick on a quarterback, and the defense, or even running back needs the most help.

Neither is actually wrong, it just is a matter of how you decide to view the choice. I am in the camp of not getting a quarterback in the first round. However, I can understand why that pick is floating around out there. It isn’t that the Cowboys shouldn’t get a quarterback, it is just maybe not in the first round.

If you are for drafting a quarterback in the first round, then the obvious reasons start with what happened last season when starting quarterback Tony Romo went down. The backup plan was painful, and with only a few years left, the Cowboys need to start grooming his replacement now. The argument always comes back to the idea that getting a first-round quarterback will set the team up for the future.

While it is never a sure thing that a first-round quarterback will be a franchise guy, the odds are certainly more likely. With Romo not getting any younger, and the fact that finding a talent with such an early pick isn’t going to happen often, the idea is why not get one now? It makes sense if you think that one of the first round guys are that type of quarterback, and in this draft, it is not so certain. This is a really weak class for quarterbacks.

On the flip side, the argument is why spend such a high pick on a guy who is going to sit on the bench at least two to three more years. The Cowboys are in ‘win now’ mode in a lot of ways, and grabbing a guy in the first round who isn’t going to contribute isn’t seen as the best way to spend the pick. If the Cowboys grab a quarterback in the second or third round and they sit, the talent level probably isn’t that far off that you aren’t getting just about the same return and spending less to get it.

While it isn’t a sure thing that the quarterback will develop into that guy, an early second-round pick is quite close to the bottom of the first, which is where someone named Aaron Rodgers was drafted. The Cowboys will have to make that decision, and if they don’t pick a quarterback with the fourth-overall selection , or they trade down, odds will be high that a quarterback can still be had in the next two to three rounds.

There isn’t really a right or wrong decision. There is a lot of disagreement, however. Neither side is totally correct, and neither is totally wrong. While next year’s draft is supposed to be better in terms of quarterback talent, it isn’t assured the Cowboys will be picking in the top five again. However, grabbing a guy now, and having him not work out would be a total waste of a pick when the Cowboys have so many needs to fill.

Next: Cowboys: How Ohio State Can Fix Pass Rush

No matter which side of the aisle you sit on, try to be objective and at least see the other side. There are points to be had for both arguments. Cowboys’ fans are a family and families argue. However, families also stand behind each other, and when the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, and Washington Redskins come around, the family stands tall together, quarterback or no quarterback in the first round.

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