Draft Chat with Rick Gosselin

[General Itals]

Moderator - Jeff Davis: Rick Gosselin will begin to answer your questions at 11:30 a.m.

 

G in Atlanta: What do the Falcons need to push themselves into the Super Bowl?

Rick Gosselin: The Falcons have a franchise quarterback in Mike Vick. They need to surround him with the weapons that can maximize his contribution. So wide receiver should be at the top of Atlanta's wish list. Peerless Price is a solid No. 2, but the Falcons need a lead dog on this sled. They need someone to stretch the field and pressure defenses on the corner. Wide receiver is always a position abounding with talent on draft day, and the Falcons will have options if that's the direction they want to follow in the first round. Terrence Murphy (Texas A&M), Roddy White (Alabama-Birmingham) and Reggie Brown (Georgia) would all be considerations.

 

Moderator - Jeff Davis: With the multiple picks that the Eagles have on Day 1, what is your take on my belief that the Cowboys will be acquiring the 2nd and 3rd round picks in exchange for one of the 2 picks in the 1st round? - Manish Patel

Rick Gosselin: There has to be something pressing the Eagles would need to trade up for. This is a team with no glaring weakness. It's too early to tell if the Eagles will want to make a quantum leap up the draft board. Everyone seems to want the Cowboys to trade down for extra picks -- but someone is going to have to want to come up. You won't know until they are on the clock. Don't expect the Eagles to give up picks in the first day, though. I can see the Eagles trading a four to move up in the third, or a five to move up in the fourth.

 

Moderator - Jeff Davis: Rick, if you were the GM of the Dallas Cowboys and both Shawne Merriman and DJ Johnson were available at the 11th pick, which player would you take? - Brady Quarles

Rick Gosselin: The Cowboys need a pass rusher. Johnson is a big-play maker but all of his plays come on his side of the line (9 interceptions, 11 forced fumbles). He only had two sacks last season and 10 in his career. The Cowboys need someone who can makes plays in the other team's backfield. They need a pass rusher. Of those two options, that would be Merriman (8 1/2 sacks in 2004, 22 in his career).

 

Moderator - Jeff Davis: Rick, Why do the Cowboys constantly trade down? - Michael in Minnesota

Rick Gosselin: Mike, That's puzzled me, too. They traded away from Tony Brackens one year and Kendrell Bell another. You need blue chip players to win championships and you get them in the first round. If you're loaded, like New England or Philadelphia, you can afford to trade down. When you're lacking young stars, you should stay where you are and draft in the first round. I'd rather have one great player than two good ones. The Cowboys haven't shared that belief. And my feeling is they will try to trade down from at least one of their two spots in the first round this month.

 

Eagles: We all know the Cowboys will blow their picks! But what about Philly? What will we do with all the picks we have? Trade half of 'em?

Rick Gosselin: My guess is Philly will make a handful of deals that land 2006 draft picks. Trade a four in 2005 for someone's three in 2005, a five in 2004 for someone's four in 2005, a six in 2005 for someone's five in 2006. That way you perpetuate your dynasty -- you always have a bushel of draft picks the next year when you might need them. I have the highest regard for the Eagles and how they go about their business. This team knows how to build a good team and maintain a good team.

 

Buzzbeer03: Texas A&M's Mike Montgomery DL, is tall and fast I haven't heard any projections on him

Rick Gosselin: Montgomery only ran a 5.06 at Indy, so he projects inside at tackle. Right now I've got him in the second day of the draft, somewhere between the fourth and sixth round. He's a junior college transfer and only a one year starter at A&M, so he needs some more time to develop as a football player. A second-day draft selection will afford him that luxury.

 

chris1999: Mr Gosselin, do you see the cowboys taking a safety in the second round, and if so, do you like the pool, shazur, davis, or bullocks?

Rick Gosselin: I hope the Cowboys stick to their draft board and take the best player available at their pick, not reach to fill a need. That's been a draft-day problem the Cowboys have had for years. There are enough areas of need that the Cowboys can come away with a contributing player without having to reach to fill a need at safety. But who knows? Safety may be the position that has the best player available. I think Davis and Pool will both be gone by the time the Cowboys pick in the second round and that would be too high for Bullucks. That's also way too high for Shazor.

 

sports: It seems like the Cowboys have been chasing a star-quality defensive end since Charles Haley left a decade ago (no slam on Greg Ellis). This draft appears to be heavy with ends. Which one is the best and will they be there at No. 11?

Rick Gosselin: This draft is lighter at end than you think, and it's very light on speed rushing ends. The Cowboys need speed. Shawne Merriman and Demarcus Ware (Troy) would both be considerations. Merriman is more of an end at 272 but Ware might be the best speed rusher in the draft. But he's light at 251. He's probably anoutside linebacker in a 3-4. If the Cowboys go to a 3-4, Ware might be the better choice. If they stay in a 4-3, you Merriman is the logical selection.

 

Doug_Fu: Are the Cowboys really thinking about trading away one of their first round picks? And if they do, which one will they try to trade away?

Rick Gosselin: I'd be surprised is the Cowboys don't trade away at least one of the picks. They can command a better deal for the 11th pick. But drafts historically have 12-14 blue chippers, and to back out of 11 would be to back out of the blue-chip range. I know the Cowboys would love to get a third-round pick. If they can get it by moving out of 20, I'd consider trading out there. But I'd stay at 11 and draft an impact player.

 

CMC: Any Cowboys interested in Marcus Spears from LSU?

Rick Gosselin: The Cowboys have an interest in any player with size. Parcells was fooled into thinking he could win with small fast players in 2003 when the Cowboys finished first in the NFL in defense. But those little players were mashed last year. Parcells won with an imposing, physical front seven in New York and I think he'd like to build a imposing, physical front here. Spears is the biggest of the ends at 307 pounds, so that has to attract Parcells. But he only ran a 5.1 at his workout. That said, he's a first round talent -- and Nick Saban has turned out a stream of NFL-ready players in recent years at LSU.

 

ChadDuncan: What lies ahead with the draft as far as a QB? Can we expect Dallas to trade up for a rookie right out of college?

Rick Gosselin: This is going to be Drew Bledsoe's team for the next few years as Drew Henson develops. The Cowboys also like Tony Romo. The Cowboys also have pressing needs in other areas of the team. So I'd be surprised if the Cowboys take a quarterback before the second day. I'm also of the belief you should draft a developmental quarterback every year, especially if you have a compensatory sixth or seventh-round pick. You never know when you'll get lucky and hit on a Tom Brady or Brad Johnson.

 

Condor: What's the consensus on Mike Williams the WR? How good is he? Any chance of the Boys moving up for him?

Rick Gosselin: I had Williams in the middle of the first round last year and that's where he is on this year's draft board. He's 240 pounds and runs a 4.6. As players get older, they don't get a) faster, or smaller. I think in two or three years Williams could be an H-back waiting to happen. That said, in the short term he could be a dynamic red-zone receiver for an NFL team. But the Cowboys already have Keyshawn Johnson. Williams is a Keyshawn clone. If I take a receiver high, I'd want one with speed.

 

Vikash: Goose - big fan of urs. Any chance Mike Williams slips to 11, and if so, does Dallas take him?

Rick Gosselin: See above. I think 11 is too high. I might consider him at 20, but not 11. Not with the other areas of need on this team. I think the Cowboys should, and will, address the defense in the first round.

 

ThreeJ: How would you rank the top three needs for the Cowboys and how you see them most likely addressing them (ie: draft or free agency), and who their most likely target(s) would be for each of those needs.

Rick Gosselin: The Cowboys need a pass rusher, a safety with coverage skills, a speed receiver, some size in the defensive front seven and another offensive lineman. You an never have enough offensive and defensive linemen. The draft is where you address problems long term. The Cowboys have the chance to draft three starting-caliber players in the first two rounds. Any action the Cowboys take in free agency from this point on will be short-term, one-year patches. Focus on the draft, not free agency.

 

chrisfc1310: Will you be picking against the New England Patriots as you did most of last year? or who in your mind is the odds on favorite to win it all ?

Rick Gosselin: This might be Philadelphia's year. I think New England took some huge hits on the coaching staff, and the Cowboys and 49ers both started to slide in the 1990s when they lost quality assistant coaches. But as long as the Patriots have Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, they will be in the hunt. No one has won three straight since the Packers in the 1960s. The more the Patriots win, the tougher it will be for New England to win. I expect Indianapolis to close the gap some more in 2005 and I like the Bills as my sleeper team.

 

HINTON: I see Johnson, Merriman and Ware, but what about Blackstock from UVA Parcells and Al Groh have a Good Relationship could he be a target?

Rick Gosselin: I think the 11th and 20th picks are both too high for Blackstock. He has pass rush skills, which should attract the Cowboys, but I don't believe he's a first-rounder.

 

bill_cache: Are the Cowboys seriously interested in Matt Jones as a big receiver with 1st or 2nd Round pick?

Rick Gosselin: The Cowboys and everyone else are interested in Jones in the second round. The Steelers had great success with Antwan Randle El in the second round -- and Jones is bigger, faster, stronger than Randle El. I've heard some rumblings about Jones in the first round, but I think that's too high for a projected position change. Jones is one of the most intriguing prospects on a draft board in a long time.

 

Moderator - Jeff Davis: That's all the time Rick has for today. Thanks for chatting.