Cowboys/Texans 2016 Draft

[eagle eye]

In less than 2 hours the draft begins. There is already some draft news to talk about.

A top 5 talent is going to slide down to the middle of the 1st round, if not later because of a degenerative knee problem. UCLA LB Myles Jack is a special athlete who deserves to be a top pick in this draft. Jack tore the meniscus in his knee early last fall ending his final college season on a sour note. He then dropped out of school to concentrate fully on his rehab which he has done. It has been a long and difficult process. A process that kept him from participating at the Senior Bowl, the NFL scouting combine and the UCLA pro day from one extent to another. It's a shame because he's said to be a great kid and he is definitely a great athlete but his knee issue is going to cost him a bunch of money in this draft. It was made worse today when Jack admitted to the media that the possibility exists he will need microfracture knee surgery at some point. The issue is he might need it, then again, he might never need it as long as he's in the NFL. You gotta feel bad for the guy. It not like Notre Dame LB Jaylon Smith though. He tore about every ligament in his knee in the last college game of his career and it was complicated by nerve damage in his knee and ankle. This is a guy who may have been the top pick in the draft who may not get drafted until the middle rounds on Day 3. That is sad.

Another LB bomb was dropped today as well. It has been reported that Alabama ILB Reggie Ragland has an enlarged Aorta. In case you aren't in pre-med the Aorta is the main artery in the body so news like this will make you sit up and take notice. The fact is an enlarged aorta is a cause for concern and will need to be closely monitored but it shouldn't affect his draft position which is projected to be anywhere from the middle to the end of the 1st round.

The king sized POS that killed Saints defensive lineman Will Smith has been indicted for 2nd degree murder. Good.

One prediction I'll make is I bet there is a lot of wheeling and dealing tonight. There were already two huge deals made when the Rams traded up from 15 to the #1 spot in the draft and the Eagles, who had traded up to the 8th pick earlier this year in a deal with Miami, made another deal to move up to #2. I can't remember this ever happening in my lifetime so why would anyone doubt that there are more trades in the works as teams jockey for position to get the player they want in the draft? There is no reason at all. In fact on NFL.com there is a rumor that Cleveland, who traded the 2nd pick to Philly is looking to use some of the picks they picked up in that deal to move back up in the draft.

Last year just around this time of year Kevin Costner starred in a movie called draft day as a beleaguered GM for the sad sack Browns who wheels and deals his way through the top ten picks in the draft to come out smelling like a rose. It was actually a fairly entertaining movie and danged if Cleveland didn't make some moves reminiscent of the movie that had deja vu written all over. Trouble was the movie never showed the result of the movie, if all those moves really did turn the Browns around, there was just a lot of hope. Last year the real Browns still sucked, mainly because the real life front office wasn't as good or stable as the movie Browns were. Now there is whole new regime from the GM down to the head coac h and the coaching staff. The first move they made was to sign RGIII to be their QB. Nice fit for RGIII with new head man Hue Jackson. Then came "the deal" that said, 'hey, this is a good move, this isn't the same old Browns!" The Browns only had to move back 6 spots and they still had a top ten pick and 5 more draft picks besides in this draft and next year's draft combined. These weren't cheesy 6th or 7th round picks either, they got 1st, 2nd and 3rd rounders. Damn this new GM seems to know what he's doing! Now there are rumors they want to move back up. Okay, very Draft Day-ish, let's see where this goes. There have been more rumors flying around about trading picks than I have heard in a long time. This draft ought to be entertaining for sure.

All I can say to that is Go Cowboys and Go Texans! I'll be posting the 'Boys and Texans picks as they come up and I'll mention any trades that take place no matter who is involved. This supposed to be fun so if you want to weigh in and let us know if you are all in on the picks or pissed about them please do!

[eagle eye]

The draft has begun and the Rams have been on the clock for 4 minutes. If you are interested DallasCowboys.com has their draft show live on the website featuring Bryan Broaddus, CBSSports.com's Dane Brugler and DC.com staff writer David Helman. There is a war room cam on the Cowboys and the big news is the Cowboys RB's coach is sitting next to Jerry.
It seems like the Rams are milking every second of their 10 minutes.

[eagle eye]

The pick is in. The Rams select QB Jared Goff from Cal.

No surprise here and now Philadelphia is on the clock.

[eagle eye]

Pick 2 is in. The Eagles select QB Carson Wentz from North Dakota State.

Again, no surprise here you only wonder why it took all ten minutes to make the pick.

The San Diego Chargers are on the clock.

[eagle eye]

The pick is in. SD takes DE Joey Bosa from Ohio State!

This IS a surprise. Wow. Dallas is now on the clock and they will have either Jalen Ramsey or Ezekiel Elliott. We will know in about 7 minutes.

[eagle eye]

Damn, the cowboys are milking the whole 10. 30 second left on the clock. I'm going crazy and they have made a decision. Jerry is on the phone with the guy they are picking and the pick is in. Just waiting for Goodell to announce the pick.

With the 4th pick in the draft Dallas selects RB Ezekiel Elliott for Ohio State! Hot damn am I happy!!!

Jacksonville is on the clock.

[eagle eye]

With the 5th pick in the draft Jacksonville selects CB Jalen Ramsey from Florida State.

The Ravens are on the clock.

[eagle eye]

The pick is in and the Raven select OT Ronnie Stanley from Notre Dame.

San Francisco is on the clock.

[eagle eye]

The pick is in and the 49ers select DE DeForest Buckner

Cleveland was on the clock but they have made a trade. They have switched with Tennessee. Tennessee is on the clock.

The pick is in and Tennessee selects OT Jack Conclin from Michigan State.

What is happening to Laremy Tunsil?

Tennessee gets the 8th pick and a 6th rounder and Cleveland gets Tennessee's 15th pick in the 1st and even more picks in this year's and next year's draft.

[eagle eye]

Holy crap! Tampa Bay was on the clock but they have made a trade. The Chicago Bears have traded with Tampa Bay and they are on the clock.

Chicago moved up from #11 to #9 and had to give up a another pick to the Bucs.

The pick is in and Chicago select OLB Leonard Floyd from Georgia.

Cowboys division rival NY Giants are on the clock.

[eagle eye]

The pick is in and the Giants select CB Eli Apple from Ohio State. This is a bit of a surprise because Vernon Hargraves from Florida is ranked higher on most draft boards.

BTW there was a video posted on Laremy Tunsil's twitter account about 10 minutes before the start of the draft that showed Tunsil smoking pot through a gas mask. It was said that his account had been hacked and the video was removed after about 2 minutes. NFL Channel is reporting many teams have taken Tunsil off their 1st round board. It was definitely Tunsil smoking the pot so he's just cost himself big time over smoking frigging weed. How stupid are these players these days?

Tampa Bay is on the clock ---- again.

That is the end of me posting the picks. I figured the top 10 was good enough. My next post will be to report a trade or post Houston's pick at #22.

[eagle eye]

The Redskins were on the clock but there has been a trade. Houston who was to pick next has swapped spots with the Redskins. Houston picks at 21 and Washington will pick at 22. The Redskins will also get Houston's 2017 sixth round pick. It remains to be seen if it was worth losing a draft pick depending on who the Redskins take. It should be noted that TCU's Josh Doctson was available.

Houston has made their pick and the selection is WR Will Fuller from Notre Dame. This is a good pick. He is a very fast receiver who will stretch the field for the Texans and he will make a great compliment for DeAndre Hopkins.

A quick aside, Ohio State had 5 players drafted in the first 20 picks. They include Joey Bosa, Ezekiel Elliott, Eli Apple, Taylor Decker and Darron Lee. There have also been 4 offensive tackles taken including the aforementioned Laremy Tunsil who went to Miami.

The Redskins pick is in and they have selected WR Josh Doctson from TCU. I don't understand this move by Houston because if Washington wanted Doctson Houston would have taken Fuller anyway. Most draft boards had Doctson ranked higher than Fuller. This was a bad deal IMO because if Houston got either guy and saved a draft pick it would have been better. Dumb move by Rick Smith -- another in a long list.

Unless a trade happens Dallas and Houston are done tonight. The only other mystery will be who takes Paxton Lynch, Arizona or Denver. If both pass on Lynch I could see Dallas snap him up with the 3rd pick in the 2nd round. Stay tuned.

[eagle eye]

With Seattle on the clock Denver trades with Seattle moving up to #26 and Seattle goes back to #31. Seattle also gets Denver's 3rd round pick (94 overall).

Denver is on the clock and it's expected that they take QB Paxton Lynch. I hope Denver takes Connor Cook and leaves Lynch alone.

The pick is in and Denver selects QB Paxton Lynch from Memphis. I am very disappointed but not surprised. This is the 4th deal made tonight in the 1st round.

[eagle eye]

With the last 5 picks in the 1st round coming I guess I'll follow the 1st round to a close.

With pick 27 Green Bay has made their pick and they have selected DT Kenny Clark from UCLA.

It should be noted that Clark can take the place of BJ Raji who left via free agency.

Another note LB Myles Jack is still available.

Kansas City is on the clock with pick #28.

[eagle eye]

With KC on the clock there is a trade. San Francisco has moved up to #28 and the Chiefs get picks that haven't been announced yet.

The 49ers pick is in and they select OG Joshua Garnett from Stanford.

The Arizona Cardinals are on the clock.

BTW that makes six trades in the first round tonight.

[eagle eye]

The Cardinals pick is in and they have selected DT Robert Nkemdiche from Ole Miss.

The Carolina Panthers are on the clock. The pick is in and Carolina selects DT Vernon Butler from La Tech. A good Carolina defense just got way better.

Seattle is on the clock with the final pick in the 1st round.


BTW in the trade between Kansas City and San Fran KC got the 49ers 2nd, 4th and 6th round picks so they could move into the 1st round to draft a guard.

[eagle eye]

Seattle has already made their pick and they select OT Germain Ifedi from TAMU. That is the end of the 1st round and Dallas picks 3rd in the 2nd round tomorrow night.
Remember, the draft begins at 6 o'clock. Dallas has the 3rd pick in the 2nd round and Houston has the 21st pick.

I am happy with both the Cowboys and Texans picks but I think Texans GM made a stupid deal with Cincinnati but apparently they had targeted Will Fuller all the way and they didn't want to lose him. They got the trade pretty cheap, it only cost them a 2017 6th round pick. Really happy the Cowboys got Ezekiel Elliott. They can concentrate on getting defense now and, lo and behold, Myles Jack is still available. Hmmmm.

[eagle eye]

The draft day 2 has begun and Cleveland's pick to start the round is in.

With pick 32 the Brown select DE Emmanuel Ogbah from Oklahoma St.

Tennessee is on the clock.

Note: All day there were rumors that Dallas was trying to trade up to this pick with Cleveland. Either the rumors weren't true or no deal was struck.

[eagle eye]

The picks will be coming faster tonight because the clock is not 10 minutes. Tennessee's pick is in. This is the first of 3 picks the Titans have in the round.

With the 33rd pick the Titans have selected DE Kevin Dodd from Clemson. (This pisses me off because I wanted Dallas to get this guy.)

Dallas is on the clock.

[eagle eye]

Dallas' pick is in and with the 34th pick the Cowboys select LB Jaylon Smith from Notre Dame!

Holy Shit! This is certainly a leap of faith because of the huge deal this is. Smith is coming off a devastating knee injury and he won't even play this season as his knee heals. Smith would have been one of the very top, if not THE top prospect in this draft if he hadn't been hurt.

San Diego is on the clock.

[eagle eye]

San Diego has selected with the 35th pick TE Hunter Henry from Arkansas. Henry is considered the best TE in this draft class.

The Ravens are on the clock.

[eagle eye]

The Jaguars traded with the Ravens and they are on the clock. The Jags pick at 36 and Baltimore picks at 38. Baltimore also gets the Jags 5th round pick.

The Jags select LB Myles Jack from UCLA.

The Chiefs, who got this pick from San Francisco yesterday when the 49ers moved up in the draft are on the clock.

[eagle eye]

The Ravens have traded down again with Miami who will pick at 39.

Kansas City's pick is in and the select DT Chris Jones from Mississippi State.

Now the Dolphins are on the clock. The Ravens pick is now at 42.

[eagle eye]

The Dolphins pick is in and with the 38th pick they select CB Xavien Howard from Baylor.

The Ravens also get the Dolphins 4th round pick in the trade that has been completed with this pick.

Tampa Bay is on the clock.

[eagle eye]

Tampa Bay has selected with the 39th pick DE Noah Spence from Eastern Kentucky.

The NY Giants are on the clock.

[eagle eye]

With the 40th pick in the draft the Giants select WR Sterling Shepard from Oklahoma.

The Bills have traded up with Chicago and will pick at 41 and Bills are on the clock. The Bears will now pick at #49. The Bears also get the Bills 4th round pick this year and the 4th round pick in 2017.

The Bill select LB Reggie Ragland from Alabama.

The Ravens, unless they trade back again, are on the clock.

This pick rounds out the top 10 picks in the 2nd round. I am done for now unless a trade happens or Houston makes their pick at 52.

One note: I don't believe I have seen so many trades. This is the wheelin', dealin' draft for sure.

[eagle eye]

We're down to pick No 49 and the Bears were on the clock but they have traded back for the for the second time in this round. They have traded pick with Seattle who has about one minute left on the clock. Bears get the 56th pick from Seattle as well as their 4th round pick.

Seattle's pick is in and with the 49th pick they select DT Jarran Reed from Alabama.

Atlanta is on the clock. Houston will pick two picks from now.

[eagle eye]

Houston has traded up with Atlanta and will pick at #50. Atlanta will pick at 52 now plug whatever pick the Texans had to sacrifice to move up. This is the second time Houston has made a small jump up. Last night they moved up one spot in a deal with Cincinnati and tonight they move up 2 spots in a deal with Atlanta. Houston has also given the Falcons their 6th round pick as well.

Houston's pick is in and they have selected C Nick Martin from Notre Dame.

The Jets are on the clock.

Barring another trade I'll see in the 3rd round.

[eagle eye]

The 3rd round has begun and Dallas has the 4th pick, 67th overall, and they are on the clock. The question is will they pick someone who can actually play this year? That's mean because Jaylon Smith could actually turn out to be something special long term. Dallas needs defensive help right now though and I hope this is the time when they address 2016.

The Cowboys pick is in and I want to see them pick DE Ronald Blair from Appalachian State.

Here's the pick. They select DT Malek Collins from Nebraska.

San Francisco is making their selection. They took CB Will Redmond from Mississippi State.

Be back when Houston chooses at 85.

[eagle eye]

Houston has made their 3rd round pick and they have selected another WR. They got Braxton Miller from Ohio State. Talk about giving your new QB some weapons. My goodness this is amazing. Houston's offense is going to be scary with Hopkins, Jalen Strong, Cecil Shorts, Will Fuller and now Braxton Miller. That's to go along with Lamar Miller and Alfred Blue and company. This draft is a complete Houston Texans reboot and the new software is bad-assed.

Unless there's a trade in the last 11 picks I will be back tomorrow to see how Dallas and Houston fare on the 3rd and final day of the 2016 NFL Draft. BTW the last 4 picks in the round are compensatory picks and they cannot be traded. In this year's draft that is. I believe they can use them toward next year's draft but I'm sketchy about that rule.

I knew that I liked the Ohio State and Clemson players coming into the draft. So far Ohio State has set a record for picks from one school in the draft with nine players and there have only been 3 rounds. Clemson had 4 players chosen in the first 2 rounds but none have been picked so far in the 3rd.

Okay, I just have to wonder because the Patriots have picked with the 91st pick, the 29th pick in the 3rd round QB Jacoby Brissett from North Carolina State. My question is why? I thought they got their guy last year when they got Jimmy Garapolo. I am confused but who am I to question the Patriots? All they seem to do is win every year. I have seen players go tonight that were not projected to be taken until late in the draft, or rather the 5th or 6th rounds. I am at a complete loss. This has been a weird and eventful draft and there is still 9 picks and 4 more rounds to go.