2011 NFL Draft: Cowboys To Draft Tackle Tyron Smith Instead of Prince Amukamara?

For the past few months Nebraska’s Prince Amukamara has been the unanimous selection to become the Cowboys first pick in this year’s National Football League draft. The Cowboys need help in the secondary and Amukamara is considered to be the best cornerback available this year by some draft pundits.

Prince is effective, a risk taker, and will add needed depth and stability to a group that looked like a high school junior varsity squad at times last season.

So, why the switch now? Why are the Cowboys maybe looking toward Smith instead of Amukamara in the first round?

I believe the answer may lie with Smith’s size and ability.

Last season Smith won the Morris Trophy, which is awarded to the Pac 10 Conference’s top blocker. He’s 6-5, 315 pounds and has a 36 inch wingspan. Cowboys fans you’ll remember that former left tackle Flozell Adams had a 37 inch wingspan and did a tremendous job of protecting Troy Aikman and the rest of the guys Jones trotted out during Flozell’s tenure in Dallas.

Smith is quick, running close to a 4.8 in the 40 and can throw up 229 pounds 29 times. That’s strength the ‘Boys need and depth they could most definitely use.

Often injured Marc Colombo currently holds court as the starting right tackle but if Smith is drafted he could learn under Colombo and eventually take over in the near future.

But which position is a greater need for Jones and company? Drafting a cornerback or selecting an offensive lineman? Dallas has their guy who will protect Romo’s blindside for the foreseeable future barring injury in Doug Free. So is it necessary to draft a guy who won’t play right away and may take awhile to develop?

Well, look at it this way. The Cowboys gave up 31 sacks last season, which was 22^nd “best” in the league, not a bad stat, and they were 16^th in rushing. So judging by stats the Cowboys offensive line did a pretty average job right?

Wrong. The Cowboys gave up 6 sacks to the lowly Tennessee Titans and the rushing game only got better once head coach Jason Garrett was forced to go toward a more balanced offense after Romo was injured.

If the Cowboys draft the Prince then maybe we’ll see less plays where cornerbacks get “lost in the lights” and completely giving up on plays or the team can continue to add band aids to a gushing wound.

Either way, Dallas really can’t go wrong with either player.