NFL Draft 2011, Day 3: Should the Dallas Cowboys Draft a Safety?

At this point, it is clear that the Cowboys aren't nearly as concerned with their secondary as some might have thought.

They have fortified the offensive line, which was a big need, and have also improved the ILB depth. Some might not agree with the strategy of taking injured players on the gamble that they could become great players, but Bruce Carter is expected to fully recover from his ACL tear.

The Cowboys also seem to have found a replacement for the ineffective Marion Barber in DeMarco Murray. He seems to be a value pick, because RB was not a position of high need.

The question is, what can the Cowboys do to improve their secondary on Day 3 of the draft?

Some people are high on Robert Sands or Ahmad Black, the highest-rated safety players available at this point. Also available is cornerback Brandon Burton of Utah.

The thing is, at this point in the draft, they won't be able to get the immediate help they need at the safety position. I would consider drafting Burton for corner depth, but I'm not so sure I want to clutter the works with more low-grade safeties.

As a matter of fact, the Cowboys already have a few project safeties on their roster in fourth-round pick Akwasi Owusu-Ansah and rookie free agents Barry Church and Danny McCray.

At this point, any safety you might get would be in the same boat as those guys; a raw player with some potential, but not a guy you see starting for you anytime soon.

The Cowboys might consider taking a shot in the dark on one of the remaining safeties, but I don't think that is a winning strategy.

By waiting this long to draft secondary help, they have basically ensured that they won't get anyone that can help them immediately. It looks like free agency will still be the best way to get a new starting safety, but with the lockout back in place, who knows when that will be?

The Cowboys will be better served by drafting interior offensive linemen and other areas of need. The Cowboys guards aren't getting any younger, and you can generally get good value on the later in the draft.

Specifically, they should take a long look at Clint Boling out of Georgia. He is the highest-rated lineman left and has big-time talent.

They could also still use defensive-line depth, as they figure to lose as many as three of their defensive ends. They could find good value in guys like Christian Ballard out of Iowa or Lawrence Guy from Arizona State.

The last thing the Cowboys need to do is add another project safety to take up room on the depth chart. They already have too many of those.

Some people will say that completely ignoring the safety position in this draft is unthinkable, but at this point, it's probably the best way to go.