With the Cowboys headed for the top of the draft board come April, we thought we'd get a jump start on introducing you to the players who could wind up being a big part of the next Cowboys team. Next up is A.J. Green.
Name: A.J. Green
Position: Wide Receiver
School: Georgia
Why He Should Be the Pick: Green is one of the best receiving prospects to come down the pike since Randy Moss left Marshall. Despite playing on a mediocre Georgia team with a freshman quarterback and missing four games with a suspension, Green caught 49 passes for 771 yards and nine touchdowns during the 2010 season. He's strong enough to work the middle of the field, quick enough to get past defensive backs at the line of scrimmage and big enough to win jump ball battles in the back of the end zone.
With it looking more and more like Jason Garrett will be the head coach next season, the Cowboys could be looking to build an offense that overwhelms the opposition while rebuilding a defense that's fallen apart this season. That breakdown would suggest defense is a better option, but the job is much too big for one player so grabbing the most talented player, regardless of position, could be the better decision.
By the way, lest anyone think Green is a real bad apple, he was suspended four games for selling his 2009 Independence Bowl jersey for $1,000. You've got to love the NCAA. Green gets a serious punishment for something picayune while Cam Newton gets the Heisman Trophy for selling himself to schools. It's just too bad that Green couldn't blame his father and claim he had no idea what happened to his jersey.
Sports Connection
Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
Why He Won't Be the Pick: Because it makes absolutely, positively no sense at all to use a high draft pick on a wide receiver for a team that's already well stocked at the position. Of course, such concerns might not wind up mattering.
Likelihood: You'd think it would be low, but we're keeping an open mind on Green's potential future as a Cowboy for one reason. That reason is, of course, Jerry Jones.
Predicting what one of the world's worst general managers will do with a draft pick is like predicting what a hurricane is going to do when it is barrelling down toward your house. It's best to just batten down the hatches, say your prayers and hope for the best.
Still, it's too much to think that the Double J would ignore all the other holes to take yet another wideout, right? The fact that Dez Bryant turned out to be a great pick shouldn't obscure the fact that the Cowboys passed up players that would have addressed bigger weaknesses on draft day last year. We're not saying they'd be a better team with a different choice, just pointing out that Jones doesn't make a habit of doing what makes the most sense.
Stay on top of the latest Dallas Cowboys news with NBCDFW.com. Foll ow NBC DFW Sports on Facebook or have breaking Cowboys news sent directly to your phone with Blue Star SMS alerts. Text "bluestar" to 622339 (NBCDFW) to subscribe to this free service. Read more about it here.
