Dallas Cowboys Draft

1 (5) Terence Newman, db, Kansas St.
2 (38) Al Johnson, c, Wisconsin.
3 (69) Jason Witten, te, Tennessee.
4 (103) Bradie James, lb, LSU.
6 (178) B.J. Tucker, db, Wisconsin.
6 (186) Zuriel Smith, wr, Hampton.
7 (219) Justin Bates, g, Colorado.

My personal take on this draft is that we got some good players at
minimal need positions when we needed to get as many players that we
could at maximum need positions. Our biggest need was DL and we
didn't get a one. Should that lower the grade or should the grade be
on how good were the players we got? I don't know. That's why I'm
not giving a grade. I was extremely disappointed that we didn't
trade down for more picks. I think it was reported on Espn that
someone offered us 2 #1's and a 3rd round pick for the 5th overall.
Wow! And we turned that down? Big mistake there. Yes, Newman is a
good pick. Yes, we now have one of the best secondaries around. Yes,
we now have depth at CB. But it don't matter who our DB's are if we
can't pressure the QB. If the opposing QB has time, any DB will get
picked apart. However, the most disappointing part of the draft
happened in the 2nd round for me when we passed on DE Chris Kelsay,
who slipped major, and we took C Al Johnson. Is Al Johnson good?
Yep he is. He may even start in front of last year rookie sensation
C Tyson Walter. The point is that we needed a DL. We already have a
good starting C. Did the move give us depth on the O-Line? Sure it
did but we don't even have a couple starters on the DL to go along
with Ellis and Glover, let alone depth there. Overall we got good
players in the draft but we didn't fill our biggest need so the draft
just didn't make sense to me.


The Atlanta Journal Constitution
By Ken Sugiura
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/0403/28grades.html
DALLAS COWBOYS -- C+:
The Cowboys had two great picks with first-round CB Terence Newman
and third-round TE Jason Witten, but they needed to get picks along
the D-line and at RB and didn't get any. They traded for RB Aveion
Cason, and he'll challenge RB Troy Hambrick for the job.

Newsday.com
By Bob Glauber
http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/ny-
bbag3xx3257345apr28,0,765883.story?coll=ny%2Dgiants%2Dheadlines
Dallas Cowboys (B):
Not a lot of fireworks in Bill Parcells' first draft alongside Jerry
Jones, just some solid early picks, including first-round CB Terence
Newman of Kansas State and third-round TE Jason Witten of Tennessee.

The Star Ledger
By Paul Needell
http://www.nj.com/giants/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-
0/1051510834239350.xml
Cowboys – B+:
Comment: Surprised that wheeler-dealers Bill Parcells and owner Jerry
Jones were able to resist trading up or down. Maybe they knew they
could do just fine staying put. CB Terence Newman is already being
acclaimed in Dallas as the next Deion Sanders. Second-round C Al
Johnson may let them move Andre Gurode, last year's No. 2 pick, to
guard. TE Jason Witten was great value in Round 3, considered by some
the best TE in the draft. Fourth-round LB Bradie James is Parcells'
kind of 'backer, big (6-2 1/2, 242) and swift, to go with the smurfs
he has now.

The Seattle Times
By Staff
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/134684652_nflgrade28.html

Dallas Cowboys Grade B:
The top four picks were sound, from CB Terence Newman to LB Bradie
James. But where are the young running back and defensive linemen?


CBS Sportsline
By Pete Prisco
Dallas Cowboys Grade B:
Best pick: They needed a shutdown corner, and they got one in Terence
Newman with the fifth overall pick. Newman and Derek Ross will make a
nice duo outside.
Worst pick: Second-round pick Al Johnson, a center from Wisconsin,
has some off-field problems that turned other teams off. He was taken
too high.
Reach: Johnson. They would have been better off taking tight end
Bennie Joppru in the second round.
Comment: The Cowboys had a good draft on Newman alone. Getting
Tennessee's Jason Witten in the third round was a nice pick, too,
after not getting Joppru. The Bill Parcells-Jerry Jones duo did a
nice job.

USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/draft/2003-04-27-winners-
losers_x.htm
Dallas * * * * * That's 5 Stars out of 5 Stars
First pick in Bill Parcells era, shutdown CB Terence Newman, was
surprising because The Tuna usually likes his DBs bigger. But Newman
is a special athlete who can help on special teams as returner. Some
ranked Al Johnson as best C. TE Jason Witten and ILB Bradie James
represent excellent value in third and fourth rounds. No running back?
The Cincinatti Inquirer
By Bob Matthews
http://bengals.enquirer.com/2003/04/28/wwwben2a28.html
Best drafts
Cincinnati, Baltimore and Dallas
The Cowboys added top-rated CB Terence Newman, top-rated TE Jason
Witten and a center who could start immediately in Al Johnson.


The S.F. Chronicle
By Ira Miller
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?
f=/chronicle/archive/2003/04/28/SP170647.DTL
Dallas: Solid, conservative draft.