NICOLAS UPTON
CANYON, TX
Does Rod Marinelli need a first round defensive lineman since he has done so well coaching guys like George Selvie?
Nick: Depends if you want an average line or at some point, move it up to a really good line. Let's be honest about Selvie – he had a great year based off the expectations. But it was pretty close to what we've seen from Anthony Spencer over the years and even what we saw from D-Ware last year. Ware got run out of town because of that and Spencer was considered a bust before his breakout year. So Selvie exceeded everyone's expectations. But yeah, I think Marinelli could use a first-round pick to really take the D-line to the next level.
David: No one's doubting Marinelli's abilities as a coach, but after a certain point talent is going to win out. In fact, I'm going to go the other way with it and say this: if Marinelli can take a cast off like Selvie and coach him to a seven-sack season, what would he be able to do with a freakishly athletic first or second round talent like Aaron Donald or Scott Crichton? Marinelli is a great coach, but it's worth pointing out that the stars of his Tampa Bay line – Anthony McFarland, Warren Sapp and Simeon Rice – were all first round picks.
STEVEN DENNEY
BOISE, ID
If you could have one draft pick to do over again, which one would it be?
Nick:Well, I think all of us would probably say Randy Moss over Greg Ellis back in 1998. To me, that's the no-brainer of all no-brainers so I'll stay away from that one. And while Bobby Carpenter seems like a good choice, there's not really a lot of great players behind him that you missed out on. How about 2008 when the Cowboys took [embedded_ad] Felix Jones to offset Marion Barber. Not only was that a bad idea considering Barber's body was already beaten up from the physical running style he portrayed, but Jones proved to be behind many other great options. Rashard Mendehnhall, Chris Johnson, Matt Forte, Ray Rice and Jamaal Charles all were drafted behind Jones and all have more rushing yards by far.
David: The 2009 draft stands out for two different reasons: firstly, the Cowboys had an opportunity to select LeSean McCoy and didn't. Secondly, the trade that took them out of the running for McCoy netted them basically nothing. So not only did you miss out on an All-Pro back and the 2013 NFL rushing champion, but you got nothing in return. If they had found a quality player or two as a result of the trade, it wouldn't be quite as hard to stomach, but they didn't.
