The Cowboys have selected linebacker Sean Lee out of Penn State with the 55th overall pick (2nd round) of the NFL Draft.  Lee can play either inside or outside but he’s better behind the D-Line where he can get some protection.  Lee is another linebacker that Penn State just seems to churn out.  He is 6′2″, 235 pounds and he runs a 4.7 40 which gives him the ability to play sideline to sideline to make plays.  Lee played in 10 games (8 starts) for the Nittany Lions last season and he had 86 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss, he had 2 sacks, broke up 7 passes and he had 1 interception.  Lee played in 44 games (34 starts) at Penn State and he had 324 tackles, 29.5 tackles for a loss, he had 11 sacks, broke up 17 passes and he had 3 interceptions.  This was a outstanding pick by the Cowboys as Lee could be a starter as early at 2010 for them.

The Cowboys couldn’t resist trading up to select WR Dez Bryant of Oklahoma State with the 24th pick of the first round of the NFL Draft.  GM Jerry Jones is still kicking himself for letting Randy Moss slip away from him in the draft because of off the field issues and he wasn’t going to have that happen to him again.  After all, Bryant’s suspension was due to him hanging out a little bit with Deion Sanders and now he will be able to do that any time he wants to.  Bryant only played in 3 games for Oklahoma State last season in which he caught 17 passes for 323 yards (19.0 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  In three years in college, Bryant played in 28 games (19 starts) in which he caught 147 passes for 2,425 yards ( 16.5 avg) with 29 TD grabs which shows his big play ability.  He is a big guy at 6′2″, 215 pounds and he runs a 4.4 40.  Bryant is easily the best WR in this draft based on talent alone.  He will likely push Roy Williams out of a starting job as he will team with Miles Austin to give the Cowboys a lethal receiving corps.

The Cowboys drafted 12 players last April but only one of them (kicker David Buehler) made any impact with the them in 2009.  The first pick for the Cowboys last April was LB Jason Williams (3rd round, #69 overall) out of Western Illinois.  He played in 5 games for the Cowboys and he made 3 tackles.  The Cowboys other pick in the third round (#75 overall) was OT Robert Brewster out of Ball State who spent his rookie year on the Physically Unable to Perform list.  QB Stephen McGee (4th round, #101 overall) out of Texas A&M did not play last season but the Cowboys are grooming him to be Tony Romo’s back-up down the road.  DE Victor Butler (4th round, #110 overall) out of Oregon State played in all 16 games for the Cowboys last season and he made 17 tackles, forced a fumble and he had 3 sacks.  DE Brandon Williams (4th round, #120 overall) out of Texas Tech spent his rookie season on the Injured Reserve List.  CB DeAngelo Smith (5th round, #143 overall) did not make the Cowboys and he finished up on the Lions roster but he didn’t play in any games for them.  FS Mike Hamlin (5th round, #166 overall) out of Clemson played in 6 games for the Cowboys last season but he only made 1 tackle.  Kicker David Buehler (5th round, #172 overall) out of USC was the Cowboys’ kickoff specialist last season as he played in all 16 games in which he made 3 tackles.  SS Stephen Hodge (6th round, #197 overall) out of TCU spent his rookie season on the Injured Reserve List.  TE John Phillips (6th round, #208 overall) out of Virginia played in all 16 games for the Cowboys last season in which he caught 7 passes for 62 yards (8.9 avg) and he made 2 tackles.  CB Mike Mickens (7th round, #227 overall) out of Cincinnati didn’t play for the Cowboys and he finished the season on the Bengals without playing in a game.  WR Manuel Johnson (7th round, #229 overall)  out of Oklahoma got cut before the year started.

GRADE FOR 2009:  F

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  D-

The Dallas Cowboys have placed rookie linebacker Brandon Williams on the Injured Reserve List after he tore his ACL.  Williams was a fourth round pick this season out of Texas Tech.  The Cowboys had plans on him giving them depth on defense and help on special teams but those plans are down the drain now.

The Cowboys cleaned up last April in the draft.  Running back Felix Jones was the first player the Cowboys selected last season and he was a big time playmaker before getting injured.  He played in 6 games (0 starts) last season and he carried the ball 30 times for 266 yards (8.9 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also caught 2 passes for 10 yards (5.0 avg).  Jones also contributed on special teams returning 16 kickoffs for 434 yards (27.1 avg) with a TD return and he also make a tackle.  The sky is the limit for him if he can just stay healthy.  4th rounder Tashard Choice (RB) was also outstanding getting a lot of work when Jones went down to injury.  Choice played in all 16 games (3 starts0 for the Cowboys last year and he carried the ball 92 times for 472 yards (5.1 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Choice also caught 21 passes for 185 yards (8.8 avg) last season.  Choice even made 3 tackles last year and he has a bright future for the Cowboys.  TE Martellus Bennett was a 2nd rounder for the Cowboys last season and he was outstanding.  Bennett played in all 16 games (7 starts) for the Cowboys last season and he caught 20 passes for 283 yards (14.2 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Look for his role to possibly increase in the passing game to help cover for the loss of Terrell Owens.  CBs Michael Jenkins (1st round) and Orlando Scandrick (5th round) both showed a lot of potential as rookies last season.  Jenkins played in 14 games (3 starts) for the Cowboys last season and he made 19 tackles, defensed 4 passes and he intercepted a pass that he returned 23 yards for a TD.  Scandrick played in all 16 games (2 starts) last season for the Cowboys and he made 36 tackles, had 1 sack and he defensed 4 passes.  He also returned 4 kickoffs for 81 yards (20.3 avg) last season.  Outside linebacker Eric Walden was cut in training camp by the Cowboys and then he hooked on with the Chiefs and Dolphins and played in 15 games (0 starts).

GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  A