IRVING – The draft is over and the Cowboys followed everybody's advice by taking a receiver in the first round. Wait, they didn't? OK, then the defensive back? No?
Another linebacker? Yep, another linebacker.
You can never have enough linebackers in Wade Phillips' 3-4, so that's why Anthony Spencer was the No. 1 pick. And if Spencer tracks down Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb for a sack or three this fall, do you wonder if Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie will regret allowing the Cowboys back into the first round to get him?
The Cowboys had 21 players with a first-round grade and had a handful they would have taken had they kept the No. 22 pick, including Spencer. I believe the group included cornerback Aaron Ross, receivers Dwayne Bowe and Robert Meachem and safety Brandon Meriweather. Having moved down to No. 36 thanks to the trade with Cleveland, the Cowboys quickly had to get back into the first round with Ross (No. 20), Bowe (No. 23) and Meriweather (No. 24) gobbled up.
They knew Spencer and Meachem wouldn't make it to No. 36, so the Eagles did them a favor.
A favor they may end up regretting.
Here are some other draft observations, and we're not even talking about passing on Brady Quinn:
■ They L-O-V-E Isaiah Stanback: The fourth-round pick is a phenomenal athlete, but he is coming back from a serious foot injury that has limited players' careers. And he won't be able to do everything until training camp. For a player making a position switch from quarterback to receiver, that's not good news. What will help Stanback is his quarterback background. He understands the passing game, so the transition will be easier. Provided the foot is 100 percent, I can see Stanback as the team's punt returner when the season begins.
■ Subtle jabs at Parcells? Last year, the Cowboys used their first-round pick on Bobby Carpenter, clearly a Bill Parcells guy. He fit what they wanted in a 3-4 linebacker. He can run. He is tough. He is intelligent. And now a year later, we wonder where he will play. Is he an inside linebacker now, strictly playing in passing situations? Is he an outside linebacker? Even he doesn't know.
Then look at the offensive line. Pat McQuistan could not earn enough kudos from Parcells last year. He could see McQuistan as Flozell Adams' replacement at left tackle. Now the Cowboys draft James Marten and Doug Free, and Jerry Jones said the Cowboys might move McQuistan to guard.
■ Offensive Line U.: Remember when Penn State was known as a linebacker factory? Boston College is that for offensive linemen. The Cowboys know how they work and think, having seen Marc Colombo up close the last two seasons. Now they have one in Marten. When Phillips was Denver's head coach, the Broncos selected Boston College center Tom Nalen in the seventh round of the 1994 draft. He's still playing today. Marten is not considered the most gifted athlete, but he will fight. Loved it when he said on the conference call you block a guy through the whistle.
■ Draft pick to make the biggest impact: The easy answer is first-round pick Spencer, especially if he can rush the passer like he did at Purdue. But let's look beyond the first round and go to the sixth round – kicker Nick Folk. The Cowboys hadn't drafted a kicker since 1987 when they took Jeff Ward in the 11th round. Because Folk is a draft pick, he will get every opportunity to beat Martin Gramatica in training camp. Then there's fullback Deon Anderson. If he is truly as destructive as a lead blocker as Jones thinks and can play special teams as well as he did at UConn, then he's got a chance to be a regular Sunday contributor.
■ Flushing out the roster: Parcells called it churning the bottom of the roster. The Cowboys drafted two cornerbacks in the seventh round – Courtney Brown and Alan Ball. Ultimately they could be the replacements for Jacques Reeves and Nate Jones, who are scheduled to make $850,000 apiece this year. In this salary-cap world, tying up $1.7 million on two backups when you can pay two rookies about $1 million less is difficult. Also, look at running back. Tyson Thompson will be in a fight with undrafted Houston tailback Jackie Battle. With Miles Austin showing he can handle kickoffs, the Cowboys might want Battle's bulk (240 pounds) over Thompson's speed as a backup runner.
