With the draft now officially complete, and over 300 players studied and graded, here are the nine players drafted by the Cowboys in the 2016 Draft.
Ezekiel ElliottRB, Ohio State (6-0, 225) 4.42
Explosive start - stop quickness. Can plant his foot and take off. Reads quickly. Soft hands. Doesn't fight the ball. Very natural in the way that he catches the ball. Outstanding awareness and technique as a pass protector. Will square up on his man and strike. Can ride his man out of the play. Will sustain his block. Can make the first man miss with the ball in his hands. Avoids tacklers. Is always looking for space. Physical lead blocker in the red zone. Reads blocks well. Knows how to set them up then cut. Can turn the corner and work up the sideline. Patience as a runner. Let's blocks develop and then attacks. Can run inside then work outside. Has a nose for goal line. Runs through arm tackles. Can run in and out of trouble. Is one of the most complete running backs that I've ever scouted. Has the ability to do it all.
Jaylon SmithLB, Notre Dame (6-3, 240) 4.67
Plays with some pop. Upper body strength. Nose for the ball. Good flow. Has some speed as a blitzer. Will take on blocks and fight with hands. Plays in space, rally to ball. Wrap up tackler. Carry the tight end up the field. Will play around blocks. Reacts well to routes. Plays with a burst. Will line up wide in coverage. Aware to pick up tight end under. Hand down rusher. Finds the ball. Gets in the hole. Will go quickly to the flat. Can get to outside in a hurry. Plays well on the move. Active feet. Can retrace his steps on a blitz. Flexible player. Can carry man across the field. Plays with a burst. Would be one of the top three players in this draft if not for the knee injury suffered in the Fiesta Bowl. Has a chance to be an All Pro in this league or never play a down.
Maliek CollinsDT, Nebraska (6-2, 300) 5.06
Some initial quickness and pop. Rip move to free. Have seen him use a club move as well with some power to buy some space. Can put some pressure inside the pocket. Can hold his ground. Fights his way through double team. Can attack the outside shoulder. Plays with some lateral quickness. Does a nice job of chasing the ball. Can use on the twist. Plays with some upper body power. There are snaps where you see him walk the blocker back. Can get some penetration. Really good when he is on the move and avoiding the low block. Needs to work to extend hands. When he doesn't do that he will have trouble getting off blocks. Would like to see him redirect better when he clears himself in the pocket rushing. Gets push with power. Helps in the twist due to his ability to get push. See him in the Cowboys scheme as a three technique or under tackle.
Charles TapperDE, Oklahoma (6-3, 271) 4.59
Thought the Oklahoma defensive scheme hurt his ability to be a really good player. There wasn't enough snaps where he came off the ball with pace. Was asked to two-gap more than just react, so he appeared slow and tentative. Has some shock in his hands. Hands go inside and then you will see him control the blocker. Does a nice job of retracing his steps when he gets up the field. Works to stay square along the line. Needs to do a better job of freeing himself when rushing up the field. There are snaps where he doesn't really play aware, Ball goes by him. Would like to see him capture the edge better but scheme likely has something to do with that. See as a left end but could play on the right side if he is able to use his quickness better. There is something to his game but you don't always see it.
Dak PrescottQB, Mississippi State (6-2, 226) 4.77
Overhand throwing motion. Can be accurate throwing to his left. Stands up on his toes to throw. Will slide to avoid rush. Touch for the screen. Some deep as well. Will unload the ball under pressure. Will come back to second receiver. Will throw into coverage. Tends to lock onto receiver. Times where he doesn't get help. His receivers will drop balls on him. Will allow routes to develop. Tends to hold the ball much too long. Question his pocket awareness at times. Shows arm strength with hips open. Will need to tighten up his throwing motion. Has the physical traits but not always a sense of urgency to deliver the ball. Size and athletic ability to work in and out of the pocket. Will need to develop his ability to take snaps from center and operate.
Anthony BrownCB, Purdue (5-11, 192) 4.35
Plays as a boundary corner. Has some quickness. Will plant and drive. Will play with off-hand. Does a nice job of position himself to knock the ball away. Will wrap up as a tackler. There are snaps where he plays sideways when he pedals. Will adjust back to the ball. Wants to get to the ball. Has ball skills. Would like to see him look back quicker for the ball. Got caught with his head out of position and it cost him on the play. Does a nice job of reading routes. Used on the corner blitz. Has those traits that you see as a complete corner. Plays to his timed speed.
Kavon FrazierS, Central Michigan (6-0, 217) 4.53
Finds way to ball. Will wrap up as a tackler. Doesn't have much of a burst. Tries to put himself in position. Aggressive. Will break on the ball forward. Physical player. Can handle the tight end underneath. Don't want to see the ball over his head - will have problems if that is the case. Needs to keep the game in front of him. Like how physical he plays. Need to play him down in the box and let him operate.
Darius JacksonRB, Eastern Michigan (6-0, 220) 4.40
Thick in the lower body. Plays in a read option attack. Gets the ball sideways then heads toward the line. Has some vision to see the hole and make the cut. Really does a nice job of finishing runs. See long runs in his games. Some plant and burst when he is making cuts. Will attack the hole. Can catch the ball and get up the field, but there were some snaps where he had concentration problems with his hands. Will drop some easy passes. Will lung as a pass protector. Can see that he wants to be in position and knows what to do but his execution can be off. Can work through the gaps. Will protect the football. Runs through arm tackles. Physically player, especially tough around the goal line.
Rico GathersTE, Baylor (6-6, 273) 4.79
No film to write a report on. Was a college basketball player that is looking to make the transition to professional football. Front office felt it was too risky to take a chance to allow him to get to free agency. 25 teams were at his pro day and observed his workout. Betting on the traits to see if he could be developed. Mentally tough kid according to scouts.
