Draft Day Is Finally Here !

I haven't written anything about the Cowboys in a while. The reason for that, other than it being the off-season, is because I was 100% on board the Bill Parcells bandwagon. I was shocked when he retired, and not really sure what that meant for the Cowboys.

They have a new coach now. Jerry Jones decided to go with Wade Phillips. For me, the jury is still out on whether that was a good decision or not. I guess we'll find out in the coming season. He does come from a good football family though - I had a lot of respect for his father.

The Cowboys, in addition to getting a new head coach, helped themselves in some other areas during free agency. It looks like they have signed very good players at safety and on the offensive line, and these were areas that needed to be addressed. Now we get to see if they can help themselves again via the draft.

The Raiders have opened the draft by making JeMarcus Russell (LSU) the number one pick. Unless they trade up, which we are told is a possibility this year, the Cowboys will be picking 22nd this year.

10. The Houston Texans picked Amobi Okoye (DT-Louisville). I don't know whether this is a good pick or not. He was rated pretty highly, but he is very young and not huge for an interior defensive lineman. Maybe it's just me, but I don't have a lot of faith in Houston's ability to choose after they passed on both Vince Young and Reggie Bush last year.

22. Dallas trades this pick to Cleveland. Cleveland uses the pick to get quarterback Brady Quinn (Notre Dame). This gives Cleveland a pretty good draft for this year - they got offensive tackle Joe Thomas (Wisconsin) at the third pick.

In return, Dallas gets Cleveland's first round pick in the 2008 draft, which will probably be a pretty high pick - giving them two first round picks next year. They also get the #36 pick in this year's draft. The player they'll get at the 36 slot will be in the same range as what they would have gotten at 22, but they won't have to pay him first round money.

26. Dallas gets this pick from Philadelphia, and uses it to pick Anthony Spencer (DE-Purdue, 6' 2", 261 lbs). Spencer will be a bookend outside linebacker on the side opposite Demarcus Ware. This will improve the Cowboy defense by giving them a large speedy pass rusher from both sides. I think it was an excellent pick. To get him, Cowboys had to give up picks in the 2nd, 3rd and 5th rounds of this year's draft.

67. Dallas drafts James Marten (OT-Boston College, 6' 7", 309 lbs).

73. Texans draft Jacoby Jones (WR-Lane College, 6' 2", 210 lbs).

That wraps up the first three rounds of the draft. You kind of expect players drafted in the first three rounds to make the team. Tomorrow teams go looking for that "diamond in the rough" in the fourth through the seventh rounds.

At present, the Cowboys have the 103rd, 122nd, 178th, 200th, 212th, 234th and 237th picks still to make.