With the 2016 NFL draft slightly over two months away, rumors are starting to heat up regarding who the Dallas Cowboys are going to take with the No. 4 overall selection. While current Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo will be 36-years-old at the start of the 2016 season, owner Jerry Jones and the rest of the staff seem to believe he still has a few years left of solid football. Regardless, the time has come where the Cowboys need to start thinking about the future, and many analysts believe the team will draft either California Golden Bears quarterback Jared Goff or North Dakota State Bison quarterback Carson Wentz.
According to the latest NFL mock draft from ESPN —which includes analysis from insiders Mel Kiper and Todd McShay—the Dallas Cowboys will select a quarterback in the first round. While each of the analysts are sure the Cowboys will choose a quarterback, they currently have different opinions on which one will be headed to Dallas. As previously reported by the Inquisitr , the Cowboys were rumored to be in the market to trade for the No. 1 overall pick in order to draft Jared Goff or Carson Wentz , but it appears as though they may not have to make a deal after all.
Picking at No. 4, the Cowboys are still going to be in contention with the Cleveland Browns for one of the top quarterbacks. As an organization that always seems to be at the top of the draft and in need of a quarterback, the Browns are looking to move past the failed Johnny Manziel experiment. Regardless of what the Browns do, one of the two quarterbacks will still be available for the Cowboys.
With the No. 1 overall pick, the Tennessee Titans are fine at the quarterback position with Marcus Mariotta. With the No. 3 overall pick, the San Diego Chargers just extended quarterback Philip Rivers, so they will be looking in a different direction. That leaves the Browns as the only competition for Dallas. If the Cowboys are fine with Goff or Wentz, they do not have to do anything. If they strongly prefer one of the quarterbacks to the other, they still may want to consider making a trade with the Titans in order to guarantee that they get their guy.
Bob Sturm’s Friday mailbag part 2: How risky would a Carson Wentz pick be? https://t.co/e45EYWwIGV pic.twitter.com/ngbrwuCnYp
— SportsDay Cowboys (@dmn_cowboys) February 19, 2016
While Goff is viewed as a safer pick, Wentz has risen up on the draft boards over the past few months. Playing at North Dakota, many fans and analysts are worried that Wentz did not play any real competition. Even though the concerns are there, team officials still believe that Wentz can be a great NFL quarterback.
According to the Dallas Morning News , Wentz has the potential to be a top quarterback in the league.
“That said, Wentz is a different animal, because he was not discovered by scouts in January. Rather, the pundits do not watch BCS football when the season is going on because they are too busy with major college football. He didn’t move up the ladder because of anything with scouts, he moved up with the rest of us who had no idea who he was last summer. I think Wentz is really impressive and if he can prove to all of his doubters about his level of football being able to produce a QB1 in the NFL by throwing well at Senior Bowl week or the Combine, good on him. But, I don’t think we should place him with the combine creations who played major college football, went unnoticed, and then because of a workout rose up the board. He isn’t one of them”
Regardless of which quarterback the Cowboys ultimately draft, he is not going to have to produce immediately. While sitting a first round quarterback for a few years in today’s NFL is not a common occurrence, it could prove to be the best thing for Goff or Wentz. Both quarterbacks have a ton of potential, but neither has the accolades coming out of college that Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston had last year. Sitting on the bench and learning from Romo for a few years could prove to be an extremely valuable thing for their development.
Rumors will continue to come out over the next few months regarding whom the Dallas Cowboys will select in the 2016 NFL draft. While the latest mock drafts say the Dallas Cowboys will select a quarterback—Jared Goff or Carson Wentz—a lot can change regarding their plans.
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