It seems to be a debate that comes up every spring as we get closer to the NFL Draft.
Should teams beef up the most needed position or just take the best player available?
For Will McClay, the Cowboys’ vice president of player personnel, it’s never been a debate. In fact, his point of view is a much simpler approach, one that has never changed in his 21 seasons with the Cowboys’ personnel department.
“We want good players. That’s always been the plan,” McClay said last week at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, where his evaluation staff spent most of the week trying to gauge the next generation of players. “You go through this process: the more good football players you have, the more depth you have in your team and the more competitive you can be in a 17-20 game season.”
With more than 20 unrestricted free agents, the Cowboys will have some tough decisions to make as they likely won’t be able to keep all of them. And while Cowboys chief operating officer Stephen Jones said last week the team isn’t against making a move in free agency or considering a trade that makes sense, it still appears the primary focus of the acquisition is of talent will once again point towards the draft.
And that’s where McClay and his evaluation team will be called upon to create a star-studded group that can contribute immediately.
There’s no need to look any further than last season, when the Cowboys had several key contributors among their nine draft picks. It wasn’t just Tyler Smith who shone as a first-round pick, exceeding expectations early on, but a group of players like Sam Williams, DaRon Bland, Damone Clark and Jake Ferguson who could become starters this season.
Ironically, six of the nine draft picks last year were players the Cowboys watched and evaluated in the Senior Bowl. The Cowboys have selected a Senior Bowl player in each of the past seven years. Getting six in a class isn’t the norm, but it’s something McClay said can happen based on the added exposure the Senior Bowl provides.
“It’s just part of the process. The (assessment) work that’s been done, and now you have a chance to see it and confirm it when you talk to one of them,” McClay said. “You really get a good feel for the players because now you get those exposures in the Senior Bowl talks, the Pro Day talks, the combine…stack all of that. The Senior Bowl gives you great exposure for them to compete against the best players of the (nation)”.
One item McClay talked about that always helps the evaluation department is continuity, something that happened on the defensive side of the ball with Dan Quinn returning again as defensive coordinator.
“It’s huge because we know what we’re trying to achieve. Those who evaluate college players, they go out (to scout), and they know what we’re doing defensively, offensively, with an opportunity. And the way we’re doing communicating with the coaches is a big part,” McClay said. “I just think the continuity, the longer they’re together, the more they know each other, the more they should know what they’re looking for. The little variations and nuances they’re looking for.”
At the time of McClay’s interview, the Cowboys had not yet announced Brian Schottenheimer as the new offensive coordinator. And while the Cowboys will have some new offensive coaches on the offensive line and at running back, McClay said having head coach Mike McCarthy oversee the offense to call the plays will provide the same type of continuity to help his personnel in the draft and during the free agency process.
