(Editor's Note: With the Dallas Cowboys heading into the April 25-26 NFL Draft with 11 picks, DallasCowboys.com's 12-part Draft Series will break down the Cowboys position by position, analyzing what they have at the particular position, what their needs are and just who might be available, along with including some interesting draft nuggets. Part 3 will feature outside linebacker.)

IRVING, Texas - Here is the position most essential to the success of any 3-4 defense:

Outside linebacker.

Yes, the guys playing on the edge of the defensive line are linebackers, but more to the point they are your pass-rushers, the ones expected to generate sacks. And if the past two seasons are any indication, these guys have been the heart and soul of the Cowboys defense, generating 29½ sacks in each of the past two seasons - totaling 59 of the team's 105 sacks the past two years.

And while this certainly still is a position of quality for the Cowboys, especially when you have three-time Pro Bowler DeMarcus Ware and savvy veteran Greg Ellis on board, this is not necessarily a position of quantity for the defense finishing eighth in the NFL last season.

Maybe this will be the start of a new NFL cliché , where they will come to say, you can never have enough outside linebackers.

What They Have: Three first-round draft choices, that's what they have at outside linebacker, and all three converted collegiate defensive ends who have learned to play the NFL game without their hand on the ground as outside linebackers - Ware, Ellis and 2007 first-round pick Anthony Spencer. Ware is the best, and continues to get better each season, and that's not simply judged by his sack totals, which have increased from eight to 11½ to 14 to an NFL-leading and Cowboys' team record 20 over his four seasons. But he is more than just a sack artist who still has the versatility to put his hand on the ground at a defensive end on the team's four-man nickel defense line. Ware has improved against the run and in coverage, and had the Cowboys finished better than 9-7 and out of the playoffs last year, he might have been named the NFL's defensive player of the year.

But the key this year might be Spencer, the third-year backer the Cowboys intend to start in front of Ellis, the 12th-year veteran who already has expressed his displeasure about losing his starting job without a fight. Spencer obviously is much younger, and at 25 a faster and more athletic version of Ellis to play on the strong side of the defense. If not for injuries and the Cowboys acquiescing to Ellis' veteran status, the former Purdue defensive end might have been the starter last year. Just as Ware had to do, Spencer must prove he's more than just a pass rusher, that he can be strong against the run while usually taking on a tight end and offensive tackle.

Of course, Ellis is not happy about this off-season move, especially since he's finally in the final year of that seven-year contract that's been hanging over his head. The 1998 first-round pick has been an 11-year starter, but if Spencer does what the Cowboys are hoping for, Ellis likely will become a pass-rush specialist and possibly spliced into some defenses the Cowboys concoct as they did in 2007 with all three of these versatile players on the field at the same time.

What They Need: Can you say backups? This is a position of little depth. The Cowboys probably can handle one injury here, since Ellis still is capable of playing significant snaps. But after that, what?

Justin Rogers is considered one of the outside backups, but he's only been a special teams player during his two seasons with the Cowboys. Then there is Steve Octavien, the undrafted rookie signed on Nov. 29 who spent not even two weeks on Washington's practice squad before coming to Dallas. And after that, assuming they keep Bobby Carpenter inside behind free-agent signee Keith Brooking, the only other potential outside backer is free-agent signee Matt Stewart, thought to be capable of playing inside and outside but is only 6-3, 239. Problem is, he hasn't played any football in two seasons, released on the final cuts by Arizona last year and spending the 2007 season on Cleveland's injured reserve (shoulder).

So absolutely, there is a significant need for depth at outside linebacker, the Cowboys needing to find one of those hybrid guys who can stand up on the outside in the 3-4 defense, but possibly put his hand on the ground as a defensive end on the nickel's four-man line. After all, how long will Ware last if he must continue to play 95 percent of the defensive snaps, if not 100, each game?

Who's Out There: Remember, the Cowboys don't draft until the 51st pick, 19th in the second round, so even if they wanted another outside linebacker, they would not be in position to select a Ware or Ellis or even Spencer, taken with the 26th pick in the first round in '07. So chances are the Cowboys will be looking for a collegiate defensive end with the versatility of converting to outside linebacker again or a guy who might have some pass-rush skills a nickel guy who can be eased into the NFL game.

Certainly high-energy, grand-pedigree backer Clay Matthews out of USC would be perfect, but chances are even if he slides into the second round he won't slide far enough for the Cowboys to select - unless of course they start packaging some of their picks to move up in the second round to get the exact guy they want. There are some other combo players - outside linebacker/pass rushers - who will be there in the second through fifth rounds where the Cowboys have six picks. Tennessee's Robert Ayers is one of those combo players with first-round talent who might slide into the top 10 picks of the second. Also keep an eye on lesser-known Larry English of Northern Illinois, one of those all-American type kids who will make up for whatever athletic deficiencies he might have by outworking everyone else.

There is a very interesting athlete at Cincinnati named Conner Barwin, who at 6-3, 256 and runs a 4.59-second 40 could be drafted in the mid-rounds as a defensive end or outside linebacker in a 3-4 or even as a tight end, which he played during his first two seasons there, as well as basketball those first two seasons. That's exactly what teams look for in 3-4 outside linebackers, highly athletic guys. And same with Michael Johnson at Georgia Tech, another basketball player, a hair shy of 6-7, 266 pounds, with burst off the line of scrimmage.

And if the Cowboys are looking for a sleeper, a guy likely to go undrafted, look no further than the fitting name of Stryker Sulak from Missouri, 6-4, 251 who played defensive end in college but is one of those all-day guys whose effort just might force him onto someone's 53-man roster, if not his willingness on special teams.

Draft Nuggets: Does anyone in the draft have better football bloodlines than Matthews, whose dad Clay played 19 seasons of linebacker in the NFL; Hall of Fame uncle Bruce played 19 seasons at guard for Houston/Tennessee; grandfather Clay Sr. four seasons as a lineman for San Francisco; while brother Kyle played safety at USC and brother Kasey is a linebacker at Oregon. How can the guy miss? . . . How is this for life's travel log? David Veikune, considered a 3-4 outside linebacker, was born in Alaska, spent four years in New Mexico and then went to high school in Hawaii. He was red-shirt at Colorado, transferred to Fresno (Calif.) City College and ended up playing the remainder of his college career back in Hawaii. Can Texas be far off? . . . Ayers is 6-3, 272. But can you believe that in high school, and assuming he was much lighter, ran track, the 100 meters and 4x100 relay no less.

Look Back: Finally, DeMarcus Ware a pass rusher, one of the best in the NFL. But do you realize how long it was the Cowboys seemingly were chasing their tail for one of those guys? In 1994, with Charles Haley's back giving him problems, the Cowboys rolled the dice on Arizona State defensive end Shante Carver with the 23rd pick in the first round. He ended up being just a guy. In 1996 they tried again, taking defensive end Kavika Pittman out of McNeese State with the 37th pick. He never really blossomed, lacking the necessary balance to turn the corner. So in 1998 the Cowboys tried again, selecting North Carolina's Greg Ellis, one of their most solid draft choices in franchise history, but he never registered more than nine sacks until 2007. They couldn't help themselves, taking Ellis' Tar Heels teammate, defensive end Ebenezer Ekuban in 1999. But not until 2005 did they ever find someone with the pass-rushing skills of a Haley when selecting Ware, and no wonder Cowboys owner Jerry Jones overrode Bill Parcells' desire to first take Marcus Spears at 11 and then Ware at 20. Jones had been without a pass-rusher far too long, and reserved that order, making sure the Cowboys did not pass on a rare talent - much to his future delight.

Up Next: Inside Linebacker

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