The Cowboys fan base, since the start of draft season, has split into groups that support one player or another joining the team with the upcoming fourth overall pick. These “teams” seem to all have vocal leaders on Twitter and other platforms, and perhaps no one has been steering the Jared Goff ship harder than I have.
I am all for Dallas drafting a quarterback in the first round, especially if Goff is in play, but also understand the needs at other positions. I explained why I changed my mind on Joey Bosa after the Randy Gregory suspension.
I also made another case for a group of backs they should target in the later rounds.
Whatever player you would love to see this team end up with in the first round, the truth of the matter is that the success of the team will rely just as heavily on their later round picks as well. At some point in the 2016 NFL Draft, one of these picks needs to be a quarterback.
That is something that the entire fan base should be able to agree on after watching Brandon Weeden, Matt Cassel, and Kellen Moore collectively win just one game. Tony Romo won the Giants, Eagles, and Dolphins games for us – but now carries serious sustainability issues, as Staff Writer RJ Ochoa pointed out.
Let’s examine four quarterbacks that could be selected by the Cowboys sometime in the first four rounds.
Round 1 – Jared Goff
This pick requires little explanation. If indeed the Cowboys are serious about drafting a quarterback in the first round, I believe Goff is their guy. While Carson Wentz is a great prospect, I just do not see this team slotting him ahead of players like Jalen Ramsey and Myles Jack on their board.
Goff is my top QB in this class, is a great fit for Dallas, and could benefit greatly from not having to start right away. This pick would make sense, and I would be all for it, but there are of course other very viable options in the later rounds…
Round 2 – Christian Hackenberg
Hackenberg is one of the more interesting QB prospects in recent years. A college career that started with so much promise turned into a story of disappointment and inconsistency – mired in coaching changes at Penn State along with terrible play in his offensive line.
The Cowboys could view Hackenberg as a very high value pick at #34 overall, because he would have gotten past teams near the bottom half of the first round like Houston who will seemingly have interest. They certainly have the offensive line to protect him come the day he has to step in, and in time, Christian Hackenberg could become a very talented NFL passer.
Round 3 – Dak Prescott
Prescott was impressive at the NFL Combine, and with quarterbacks like Cam Newton taking over the position, his overall stock has risen. Prescott likely best fits at the next level in a short-passing style offense, but sitting behind Tony Romo will only further develop his all around skills.
By the time he is expected to start, the Cowboys could have the offensive personnel in place to join the latest NFL trend and play the athletic Prescott at QB in a system that he can thrive in.
Round 4 – Jeff Driskel
I scouted Jeff Driskel right here on InsideTheStar.com, and was impressed with what I saw. In reading what pro scouts have to say about the former Florida Gator turned LA Tech Bulldog, the knock on Driskel has been his field processing speed along with inability to quickly get the ball out of his hands.
To me, these are two of the easiest things to fix once Driskel is brought into Dallas in his first seasons to simply learn the offense. The mental speed of the game will improve with each rep he gets, while the ball will come out of his hands faster as receivers like Dez Bryant and Cole Beasley break open.
Should the Cowboys be in a position to draft Goff and not take him, they can make up for it in my books by potentially stealing Driskel in the fourth round.
Also in the mix: Connor Cook, Jacoby Brissett, Nate Sudfeld, Kevin Hogan
Sean Martin: You continue to put Kellen Moore in the same category as Weeden and Cassel. l don't think this is correct and doesn't demonstrate good analysis. K Moore is very likely to earn the 2nd team QB position in 2016 over any QB in the draft but you don't acknowledge that. This is because there are no franchise/can't miss type QBs in the draft. A drafted QB will be adjusting to the NFL/new coaches/new system and learning the Dallas offense/playbook. K Moore has four years NFL experience, some starting experience, has worked with S Linehan for over two years and knows the Dallas offense/playbook well. You don't seem to realize like most people how good K Moore really is at pocket passing. His 2015 performance while pretty good overall per S Linehan, was his first time playing against first team defenses and the deficiencies K Moore had are areas he has always excelled at, so is likely to improve/correct those quickly. K Moore will be going into 2016 with renewed confidence and the confidence of S Linehan. K Moore is likely to play as well or outplay T Romo in preseason games. While I don't think K Moore will ever be as good as T Romo, because of his physical limitations, I have not written him off yet that he cannot replace T Romo at some point. To not acknowledge that K Moore may be as good or better than any QB in the draft is to not recognize how good he really is at pocket passing. Don't take my word for it as a K Moore fan but listen to what his college coach, Peterson, said, and I quote: " KELLEN MOORE IS THE BEST POCKET PASSER I HAVE EVER SEEN".
Yes, I do believe he is better than any of the flunky QBs we had, but not sure he is the final answer. Some of the lower draft QBs look to be more accomplished and there needs to be some competition.
Sean Martin: For some reason my response disappeared. I will respond again as I think it is important. Your analysis puts K Moore in the same category as Cassel and Weeden. This is not correct. I realize you are concerned about T Romo's replacement not about K Moore. None of the QBs in this years draft are being given a label of franchise/can't miss prospects. Therefore K Moore is likely to beat out any of these QBs for the 2nd team QB position in 2016. This is because K Moore will have lots of experience to draw on, the confidence of S Linehan and will know the Dallas offense/playbook well. A drafted QB will be in a big adjustment/learning curve. That doesn't mean one of them couldn't replace T Romo in a couple of years. K Moore played pretty well overall in 2015 per S Linehan. This is especially true when you consider it was his first time playing against first team defenses. He is likely to improve/correct his deficiencies from 2015 because these deficiencies are areas K Moore has excelled at in the past. I have not written off K Moore yet, that he can never replace T Romo. I don't think he will ever be as good as T Romo because of his physical limitations, but that doesn't mean he can't start someday if he keeps improving. Your analysis seems to ignore all of this and leaves the reader with the impression that either K Moore will be 3rd team in 2016 or not on the roster. I realize you don't say this but if Goff is drafted with the fourth pick it would be assumed he will be the 2nd team QB, which I doubt. This is very unlikely especially since S Linehan thinks highly of K Moore and K Moore is likely to be very confident going into 2016 and will also likely do very well in preseason. He may in fact do as well or better than T Romo. That would not surprise me at all. You don't realize how good K Moore really is. This is probably because he was not drafted and does not look like an NFL QB. He has already proven he should have been drafted and can play in the NFL either as a solid backup or a starter.
As a fan, I want the depth chart behind Romo for 2016 to be a little more promising than "a solid backup OR starter", as you described Moore. Not only is that what Moore basically is, but that is likely close to his ceiling. While I believe a rookie like Goff would beat out Moore for the second spot, I'm willing to give you that Moore deserves that chance to compete. I say this because Garrett preaches competition, and I am a big fan of Coach Garrett. Even as the #2 QB, Goff in his rookie year wouldn't be much more than a solid backup and perhaps a potential starter, but at least you would have some serious room to grow.
While Moore and Linehan can still work together to grow, I don't ever see them reaching a level at which Moore becomes the future of this franchise or any other one – considering he was passed on in waivers. I have nothing against the kid, and respect that he plays hard, but I did not live through the Aikman to Romo gap and have no intentions of experiencing something similar.
Even if it is not Goff that the Cowboys go with, not bringing in a rookie in any round to compete with Moore would be foolish. If you would like, I have a scouting report on the site for Jeff Driskel. He's a guy I would like to have in the later rounds along with Dak Prescott.
right on!!!
Sean you're the Man. I once again agree with your assessment of Goff. The Cowboys would be returning to elite status of the 70's /90's Cowboys teams with Goff at quarterback. Goff is that special, period. I noticed at the nfl combine, that Jerry, Stephen, Garrett , Linehan and McClay was in attendance, when Goff performed during the quarterback drills, Only Garrett stayed behind for the rest of the NFL Combine. Finally, it's lying season, so whatever is said in the media, you have to take with a grain of salt. The question is can Romo back hold up for the next 3-4 years, except the Romo Wednesday to continue, father time is undefeated.
Thank you for reading! Certainly could be an elite offense with Goff down the line depending on who else is added by the time he (hopefully) has to start. One addition I've been advocating for comes in this upcoming draft – Utah's Devontae Booker.
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