Cowboys look to present, then future in first two picks

The NFL draft was held last Thursday through Saturday. I'll talk about the Cowboys' first two picks a little, but first, here's a list of the players Dallas selected.

Round 1: Fourth pick, Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Ohio State
Round 2: 34th pick, Jaylon Smith, LB, Notre Dame
Round 3: 67th pick, Maliek Collins, DT, Nebraska
Round 4: 101st pick, Charles Tapper, DE, Oklahoma
Round 4: 135th pick, Dak Prescott, QB, Mississippi State
Round 6: 189th pick, Anthony Brown, CB, Purdue
Round 6: 212st pick, Kavon Frazier, FS, Central Michigan
Round 6: 216th pick, Darius Jackson, RB, Eastern Michigan
Round 6: 217th pick, Rico Gathers, TE, Baylor (basketball player)

I like the Ezekiel Elliott pick, but I wanted Dallas to pick a defensive player in the first round. It is kind of funny, because last year I kept hoping Dallas would take a running back in the draft. It never did. The team rolled with Joseph Randle and Darren McFadden as the top choices in the backfield to begin the year with Lance Dunbar as a change-of-pace/receiving running back. This year, I was hoping the Cowboys would wait until after the first round to take a running back, but they didn't. They took one right away.

Despite a bad offense with almost no passing game last season after Tony Romo and Dez Bryant got hurt, I thought the running game was pretty good. In fact, McFadden, who had injury problems in the past, ended up fourth in the NFL in rushing yards. The Cowboys' great offensive line is what drives the running game.
Elliott is no doubt a great running back, but running backs don't have to be great to run behind the Dallas line. I thought that defense was more of an immediate need for the Cowboys, not offense. As long as Romo and Bryant and others stay healthy on offense, I think the running game should be fine with almost anyone behind the line; there are limits of course. But McFadden, at least, proved he still has something left as long as he remains healthy. Don't get me wrong. Elliott could be excellent and in fact produce more than McFadden. And he should, since he was the fourth overall pick. I just didn't think taking a running back there was necessary for the offense to thrive this coming season.

I do hope Elliott helps Dallas in one spot -- the short-yardage game. It seemed like last year, over and over, the Cowboys failed to get first downs with running plays on 3rd-and-2 or 3rd-and-1. Elliott, at 6-foot, 225 pounds, has more heft and is fresher than McFadden, who is 6-foot-1 and a little lighter (but not much at 220). Elliott just looks stocky to me, and I hope that can help Dallas pick up more first downs on 3rd-and-1, like it seemed to do in 2014.

Ezekiel Elliott checks on Jaylon Smith
at this past season's Fiesta Bowl.

With their second pick, the Cowboys selected Smith, who is coming off a devastating knee injury in the Fiesta Bowl. An interesting side note to the injury is the Irish were playing Ohio State in the game. An article in Newsday said that Elliott was the only Buckeye to check on Smith after the injury (depicted in the picture). So they already have a connection. And Elliott welcomed Smith to the team on Twitter when he was picked Friday. Smith might not be able to play in the 2016 season but was a possible top-10 talent before getting hurt. So the Cowboys will be expecting big things from him in the future. He also hasn't ruled out playing this year. Lots of analysts thought the pick was risky, but Dallas had an advantage over other teams because its team doctor, Dan Cooper, performed Smith's surgery, so the Cowboys should be intimately aware of the details of the procedure and his rehabilitation.

It was a little disappointing that the Cowboys did not take a defensive player that can help them immediately, but hopefully, they addressed that a bit by taking linemen Collins and Tapper with their next two picks.