Dallas Cowboys Waste 2nd Round Pick on Another Bobby Carpenter

Bruce Carter is a highly athletic, incredibly fast OLB from UNC. He's got all the measurables: big, fast, strong and from a Division 1 football program. Everything you'd want in an NFL linebacker prospect. Except for one thing: He can't hit.

There are several Bruce Carter video clips out already. Google one, and take a look at the new version of Bobby Carpenter the Cowboys added to the roster on Friday.

The guy runs around a lot, misses a lot of tackles, chases people down using pretty good angles and drags a lot of people down. He can run, that's for sure. He's an arm tackler extraordinaire.

The problem with that is that arm tacklers sit on the bench a lot in the NFL. Heck, he'll probably be a special teams beast, and if that's worth a second-round pick, the Cowboys win. Unfortunately, second-round picks need to be starting on defense (or nickel packages at least) not special teams.

One NFL analyst described him as a "finesse" linebacker. What the heck is that? Isn't that an oxymoron? You can't be a finesse player and a linebacker. A QB maybe. A receiver, possibly. But a finesse linebacker?

Pardon my skepticism, but in my NFL I need linebackers that run, shed blocks and hit hard. I need guys that run through potential obstacles, not around them. I need guys that meet offensive players behind the line of scrimmage, not take good angles to drag them down from behind.

You want to choose a finesse CB, go ahead. What would Ray Lewis say if someone said his best attribute was his speed? His ability to pursue?

Maybe Bobby Carpenter has us all a little gun shy when it comes to LBs. Maybe this guy will be all over the field—a disruptive force.

Maybe. 

Though, when your highlight reel shows you missing tackles and chasing guys down the field repeatedly, I have little hope you're the kind of LB that will flourish in the NFC East.

Go check out his performances. There's actually a horse-collar tackle on one of his videos. Not a single stand-somebody-up tackle to be found. No crushing hits, shed blockers....just a lot of pursuing and arm tackling.  See it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6nFL9XVNmo and here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wCYcokDm-E&feature=player_embedded.