BOB LECLERC
PRINCE GEORGE, BC
Everyone talks about the need for, or who is in the running for, the third receiver spot. I think we have the third in Miles Austin and need a viable number two. What are the chances we get a top receiver in the first couple rounds?
Rowan: I wouldn't consider it one of the handful of glaring needs, but it also wouldn't be shocking to see the Cowboys pull the trigger on one if a player like Tavon Austin starts to fall. The problem with snagging a slot guy like that is the Cowboys like to use Miles in the spot, so that could become tricky. After seeing the Cowboys move so far up to grab Morris Claiborne last year, not much would be all that shocking to me on draft day.
David: Depending on the mock draft you're looking at, people seem to think at least one of this draft's top receivers will be around when the Cowboys make their first pick. Guys like Austin, Cordarrelle Patterson and Keenan Allen are slated to go somewhere in the mid-to-late first round. So the possibility is certainly there. I personally think the team has more pressing needs at No. 18, but I wouldn't be surprised if they took a chance on a playmaker in the second round.
KEN JACOBS
DENVER, CO
How will the signing of Will Allen impact the progress of Barry Church and Matt Johnson? Won't this take reps and game action away from one or both?
Rowan:It shouldn't impact much. The Cowboys didn't invest a whole lot in Allen, so if he's a backup or special teams player, or even if he doesn't make the final 53-man roster, they wouldn't be losing a ton. The best players in training camp at safety will earn the starting spots. It could be any [embedded_ad]
combination of Church, Johnson, Allen or any other free agents or draft picks they settle on. His signing creates more competition a little bit of familiarity for the former Tampa Bay coaches.
David: The Cowboys should know better than anyone after 2012 that you can't have too many bodies. At the very least Allen should provide some depth to a defense that was decimated by injuries last fall, and he'll bring a veteran presence that should add to the competition. As Rowan pointed out, Allen wasn't a large investment, so anything the Cowboys get out of him would be a plus. If he happens to take away playing time from someone else, that's the nature of the business.
