2014 DBN Mock Draft: Dallas Cowboys Select OT Taylor Lewan at No. 16

With the 16th pick in the 2014 Dawgs By Nature Community Mock Draft, the Dallas Cowboys select...

Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan

This selection and write-up was made by Royce Groff:

Going into this Community draft I wanted to be free of preconceived notions and personal biases. This is why I chose to try Drafting for the Dallas Cowboys.

The Cowboys are one of those teams that I used to hate simply for their public image but I realized that all I knew about them was their public image - and that Tony Romo can’t win a playoff game. I had a complete blank slate to work with and the entire internet as my resource. So I did what any DBN’er would do - I went to "Bloggin’ the Boys".

Over at Blogging the boys I learned what I had a small inkling of already - the primary "need" in the draft is defensive line help - or Rushmen as they are called there. They told me that the top of their wish list is Aaron Donald a nasty up the middle threat, but sadly he went to Tampa Bay. They also told me that Timmy Jerrnigan was a lesser valued player since he was likely a 1-tech to Donalds 3-tech (though some suggested that he could well play 3-tech)

However the Blogging the Boys group let me in on some of the problems they had on the O-Line as well. Doug Free apparently had real problems in the role of RT. He’s also in his last year of his contract, and they’re fed up with his play. Free has to go. They said Zach Martin would be boss for them, an instant starter at guard who could slide over to RT after a year. This seemed like a high value guy in a lowish value position to me. But they also didn’t think that Taylor Lewan would fall to them.

So My Pick is Taylor Lewan, and some of the good folks at Blogging the Boys won’t like it. So first, I suggest everybody visit Dane Bruglar's assessment of Lewan on the CBS Draft prospects tracker site.

I paid close attention to this entry from the comments section on DBN by bumblyjack:

Film
- very good athleticism, movement skills, ability to get to the second level
- plays with poor leverage, often bends at waist, lunges, on the ground way too often
- decently good feet but nowhere near great, stops feet too often and then plays catch-up
- poor technique, needs to gain better leverage and keep his hips and feet under him

Projection
- lacks leverage and feet to be more than a mediocre left tackle
- needs to start out at right tackle until his technique improves
- feet will never be great but could become a knee bender
- would be a good right tackle immediately, even better in a zone scheme
- rare movement in space for a guy with his size and length, not special in a phone booth

And after reading the comment I had no idea what it meant…

Lewan is not without his issues, First: there is no doubt that he was involved in a mix-up with a few fans from Ohio State a that game, for which he must face misdemeanor charges. This is expected to weigh on his draft. He also is implicated in a 2009 situation involving his then roommate. The involvement includes possibly threatening the victim of a rape case - with rape - so the story goes.

The reasons that I chose to overlook these events are first that they are certainly not connected either in time or circumstance - and so cannot legitimately be said to constitute a pattern. And secondly the allegations were never brought out in a legal setting. Indeed the threat of that kind of violence would constitute a crime itself, and the rape case (involving the placekicker, not actually Lewan) was neither pursued by the campus authorities nor the local police nor in fact the Girl herself - as the police gave her a window to act, and she chose to not follow through. The University did eventually expel the placekicker, in December of 2013.

The University is actually being investigated for their own mishandling of the case - by the Feds, but Lewans involvement remains hearsay. So - Innocent until proven guilty, Lewan gets a chance to protect Romo from opposing defenses and by doing so he protects the Cowboys from being put into the position of having to rely on Brandon Weeden…

More of Lewan's awesomeness came from Blogging the Boys' contributor DawnMacelli.

The Michigan offensive tackle proved to be an athletic freak with top five finishes in the 40-yard dash (4.87), broad jump (9-foot-9) and three-cone (7.39), and an above average time in the short shuttle (4.49) at 6-foot-7, 309 pounds. He was already expected to be one of the first three tackles taken. Now it’s possible he could pass Jake Matthews to be the No. 2 tackle off the board.

The Baltimore Ravens are up next, and I need someone to make the pick! The person responsible for it has not responded, and it's been nearly 48 hours. Someone request the Ravens in the comments, then immediately email me when you have a pick ready for them.

2014 DBN Community Mock Draft Results (so far)