Cowboys Actively Seeking Draft Trade

Dallas Cowboys looking to trade out of the fourth spot.

Sources within the Dallas Cowboys organization say the franchise is actively seeking trade partners to move down out of the #4 spot.

by Rodney Fisher

The Cowboys have been busy during the NFL free agency period locking up current players and adding new key position players like Alfred Morris at running back. As much as fans, myself including, have been salivating at the idea of drafting Tony Romo's replacement with the fourth pick, the team brass have been kicking the tires on a trade down to gain more late round picks.

There is no question. Not having Tony Romo and Dez Bryant for the majority of the 2015 season cost them big. There only reward was a high draft pick fueling the fire for Romo's replacement. Coming off yet another clavicle surgery in the offeseason, the team is content starting the season with him, Kellen Moore, and another veteran to be named later.

That leaves the door open for the Cowboys to add more depth in the draft versus the marquee player like Jared Goff, Carson Wentz, Ezekiel Elliott, Jalen Ramsay, or Joey Bosa.

Teams like San Francisco and Los Angeles Rams are speculated to be possible trade partners.

The Late Shift Podcast: Live From Game 5

James Harden celebrates first round victory over a
depleted Dallas Mavericks team. But a win is a win.

Tonight's episode of The Late Shift we are Live From Game 5 in Houston, Texas for Rockets vs Mavericks. Join us for all your NBA postgame talk plus:

• NFL Draft

• Mayweather vs Pacquiao

• Josh Hamilton

• MLB

• Kevin Love

• NBA Playoffs

• Your phone calls

Join us live tonight for the #1 late night sports talk show on the world wide web

Ram's Pre Draft Visitors

 

Rams will give Cooper a look. Photo Credit: Marvin Gentry/USA Today Sports

Rams bring in Alabama WR Amari Cooper, Stanford OT Andrus Peat, and Louisville OT Jamon Brown in for pre-draft visits.

By: Niqko Marshall (@NDMHoops )

NFL: 2014 Draft Picks

2014 NFL Draft Order and Picks

Round 1:

What Team Needs To Draft A QB

Teams will have to decide if Teddy Bridgewater or Johnny Manziel is what they need going into the 2014 NFL
Draft. Photo credit NCAA 

NFL Draft: What teams need to draft a QB?
by Brad Barrett

2014 NFL Mock Draft (First Draft)

Is Teddy Bridgewater the number one pick in the 2014 NFL draft? Photo credit Louisville 

by Brad Barrett

2014 NFL Mock Draft - First 15 positions

NFL Under-Rated Draft Prospect: Francisco Llanos, Southern Mississippi

by Derrik Klassen

Francisco Llanos

Heading into his Senior year at Southern Mississippi, Francisco Llanos could be the nation’s ultimate sleeper at Wide Receiver. Due to lack of QB talent, and quite frankly a lack of overall offensive talent, Llanos is being restricted and flying under the radar. Last season, he racked up 226 yards on 20 receptions despite awful QB play.

NFL Draft Player Profile: Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M

by Derrik Klassen

Johnny Manziel. Photo credit to MySanAntonio 

After recently tweeting (and then deleting the tweet) that he was tired of the college scene, it is almost certain that we will hear Manziel's name in May. Contrary to common belief, I strongly recommend that he doesn't declare for the 2014 draft.

He won the Heisman as a Freshman, so he's ready for the NFL, right? Think again. Honestly, he still has a long road ahead of him before he is ready for the NFL. His athleticism alone will not enable him to succeed in the NFL.

NFL Draft Player Profile: Aaron Lynch of South Florida (USF)

by Derrik Klassen

(Lynch #19) Photo credit to thebiglead.com

In 2011, Lynch had a Clowney-like year at Notre Dame. As far fetched as it may sound, it is completely accurate. Unfortunately, Lynch decided to transfer to USF because he was home sick. The transfer made him ineligible to play in 2012. Lynch will return next season as one of the most dominant forces in college football.

NFL Draft Player Profile: Bryn Renner of North Carolina

by Derrik Klassen

(Renner #2) Photo credit to CollegeFootball.org

Last season, UNC produced Jonathan Cooper, Brennan Williams, and Giovani Bernard, all of which were offensive players. Another key player in UNC's offensive success was QB Bryn Renner. While he may not be at the caliber of Bridgewater or Fales, there is still a considerable amount of NFL potential in Renner. He flashes more than enough arm talent for the NFL, but I question some of the finer parts of his game.

NFL Draft Player Profile: Devin Gardner of Michigan

by Derrik Klassen

(Gardner #12) Photo credit to DetroitNews.com 

The converted WR may have only played the final 5 games at QB, but he still flashed glaring signs of NFL potential. He lacks the finer skills, but he definitely has all of the physical tools. While he needs refinement, he shows plenty of talent for a player who was thrown into the fire with little experience at the position and a struggling team to work with. His potential ceiling is somewhere up in the stars.

NFL Draft Player Profile: Marcus Mariota of Oregon

by Derrik Klassen

(Mariota #8) Photo Credit: zimbio.com

Despite being a Freshman, Mariota made a name for himself in the 2012-2013 season. Now, while he is talented and flashes many valuable traits, he still needs refinement, like any young QB. Few QBs can dominate like Mariota did, let alone doing it as a Freshman. Manziel, who is criminally over-rated as an NFL prospect and shouldn't even be considered a top 10 QB, is over-shadowing Mariota and could end up making Mariota a steal come draft day.

NFL Draft Player Profile: Aaron Murray of Georgia

by Derrik Klassen

(Murray #11) Photo credit: OnlineAthens.com  

Big time school equals big time talent, right? Wrong! None of the SEC QBs, yes, that includes Manziel, are worth more than a 4th round pick. The notion of Murray, McCarron, Manziel, etc. are worth even a 2nd round pick, let alone a 1st round choice, is absolutely absurd. All of the SEC QBs are products of the system as the talent that surrounds them makes them look good and enables them to put up solid stats, but raw stats are a deceiving and flawed system. Every SEC QB is over-rated and Murray is not an exception.

NFL: The Shrinking Middle Class

by Chad Jones

Kam Chancellor, part of a shrinking NFL Middle Class. Photo credit NFL

Agents, Executives & Veterans are quietly discussing the shrinking middle class in the NFL. Elite players still land lucrative deals, but $ 3-4 million per year players are endangered species. 

Accumulating Talent comes from two markets- The Draft (Wholesale) & Free Agency (Retail).

General Managers have stopped looking at what position money is spent, focusing on accumulating elite players. The draft is used to supplement, where under the rookie wage scale, talent is landed on 4 year affordable contracts. At the drafts conclusion, GMs assert each selection was the highest ranked player on their board. In reality, managing a salary cap requires a deviation from this approach, albeit marginally. 

NFL: The Future Impact of the 2013 QB Class: Part 3

(Zac Dysert #7) Photo Credit: zimbio.com

We will conclude the series in the realm of Mr. Irrelevant; the 7th round. There is no way any of these next 4 QBs win the starting job in their rookie season, but who's to say they won't have a bright future? Is Rivers on his way out? Have the Broncos found Manning's replacement? Do the 49ers plan on running the same offense even with a back-up QB? Should Matty Ice be feeling pressured to win? Let's find out.

NFL: Breaking Down the Future Impact of the 2013 QB Class: Part 2

(Tyler Wilson) Photo credit: silverandblackpride.com 

Despite the next four QBs that I will break down were selected in the 4th round, there is still a future starting QB among them. That being said, there are still other questions. Why did Chip Kelly draft Matt Barkley? Why did Nassib slip so far? Will Tyler Wilson start over Matt Flynn? Have the Steelers lost faith in Big Ben? Well, let's dive in.

NFL: Breaking Down the Future Impact of the QB Class of 2013 - Part One

By Derrik Klassen

2013 NFL Rookie Draft Class. Photo credit NFL

This past NFL Draft's QB class was widely proclaimed to be "weak", but, contrary to common belief, they will have an impact next season. Geno Smith was almost unanimously said to be the top QB, so why wasn't he the first QB taken? Why would the Bills take EJ Manuel instead? Will Glennon take over for Josh Freeman? I am going to break down the first three QBs selected in part one of this three part series.

NFL Draft Player Profile: Tajh Boyd of Clemson

Tajh Boyd of Clemson

Tajh Boyd's performance in the bowl game against LSU was one of the most memorable and outstanding outings by any player last season. Then again, how many of us remember his performance against Duke? It was definitely one of his more disappointing performances. The Boyd that we saw tear up LSU is certainly not the same Boyd we see every week and he will not live up to his hype next season.

NFL Draft Player Profile: Brett Hundley of UCLA

We are all aware that the 2014 class of QBs is absolutely loaded. Brett Hundley is a big time contributor as to why this specific class is being hyped up. Last season, Hundley lead UCLA to the PAC-12 Championship game as a True Freshman.If I had to select one of last season's Freshman QBs to be the future of my franchise, I'd take Hundley in a heart beat and never look back.

(Hundley #17) Photo credit: CitySyllabus

Hundley measures in at a solid 6'3" and about 220 Lbs. While 6'3" isn't amazing height, it's certainly not a liability and 220 Lbs. is a perfect weight matched with his height. In terms of his mechanics, his throwing motion is a bit wide and when he goes to throw the deep ball, he has to wind up for it. That wind up time will allow the DB to catch up almost every time. Although, Hundley assesses the entire field before making throws and waits for plays to develop correctly, as opposed to pre-maturely forcing passes. Although, when under pressure, he doesn't have quick reactions to evade an oncoming pass rusher. Hundley won't evade the immediate pass rush threats, but if he notices the pocket collapsing, he is a threat to run for a huge gain.

NFL Draft Player Profile: Chaz Sutton of South Carolina

(Sutton #90) Photo credit to independentmail.com

Chaz Sutton wreaks havoc from all points on the defensive front. Sutton has lined up, and dominated, from the 1-Tech through 5-tech positions as well as Outside Line Backer. Being able to disrupt the offensive line from all different angles and positions adds a phenomenal amount of versatility to his skill-set. A player of his versatility would fit well into a Hybrid Multiple-Front defense such as the Ravens. He would play similarly to Haloti Ngata as he is moved around between the 3-tech, 5-tech, and sometimes even the 1-tech.