The Dallas Cowboys picked C/G Bill Nagy out of Wisconsin with the #252 pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Nagy is a big guy at 6’3″, 318 pounds.  He is a mean and nasty guy, so he should be able to fill a role as a backup early in his career.  He played in 13 games (8 starts) for Wisconsin last year.  Nagy played in 29 games (11 starts) in his four years with the Badgers.  The Cowboys needed help on the O-Line so it’s hard to fault them for this pick despite the fact that not many “experts” thought he would get drafted.

The Dallas Cowboys picked 23-year old fullback Shaun Chapas out of Georgia with the 220th overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Chapas is 6’2″, 236 pounds and he runs a 4.7 40.  Chapas is not a blow up blocker but he usually gets his man.  He needs to play less upright and get a lower base in his blocking.  He played in 11 games (8 starts) last year for Georgia and he carried the ball 15 times for 44 yards (2.9 avg) with 2 TD runs.  Chapas also caught 5 passes for 29 yards (5.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs last year.  He played in 48 games (21 starts) in his four years with the Bulldogs and he carried the ball 40 times for 155 yards (3.9 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also caught 26 passes for 221 yards (8.5 avg) with 4 TD grabs at Georgia.  Chapas has good hands out of the backfield, so maybe he get to catch some balls from Tony Romo.  Chapas is also a good special teams player so he should get on the field this year for the Cowboys quite a bit.  This was a nice pick for the Cowboys.

The Dallas Cowboys picked 24-year old WR Dwayne Harris out of East Carolina with the 176th overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Harris is 5’9″, 200 pounds and he runs a 4.5 40.  He is not a blazer by any means but he was a very productive player in college both as a receiver and as a return man.  Harris has good moves in the open field and he’s tough catching balls in traffic.  Harris played in 13 games (10 starts) for East Carolina last season and he caught 101 passes for 1,123 yards (11.1 avg) with 10 TD grabs.  He played in in 50 games (24 starts) in his four years with the Pirates and he caught 268 passes for 3,001 yards (11.2 avg) with 20 TD grabs.  Harris also returned 102 kickoffs for 2,374 yards (23.3 avg) with 3 TD returns and he also returned 50 punts for 472 yards (9.4 avg) in college.  Harris will help the Cowboys right away on special teams but he will start his career buried on the depth chart at WR.

The Dallas Cowboys picked 22-year old cornerback Josh Thomas out of Buffalo with the 143rd overall pick (5th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Thomas is 5’10″, 196 pounds and he runs a 4.45 40 as he’s a good athlete.  Thomas is a good tackler in the running game and he has some solid skills in the passing game as he gets physical with WRs.  But, he’s not too much of  a playmaker when the ball is in the air and he has a couple of brick hands.  Thomas played in 12 games (all starts) for Buffalo last year and he had 58 tackles, broke up 8 passes, had 1 interception and he forced 1 fumble.  Thomas played in 47 games (38 starts) in his four years with the Bulls and he had 205 tackles, broke up 27 passes, he had 2 interceptions and he forced 5 fumbles.  Thomas will help the Cowboys’ depth in the secondary and he will also likely help out on the coverage teams on both punts and kickoffs.

UPDATE:  (9/5/2011) – The Cowboys have lost Josh Thomas on waivers to the Panthers.

The Cowboys selected 23-year old guard David Arkin out of Missouri State with the 110th overall pick (4th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  David Arkin is 6’4″, 296 pounds but he plays bigger than he is in the running game.  He will have to work on his pass blocking a little bit by working on his footwork.  Arkin has the potential to be a starter in the near future for the Cowboys if he responds well to the coaching he’s going to get.  Arkin played in 11 games (all starts) at Missouri State last season and he played in 44 games (all starts) in his four years there.

The Cowboys took 23-year old running back DeMarco Murray out of Oklahoma with the 71st overall pick (3rd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Murray is 6’0″, 214 pounds and he runs a 4.45 40, so he’s an outstanding athlete.  Murray is a home run threat every time he touches the football and he’s a good kickoff returner too if the Cowboys want to use him in that role.  Murray is also an outstanding receiver out of the backfield which adds to his value.  Murray played in 14 games (all starts) at Oklahoma last year and he carried the ball 282 times for 1,214 yards (4.3 ypc) with 15 TD runs.  He also caught 71 passes for 594 yards (8.4 avg) with 5 TD grabs last year.  Murray played in 50 games (35 starts) in his four years with the Sooners and he has carried the ball 759 times for 3,685 (4.9 ypc) with 50 TD runs.  He also caught 157 passes for 1,571 yards (10.0 avg) with 13 TD grabs in his college career.  Murray will likely push Marion Barber out of a job in Big D.

The Cowboys took 23-year old OLB Bruce Carter out of North Carolina with the 40th overall pick (2nd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Carter is 6’3″, 235 pounds and he runs a 4.5 40.  Carter is not a very physical played but he is solid in pass coverage and he beat a tackle around the corner if called upon to blitz.  Carter played in 11 games (10 starts) for North Carolina last year and he had 57 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks, 2 passes broken up and he had 1 interception.  Carter played in 48 games (43 starts) in his four years with the Tar Heels and he had 215 tackles, 24 tackles for a loss, 9.5 sacks, broke up 9 passes and he had 3 interceptions.  Carter had surgery last December to repair a torn ACL, and the Cowboys hope he recovers well, as his speed is his best asset.