The Magic Carpet

Dallas Cowboys 2009 Draft Picks

3 (5) JASON WILLIAMS/ OLB/ WESTERN ILLINOIS
3 (11) ROBERT BREWSTER /OT /BALL STATE
4 (1) STEPHEN MCGEE/ QB/ TEXAS A&M
4 (10) VICTOR BUTLER /DE /OREGON STATE
4 (20) BRANDON WILLIAMS/ DE/ TEXAS TECH
5 (7) DEANGELO SMITH/ CB/ UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI
5 (30) MICHAEL HAMLIN/ FS/ CLEMSON
5 (36) DAVID BUEHLER/ K/ SOUTHERN CAL
6 (24) STEPHEN HODGE/ SS/TCU
6 (35) JOHN PHILLIPS/ TE/ UVA
7 (18) MIKE MICKENS/ CB/ UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI
7 (20) MANUEL JOHNSON/ WR/ OKLAHOMA

By Matthew Storey

In order to appreciate the Cowboys 2009 NFL Draft, it is important to understand what has happened to this team since the 2008 Draft brought 5 Impact players to Dallas (CB Mike Jenkins, CB Orlando Scandrick, TE Martellus Bennett, RB Felix Jones, RB Tayshard Choice).

Jenkins and Jones flashed the speed that made them the fastest members of the entire draft on their respective sides of the ball. Jones, playing in 5 games, averaged 8.9 Yards/Per/Carry and scored from 33 yards and 60 yards Rushing and added a 102 Yard Kickoff return. He was ready to form the best combination of speed (his) and power (Marion Barber) of any NFL team's RB tandem. Then he got hurt and was never seen again.

Jenkins flashed his big speed from the start, and when Pacman Jones imploded, stepped in opposite Pro-Bowl speedster, Terrence Newman and Cowboys thought they were set. He struggled mightily in his first start, then looked like a veteran in a critical road win at Tampa Bay and looked like a star in the next game, against the Giants when he took an Eli Manning pass to the house for his first NFL TD.
Then HE got hurt and was never involved fully again during the season.

Scandrick moved inside as the Cowboys slot CB in Nickel and Dime packages and played beautifully from the beginning, proving the Cowboys with good interior pass coverage for the first time in several seasons, but with the injuries to Newman, Jenkins and the Pacman circus, was never able to play as part of a cohesive group of CB's. It was always putting out fires for the Defense without it's full compliment of coverage guys, but the Cowboys know they've got two long time starters from Jenkins and Scandrick.

When Jones and Barber BOTH got hurt (the RB and QB situation was every bit as injury ridden as CB), 3rd string Rookie Tayshard Choice was forced into the starting job, a job nobody had any idea if he would be ready for...he put 57 on 11 carries on the depleted Seahawks, then faced the NFL's best defenses in Pittsburgh, Giants, Ravens, Eagles to close out his first NFL experience with 92 Carries for 472 Yards (5.1 y/p/c) and caught 21 more passes, in only 4 1/2 starts.

Bennett, 6'6", 265 lbs of fast, powerful Tight End compliment to Pro-Bowler, Jason Witten, was a revelation with 20 catches for a lusty 14.2 y/p/c and 4 TD's as a 22 year old Rookie.

With those five in place, and secure at all the skill positions but wanting to secure a long-term answer at WR, given Terrell Owens, age (35) and volatility, Jerry Jones traded his early round draft for the services of WR Roy Williams, the #1 Pick from the Detroit Lions, whose 6'3" frame, hands and speed made him the Texas dream boy at Permian High School and Texas University and was, seemingly, BORN to be the Cowboys WR. Owens, reading the tea leaves, freaked out and the season went down the hole, but the Boys cleared the decks and prepared to go with Roy as their #1 for the next several years and to promote the squadron of good young WR prospects they've stockpiled behind the scene-stealing T.O.

That set the Cowboys up with a chance to turn away from the high-ticket Draft pieces, they don't need RB's, STARTING caliber CB's, WR's, TE, or Offensive Lineman. They've got their franchise QB (Tony Romo) and Defender (DeMarcus Ware)...

So what DO they need?

They need some 'Football Players'! The Cowboys are, perhaps, the DUMBEST NFC team, a team that features the most penalized, turnover prone group imaginable who played, consistently, some of the worst Special Teams in Cowboy history.

When a team loaded with marquee talent struggles, their are always interior reasons. And the 2008 Cowboys had them all...the Injuries, the Penalties, the Distractions, the Turnovers, the poor Special Teams and they had 12 Draft Picks to address the need to rebuild that Special Teams unit, draft pairs of proven College players who PRODUCED ON THE FIELD, rather than astounded in the drills.

They want to continue to add Pass Rushers to their NFL Leading 59 Sack Defense (led by 8 sacks) and went out and got the Big 12 Conference Sack Leader, DE Brandon Williams of Texas Tech and the Pac-10 Conference Sack Leader, DE Victor Butler of Oregon State and added IAA stud, OLB, Jason Williams of Western Illinois. All of whom figure to see time swarming passers as Cowboys gave up on the unproductive Chris Canty and signed Olshansky to handle the run responsibilities so they can unleash Anthony Spencer, Ware and the three kids from all angles. All three make HUGE upgrades to the Special Teams mix.

Then they smartly addressed niche weaknesses that KILLED them in '08, drafting freakish USC Placekicker, David Buehler, to serve as a Kickoff specialist with a HUGE leg. Cowboys have a terrific and accurate young Kicker, Nick Folk, who they love, but he is not a booming kickoff guy and had ZERO Touchbacks in '08, Jerry Jones specifically targeted Buehler to pump kicks into opposing end zones and to play special teams on other coverage units (has to be a first!). Buehler is 6'2", 227, runs a 4.65 40 and outlifted 3 Offensive LINEMEN in the combine. Sometime this season, you are going to see some fast kick returner think he is deaking a 'kicker' and get PLASTERED by the freak on a tackle.

Somewhere, Jerry Jones AND Guru will smile.

Boys grabbed a 3rd TE to block and make up for the TERRIBLE Tony Curtis, whose lazy blocking cost the Cowboys a game in Arizona when he failed to block ANYONE and allowed a game winning punt block, in the end zone, in overtime. New guy, John Phillips of Virginia, is more of an extra Tackle than pass catcher, but Witten and Bennett give the team all the receiving they need and he will be a godsend for the protection.

Seeking to upgrade at their weakest position, Cowboys took FS Michael Hamlin of Clemson, SS Stephen Hodge out of TCU and took BOTH Cincy Bearcats CB's Mike Mickens and De Angelo Smith, all of them multi-year starters with strong statistics. Mickens is the best player, but is coming off an injury that dropped him from a top 15 slot.

From there it was a series of flyers, strong armed RB/QB, Stephen McGee of Texas Tech, who will be asked to run the 'Wildcat' formation where his powerful running and 65 yard arm can make big plays while gaining experience behind Tony and new backup, Jon Kitna. HUGE OT Robert Brewster of Ball State and WR Manuel Johnson of Oklahoma, productive players on winning teams.

A SMART draft by the DUMB Cowboys is enough to put a smile on Guru's face during Baseball Season!