The Dallas Cowboys have a whole slew of needs following last season's tumultuous tumble toward the fourth overall pick. The Cowboys really were not meant to win without their starting quarterback, and with Tony Romo showing his age along with how injury prone he can be the Cowboys could be convinced to take a quarterback. It just does not seem like the safest pick overall.
Sure, Jared Goff or Carson Wentz could be the next Aaron Rodgers, but it is more likely they are the next Johnny Manziel or Ryan Leaf. Franchise quarterbacks rarely come in successful, they grow to the position they are given. You can even look at Romo himself, an undrafted NFL prospect turned into the starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.
Team owner Jerry Jones has already stated the Cowboys' urge to win now instead of planning for the future. This pretty much states that the Cowboys are not taking a quarterback anytime soon, and if they do they will not place a ton of value behind it until Romo is injured or cannot perform anymore. The Cowboys must focus on their primary needs: cornerback, running back, and improving the defensive line.
Dallas was expected to have to draft a pass rusher in the first round, however with Mario Williams hitting free agency, it doesn't. Williams could take a team-friendly deal or a one-year, prove-it deal as he is at the tail end of his NFL career.
Getting Williams would free the Cowboys up to take whomever they want with the number four overall pick in the draft. There are only three really safe players the Cowboys could take in the first round that are in line with their needs: defensive lineman Joey Bosa, safety/cornerback Jalen Ramsey, and running back Ezekiel Elliott.
Elliott is by far the best running back in the draft, and the Cowboys would be able to utilize his talents for the foreseeable future. Elliott seems to be better coming out of college than DeMarco Murray, and that would be a scary prospect for NFL teams to handle.
They could also go after Ramsey since he seems to be hands-down the best defensive back in the draft. Signing Ramsey would give a ton of versatility to this secondary.
With Romo's NFL career reaching its conclusion the Cowboys would be better off talking a player who can come in and be an immediate starter rather than just a backup.
