Dallas Cowboys: Possible Undrafted Rookie Free Agents—Defense

Continuing now with the defensive side of the ball, here is a look at some prospects who are likely to go undrafted, but might be worth bringing to camp. Those players who might get drafted (but probably won't) will be listed with an asterisk.

Again, there will be players from this list that another team falls in love with, who will be drafted to the surprise of most of the experts, and conversely, there will be players who slide out of the draft who currently carry a draftable grade—obviously, the latter group would quickly be added to the watch list. This is a preliminary take on some players worth looking at, who might not be drafted:

Defensive Line:

*Everette Pedescleaux, DE/DT, Northern Iowa—6'6", 306 pounds, 4.95 second 40—I think he'll end up being drafted, because he seems to be rising on most draft boards I see these days—played DT in college, but his numbers scream 3-4 DE to me.

*Khalif Mitchell, DT/DE, East Carolina—6'5", 316 pounds, 5.05 second 40—Another cusp prospect who might or might not be drafted.

Jeremy Navarre, DE/FB, Maryland—6'3", 286 pounds, 4.95 second 40—I'm intrigued by the scouts who think he could play some FB.

*John Gill, DE, Northwestern—6'3", 300 pounds, 4.9 second 40—played DT in college, but his size/speed ratio suggests a move to 3-4 DE is in his future. Gill is one of my sleepers that I'll be watching after the draft.

*Vaughn Martin, NT, Western Ontario—6'3", 330 pounds, 5.0 second 40—This Canadian prospect is gaining attention in recent weeks after a super workout at his Pro Day. I think he looks like an NFL NT, and might make a nice run-stuffing wide-body. His 40 times suggest he can do a little more than just clog up the middle.

Rhyan Anderson, DE, New Mexico State—6'3", 285 pounds, 4.7 second 40—Played on a totally lousy defense, but he has 3-4 DE size and OLB speed.

Marlon Favorite, NT, LSU—6'1", 316 pounds, 5.1 second 40—Short and squatty, like a nose tackle should be.

Myron Pryor, NT, Kentucky—6'1", 320 pounds, 5.1 second 40—Short and squatty, like a nose tackle should be. Hmm, that line sounds vaguely familiar...

Louis Ellis, NT, Shaw—6'2", 315 pounds, 5.1 second 40—Nice computer numbers, but how many NFL caliber players did he face at Shaw?


Linebackers:



Daniel Holtzclaw, ILB, Eastern Michigan—6'1", 245 pounds, 4.7 second 40—A pure 4-3 ILB, but good enough that I'd be willing to see if he could fit into a 3-4, if he were to go undrafted.

Robert Francois, OLB/ILB, Boston College—6'2", 245 pounds, 4.6 second 40—Rising up draft boards, may now carry a draftable grade (or not).

Brad Jones, OLB, Colorado—6'3", 230 pounds, 4.55 second 40—A little light in the seat for a 3-4 OLB, but is fast enough that he might make a nice WILB.

*Dan Skuta, OLB, Grand Valley State—6'3", 250 pounds, 4.7 second 40—The 'Boys reportedly like him, perhaps well enough to spend a seventh round pick on him.

Julius Williams, OLB, Connecticut—6'2", 250 pounds, 4.6 second 40—That's motoring pretty good for a 250-pounder.

Branden Long, OLB/DE, Michigan—6'3", 255 pounds, 4.6 second 40—A "tweener" conversion project from DE to 3-4 OLB—reportedly squats 600 pounds. That's intriguing.

Dave Philistin, ILB/OLB, Maryland—6'-2", 235 pounds, 4.6 second 40.

Mike Rivera, OLB/ILB, Kansas—6'2", 245 pounds, 4.65 second 40.

Dakota Walker, OLB, Georgia Southern—6'3", 240 pounds, 4.7 second 40—Hey, he's got a cool name, and he played for a perennial FCS powerhouse.

*Brandon Swain, OLB/DE, West Texas A&M—6'5", 255 pounds, 4.75 second 40—One of my pet cats, he was dominant as a junior, struggled with injuries as a senior.

Clayton Mullins, OLB/ILB, Miami-Ohio—6'1", 240 pounds, 4.65 second 40.

Chase Bullock, ILB/OLB, Maryland—6'2", 240 pounds, 4.65 second 40—The 'Boys have shown some interest in Chase, so have the 'Skins (among other teams).



Defensive Backs:


Tony Carter, CB/KR, Florida State—5'9", 180 pounds, 4.4 second 40—The 'Boys reportedly like him, mostly for his potential in the return game, though they like his toughness too.

Glover Quin, CB/FS, New Mexico—5'11", 205 pounds, 4.5 second 40.

De'Von Hall, SS, Utah State—6'2", 210 pounds, 4.5 second 40.

*Bradley Fletcher, CB/FS, Iowa—6'1", 195 pounds, 4.45 second 40—The 'Boys are high on him, perhaps high enough to spend a seventh round pick on him.

Nate Ness, FS, Arizona—6'0", 195 pounds, 4.45 second 40.

Michael Ray Garvin, CB/KR, Florida State—5'8", 175 pounds, 4.25 second 40 (that's not a typo)—Another small but very fast Seminole the 'Boys seem to like, again probably because of what he offers on special teams.

*Ryan Palmer, CB, Texas—5'8", 190 pounds, 4.5 second 40—I don't have nearly enough Longhorns on my post-draft watch list.

Wopamo Osaisai, CB/KR, Stanford—5'10", 195 pounds, 4.45 second 40.

*Ryan Mouton, CB/WR/KR, Hawaii—5'9", 186 pounds, 4.45 second 40—Here's a classic waterbug for you, a multi-talented sleeper who can fill in at a number of different positions if needed. I'm pretty sure that he's faster than that 4.45 40 time, at least on the field.

*Jason McCaunty, CB/KR, Rutgers—5'11", 195 pounds, 4.3 second 40—Speed kills, and Jason has it. He has pretty good size for somebody with sprinter's speed, too.

*Bryan Williams, FS, Akron—5'11", 195 pounds, 4.35 second 40—Williams must have been the fastest strong safety in the NCAA last year, but at that size, he's going to have to make the move to FS in the pros.

*Greg Toler, CB, St. Paul's (VA)—5'11", 195 pounds, 4.45 second 40—St. Paul's is so tiny, even I don't know where it is (except that it's in Southwest Virginia), and I've lived in Virginia for about 35 years now. But the 'Boys have learned about Toler, so have the 'Skins and a few other teams.

William Middleton, CB/KR, Furman—5'10", 195 pounds, 4.45 second 40.

*DJ Clark, CB/FS, Idaho State—6'1", 200 pounds, 4.5 second 40—One of my sleepers, he played CB in college but I think he'll wind up at FS in the pros.

*DeAndre Wright, CB/KR, New Mexico—5'11", 200 pounds, 4.5 second 40—I actually like Wright better than his higher-rated teammate Quin; in his junior year, it was Wright that opposing offenses avoided (he was hurt much of his senior year). His numbers don't leap off the charts at you, but he seems to have cover ability.

*Jamar Love, CB, Arkansas—6'0", 190 pounds, 4.35 second 40 (but I'm always suspicious of 40 times for the Hogs, they must have an ultrafast track)—I'll bet Jerry has all the draftable Razorbacks on his radar.

*Jerome Byrd, SS/OLB, Oregon—6'1", 225 pounds, 4.5 second 40—Started his college career in the defensive backfield, then moved to OLB. Seems small for that position in the NFL, but ran a sub-4.5 second 40 at his Pro Day workout, and even before then, some scouts were projecting him to SS. Would be quite strong for that position, he benches a little over 400 pounds.

Vincent Butler, CB, New Mexico State—5'10", 186 pounds, 4.35 second 40—Again, the Aggies' defense was horrible, so you have to be suspicious of any of their defensive players. But Butler has speed, and that will get him a shot in some team's training camp.

So, there's nearly 40 defensive players who are unlikely to extremely unlikely to be drafted. I'll bet that 35 of these players are still looking for work after the draft, and I'll bet there's at least a few bonafide NFL prospects in this group.

(Written by SilverBear, SilverBear is a CP contributor and special Draft Analyst. If you want to read more of SilverBear join him at Cowboyspride.net )