This Sunday, Cowboys fans across the nation will be reluctantly watching a Super Bowl featuring their biggest rival the Philadelphia Eagles and the NFL’s evil empire, the New England Patriots. The latter, a team on the brink of surpassing the Dallas Cowboys with 6 Super Bowl Championships. I, like many Dallas Cowboy fans, have become accustomed to cheering against the team I hate the most in the Super Bowl since the team I support hasn’t sniffed the big game in over 20 years. Needless to say, the Super Bowl has become a depressing time of year for us supporters of “America’s Team”. This year we will inevitably watch Tom Brady raise the Lombardi trophy for the 6th time OR have to endure our most hated rivals celebrate an improbable Super Bowl run wearing dog masks that perfectly identify them with their uncivilized fan base. When it is all over, we will count the days to the NFL draft.
The NFL draft has become the thing I look forward to more than the Super Bowl and almost as much as I look forward to watching the Cowboys on game day. It is an event that is full of optimism and hope as opposed to the regular season which has brought so much negativity and disappointment. It is by far the most entertaining draft in all of the pro sports. Unlike the NHL and NBA draft, it is often unpredictable and rarely is there a consensus #1 overall pick. And, unlike the MLB draft, prospects often make an immediate impact and do not take years to develop.
The lead up to the draft is the best part. Every fan imagines the ultimate scenario where the draft Gods magically fill every possible hole in their teams’ roster and all the pieces fall into place for a championship run. Once the draft is over, most fans come back to reality to some degree. Some are overjoyed and some are infuriated over the Cowboys selections but the long offseason and the positive reports out of training camp usually keep the optimism high for several months. Then comes the regular season and sadly, the on the field product in Dallas has more often than not been a major disappointment.
But let’s play along and pretend that the draft is going to be the answer to all our problems. Let’s visualize a repeat of the 2016 Draft that produced the likes of Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Jaylon Smith, Maliek Collins, Anthony Brown and Rico Gathers. While we’re at it, let’s forget about 2015 and Randy Gregory, Chaz Green and Ryan Russell. This year, there is plenty to be excited about. The Cowboys will have the 19th pick overall in the first round and they should also receive some additional compensatory picks due to the departure of several key free agents last season. These assets are now able to be traded where that was not the case in previous years. There will be plenty of opportunity for them to address some key positions of need such as DT, LB, S, WR and TE along with some other luxuries like OL, CB and an always valuable Edge Rusher.
Who will the Cowboys take in the 1st round? What dynamic player will fall to them at 19? Will it be the big DT Vita Vea out of Washington? How about the athletic LB Roquan Smith out of Georgia? Maybe the Cowboys will focus on the offensive side of the ball and select a wide receiver who can separate like Calvin Ridley out of Alabama or fortify the OL with one of Notre Dame’s standout pair Quenton Nelson or Mike McGlinchey. While it is an exciting prospect to be able to draft any one of those guys, it is impossible to predict who the selection will be. Likely, the water will only get muddier after the combine shakes up the draft boards and the scandals and injuries start to materialize. I only hope that this year, history does not repeat itself and the lead up to the draft will not be the most exciting part of the season for us Cowboy fans.
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