The Cowboy 2019 draft strategy was a bit off the wall compared to what was expected of them.
Where most thought they’d address safety early on, they instead waited until the sixth round to do so. Where most thought they would prioritize a multitude of positions over offensive line due to their current depth in the group, they instead took a guard with their second selection.
Another place they shocked some fans was with their selection of two running backs, both on day three of the draft. But while Memphis’ Tony Pollard is getting most of the headlines, Ohio State’s Mike Weber might have been their steal of the draft.
Derrik Klassen of Bleacher Report wrote up a piece identifying each team’s best “value pick” in the 2019 NFL Draft. For the Cowboys, he went with their seventh round running back, confirming what many fans were feeling on draft day.
“It is not uncommon for quality players at elite programs to be overshadowed by superior talents and get pushed down in the draft. Running backs, in particular, can be susceptible to this because there are only so many carries to go around, so more dynamic players tend to take precedent. Ohio State’s Mike Weber was a victim of this relationship, as J.K. Dobbins started to outshine him in 2017.”
At 5’10” 211 pounds Mike Weber ran a 4.47 second 40 yard dash. These numbers point to what can be seen on film, as Weber can run both with physicality between the tackles and speed in the open field. He is, in many ways, what the Cowboys hoped to find in their backup running back. A “complete” style of back.
Despite some being initially critical of the Cowboys for double-dipping at running back, Mike Weber and Tony Pollard will fill very different roles for the Cowboys moving forward.
Weber is much of the “RB2” the Cowboys need to fill behind Ezekiel Elliott, while Pollard will be that receiving back the Cowboys hope can be their Alvin Kamara-lite. These are lofty expectations of course, but Dallas rebuilt their running back depth chart behind their star back in Elliott, and did so on the cheap through the third day of the draft.
And they have definitely earned a certain level of trust from us as a fanbase when it comes to their draft classes in recent years.
