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Jerry Jones’ reluctance to draft quarterbacks
Kevin Sherrington: Babe, you and I have had this discussion many times before. In the history of the Cowboys, certainly in the history as Jerry Jones as the owner, his reluctance to select quarterbacks. In those 26 years, he has drafted I believe five quarterbacks. Is that not correct? Does that sound right to you?
Babe Laufenberg: You can name them. You have Troy Aikman, obviously, and Steve Walsh. They had two in the first year of ownership. After that, it was Bill Musgrave. [Then] it was Quincy Carter as a second rounder in 2001. And then it was Stephen McGee in the fourth round about five years ago.
Kevin Sherrington: Over that same period, how many quarterbacks do you think the Packers probably took?
Babe Laufenberg: Oh gosh, seriously, the Packers have drafted more Pro Bowl quarterbacks, albeit they traded them to other teams, than the Cowboys have drafted quarterbacks, period. Because Aaron Brooks was drafted by the Packers. He became a Pro Bowler with New Orleans. Mark Brunnel drafted in the fifth round became a Pro Bowler, obviously, with Jacksonville. Matt Hasselbeck taken in the sixth round became a Pro Bowler at Seattle. Their list goes on and on. It’s crazy. Here’s the shocking thing, and we have talked about this Kevin…we all know it is the most important position in all of sports.
Barry Horn: And what position did you play?
Babe Laufenberg: [Laughs]. Well I didn’t play it very well.
Kevin Sherrington: No, yes you did. You were an NFL quarterback.
Babe Laufenberg: Well, I was. I would throw one I’m going to say every other year, every third year, every fourth year. But why do you not have a guy in the pipeline? It’s been a shocker. Most shocking to me is now they have a former quarterback as a head coach. So no one knows the importance more than that guy who was that backup and a solid backup in the NFL for 10-12 years who watched a Hall of Fame guy here for a few years in Troy Aikman. No one knows the importance of that position more than him and they still have a reluctance to draft quarterbacks.
What to make of Dak Prescott?
Kevin Sherrington: Let’s ask one more question about quarterbacks here. Let’s say they don’t take a quarterback with the fourth pick. Do you think that Dak Prescott is a guy who can be built into an NFL quarterback?
Babe Laufenberg: That’s a good question. I can’t give you a definitive answer. I think they like him. I think it’ll be very interesting to see where he falls. Obviously he had the DWI. I don’t know if that’s a red flag or if that’s just … the guy made one bad decision but he’s a solid kid and all that. His accuracy scares me a little bit. Again, I always say the No. 1 thing is accuracy for a quarterback. I always love it, I was just talking to somebody about this yesterday, I always love it when they say, ‘He’s big, he’s smart, he’s got size, he’s this. He’s just not real accurate.’ Well I don’t care that he’s big and he’s strong and got a 36 on his ACT. If he’s not accurate, he can’t play. That said, Prescott, I’d love to see a little more accuracy. However, again, if you’re not using a premium pick, if he’s sitting there in the fourth round and you didn’t take one up top, yeah he would be a guy I think I’d like to work with. He intrigues me a little bit is I guess what I’m saying.
Why Carson Wentz intrigues me
Barry Horn: Let’s cut to the chase. The Cowboys have the fourth pick in the upcoming draft. Would you take a quarterback with the fourth pick right now knowing what you know?
Babe Laufenberg: Yes I would if I felt he was worthy of a top 10 pick. He doesn’t have to the be the fourth best player in the draft.
Evan Grant: Is there a quarterback who is worthy of a top 10 pick who will be available?
Babe Laufenberg: This sounds like I’m riding the fence, but I always say you can’t draft them from your couch. Meaning I don’t have the ability or the wherewithal to go out, sit down with the guy, talk to him for four hours, talk to everybody he’s been connected with through his life, and find out what kind of guy I’m getting. In my mind, right now, Carson Wentz would be that guy. I like him better than [Jared] Goff, which is not to say I don’t like Goff. It’s always, ‘Who do you like better, Barry [Sanders] or Emmitt [Smith]?’ ‘I like Emmitt.’ ‘Oh, you’re saying Barry wasn’t any good?’ ‘No I didn’t say that.’ … Let me give you a quick example. The 2011 draft. Here are guys taken in the first 12 picks of that draft; Jake Locker at No. 8, Blaine Gabbert at No. 10 by Jacksonville, and Christian Ponder at No. 12 by Minnesota. Now, there’s not one of them that you’d draft today. One of them is out of the league. One is going to be. … You look at that, those guys clearly just got taken where they shouldn’t. Christian Ponder is a wonderful human being and has a wonderful wife, but when he was taken I was like, ‘That’s a first rounder?’ They panicked. Those teams panicked. In that same draft, how about this, here are some other guys that were taken in order. Cam Newton, Von Miller, Marcell Dareus, A.J. Green, Patrick Peterson, Julio Jones, Aldon Smith – who was a great player but had his issues – Tyron Smith, and J.J. Watt. You take any of those guys over any of those quarterbacks. So my thing again is I wouldn’t take a quarterback at No. 4 if you think he’s a second rounder. But if you think this could be the guy, and in my mind Carson Wentz has everything. I don’t want to say that I discount the small school thing. I know there’s now this mantra that you have to take somebody from the Power 5 conferences. I watched him play. I went and saw him in Frisco. He’s a powerful player, not just a strong player, he’s a powerful player. Strong legs, steps up well, well coached, played in a, I’ll call it a pro-style offense. Now it’s your job to go teach him. And they can do that. And I’m not so sure quite honestly, and I’ve had this discussion with a number of quarterback-type people, I’m not so sure that a guy coming from that school, North Dakota State, playing in a pro-style offense with a good program, let me just say that was a well coached team, I’m not sure if that guy is better off playing in the big school playing in the spread where you throw four routes, you don’t read anybody, you’re always in shotgun. I’m not so sure that that doesn’t offset the other part of that.
Why pass on Ezekiel Elliott if you think he’s the next Adrian Peterson?
Kevin Sherrington: You bring up a good point. I love going back and looking at these drafts because we are a society that just lives in the moment and we don’t go back and we don’t look and see what happened, just like with recruiting classes with all the build up to these things. Then we leave it all in the dust and don’t think about it again. This was a point I was making the other day when people were saying to me that since the Cowboys signed Alfred Morris that means they will not draft a running back. I say, ‘Not necessarily so.’ I would think they probably won’t knowing the Cowboys and how Jerry thinks. He doesn’t want to duplicate anything. He thinks he’s fixed holes and will move on to the next one. To me, this is what you do. When it comes to your time with that fourth pick, and I’m thinking at this point, I’m going to take the surest bet I can find just because of what you said. You listed the draft where the first nine guys are all pro bowlers. Then you go to the very next year and there’s not two players in the top 15 picks. To me, that’s what it says to you is that I’m going to take the best guy because if five years from now and you look back and say, ‘Ezekiel Elliott is the best running back in the game. He is the new Adrian Peterson. He’s putting up 1,500 yards every year. He’s unbelievable.’ And you had the opportunity to take him and you didn’t do it, everybody is going to say, unless this guy you guy was really good too, everyone is going to say, ‘Why in the world didn’t the take Ezekiel Elliott?’
Babe Laufenberg: I agree. I don’t think you want to pass up that special player. If they deem Ezekiel Elliott to be that special player, a really special player. Not just solid, not good. I don’t know that you don’t take him with that fourth pick. Every team indicates that the guy is really moving up on the charts. He can pass block. He can do it all as a back. One thing I’m getting a little bored with, or tired of, is the notion that I heard a bunch when they signed Alfred Morris. If you look at his yards per carry he declined every year. McFadden was like 3.3, 3.4 and 3.4 his last three years in Oakland in yards per rush. So they’re like, ‘They’ll take an average back and make him good.’ Well why not do this: Why not take a great back, if Ezekiel Elliott is that, why not take a great back and have that line turn him into a Hall of Famer. I agree with 100 percent. If you tell me Elliott is the next Adrian Peterson you draft him.
Barry Horn: Here’s the question. How much does Elliott help the quarterback? How much does he help Tony Romo? … I think Jerry loves Tony Romo more than he loves some members of his family. He will do whatever he can to prop up Tony Romo. Who better props up Tony Romo than a great running back, if Ezekiel Elliott is indeed that? And let me ask you this. What if McFadden and Morris are not competing for 1 and 2, but are competing to be 2 and Ezekiel Elliott comes in to be No. 1?
Will the Cowboys draft a QB at No. 4?
Evan Grant: Before we let you go, Babe, you have sat here for half an hour and told us why the Cowboys should draft a quarterback. You know this organization better than the three of us put together. Will they draft a quarterback in the first round? Yes or no?
Babe Laufenberg: I’m going to say no. What’s the best indicator of future behavior?
Barry Horn: Past behavior. Will they draft a running back? Will they draft Elliott?
Babe Laufenberg: I would not be surprised. I’m sure it’s been there, and we all follow the draft to some extent or another, I’m not so sure that I’ve seen a draft where the top guys could be taken at No. 2 but could be taken at No. 10. I mean, take Goff and Wentz. They could go two [and] three. I don’t know if someone is looking at Goff and saying, ‘I’m not so sure about this and that, the spread, his build.’ And then he’ll be at No. 12. I don’t know if I’ve seen a wider fluctuation of those top picks. Obviously once you move out of the top 10 things are going to change a little bit. I would not be shocked if the Cowboys took Elliott at four. … He could be that special player.
