NFL Draft 2011: Dallas Cowboys Leave Draft Clues in Pre-Draft Visits

This week the Dallas Cowboys started inviting players from the 2011 draft to pre-draft visits at Valley Ranch. NFL teams are allotted up to 30 players for these visits.

If history has shown us anything, the Cowboys’ first-round draft pick will be among the 30.

DeMarcus Ware, Bobby Carpenter, Anthony Spencer, Felix Jones, Jason Williams and Dez Bryant all took part in the Cowboys’ pre-draft visits before eventually being selected by the ‘Boys in their respective classes.

So for all you Cam Newton fans—sorry to crush your dreams, he won’t be a Cowboy. He wasn’t invited to Valley Ranch.

But among those who were, you’ll find a host of early, mid and late-round talent.

USC’s Tyron Smith, Wisconsin’s J.J. Watt, UCLA’s Rahim Moore, Texas’s Aaron Williams, Colorado’s Nate Solder, Florida’s Mike Pouncey and Nebraska’s Prince Amukamara have all either visited Dallas already, or plan to within the next couple of weeks.

Jerry Jones and company are doing their research on all the talent that they may see in the first round.

By inviting players like Pouncey and Williams (heavily speculated mid or late first-round picks) it shows that the Cowboys indeed are thinking about trading down in the first round..

The Cowboys have traded down three times since 2004 in the first round of the draft.

Many have entertained the idea of the Cowboys trading down in the draft to fill other holes that need to be plugged immediately.

One thing’s for sure, fans will have a hard-pressed time complaining about any of the players that the Cowboys have invited to Valley Ranch thus far.

The only thing to worry about is that the Cowboys will reach for one of those players. Jerry doesn’t have a history of reaching in recent years (although he does have a history of drafting the wrong players altogether).

So if you want to get a Pouncey or Moore, just make sure we’re trading down to get them, not picking them ninth overall.

But I don’t have to tell Jerry Jones that—at least I hope not.