Dallas Cowboys 2008 NFL Draft: Keeping Up With the Joneses

Dallas Cowboys Owner and famous Arkansas alum Jerry Jones lost Julius Jones as a free agent recently. No big deal, as the younger brother of the Jets' Thomas Jones was just another guy as far as NFL runners go. So, in a trade with the Tennessee Titans that was finalized this weekend, the Cowboys added the "Tennessee Stud", Adam "Pacman" Jones. Dallas metroplex strippers beware if Pacman starts to "make it rain". Hopefully Pacman Jones will get his act together and become as good a citizen as he is a football player, in between suspensions, that is.

With their first pick at #22 in the 2008 NFL draft, Jerry had a "Jones" for another former Arkansas Razorback, the first time he has drafted a player from his college alma mater in his time with the Dallas Cowboys. Felix Jones, who played second fiddle to Darren McFadden for three years at the school, was selected to complement bruising Marion Barber and take the place of the departed Julius Jones.

With Barber having one year on his contract and the two sides reportedly far apart in negotiations, the Cowboys selected another bruising type runner, Tashard Choice out of Georgia Tech in the 4th round as insurance.Earlier, in Round 2, Dallas selected TE Martellus Bennett to replace Tony Fasano. At 6'6 and a hair under 260, Bennett is considered a good blocker with limitations as a receiver. As long as Jason Witten is around, the receiving part of the TE equation is covered quite well.

To address the main weakness on the Dallas roster, the "Boys moved up in Round 1 to grab CB Mike Jenkins. Jenkins has good size for a corner at 6'0 and 200 pounds. The University of South Florida stalwart has good cover skills, great speed and is said to be a good tackler, a bonus at cornerback. This was a good pick to shore up an obvious need in the secondary.

In Round 5, Boise State corner Orlando Scandrick was selected, further adding to the depth at one of the Cowboys' few weak spots. Scandrick, a 3 year starter at Boise is regarded as a questionable character guy, so maybe the Cowboys shouldn't pair him up with Pacman Jones in training camp.

With their last pick, a 6th rounder, the Dallas Cowboys took Erik Walden, at 6'2 238 a college DE who projects as an outside rush LB in the NFL. Walden had 22.5 sacks in his career at Middle Tennessee State.

Some in Dallas have questioned taking Felix Jones in Round 1 with Rashard Mendenhall still available. Of course, a bunch of other teams passed on Mendenhall as well, including the Chicago Bears, who have an urgent need at RB. Folks, Felix Jones only had over 20 carries once in his Arkansas career, true. However, how many other backs would have gotten as many carries as this flashy runner got while playing behind Darren McFadden? Jones is an excellent kickoff returner and averaged 7.7 rushing yards per carry for his career, the highest career average since Glenn Davis in the 40's for runners with over the minimum carries.

Felix Jones was not a reach for the Cowboys in my opinion. It took a lot of confidence for Jones to sign with Arkansas after Darren McFadden, a Parade All-American in High School, had already committed to the school. Jones was a consummate team player, never complaining about splitting time with McFadden and being out of the spotlight. He and Mike Jenkins will contribute immediately in 2008, barring injury, making the Dallas Cowboys a serious contender for the NFC berth in the Super Bowl.

Overall, I gave the Dallas Cowboys a B for their draft only because they did not take a young receiver to groom to replace Terrell Owens and/or Terry Glenn who are getting a little long in the tooth. If Patrick Crayton, one of the other wideouts, or a rookie free agent can complement T.O. better than in 2007, the Dallas Cowboys should have another successful regular season with 12 wins, maybe matching 2007's 13 victories. However, the 2008 edition of the Cowboys will be judged mostly on the postseason. barring an injury to Tony Romo, this will likely be the favored team in the NFC this season.

Source:www.nfl.com/draft/tracker#tab:dt-by-team|team-dal