IRVING, Texas - We can all see the Cowboys need to get better. That's the easy part.
But where? And most importantly, how?
Now we can go all day dissecting every one of the team's needs and just how to go about addressing them. But if there's one thing we've got here in a football off-season, it's time. We've got plenty of that. Therefore, let's not address all of the problems in one day.
The one with which I want to start is the one I think the Cowboys are lacking the most.
Speed. Pure speed.
Every team wants it. And somewhere on every roster, you will find some flat-out speed. The Cowboys are no exception. They've got some runners. Just not enough of them, especially on offense.
For me, that's the Cowboys top priority this off-season. They need to find people who can run and the best place for that will be the NFL Draft.
Now, even here in mid-February, you could argue that it's too early to talk about the draft.
But, there are two big ways to improve your team in the off-season. The first one obviously is free agency, the second being the draft.
Since the free-agent signing period doesn't officially begin until Feb. 27, and the draft a full two months later, it seems backwards to discuss what the Cowboys should do in the draft.
However, the Cowboys don't exactly have much wiggle room in their salary cap. Jerry Jones has already said his team won't be major players in the market.
That isn't the case for the draft, where the Cowboys have nine picks now and will probably get two more compensatory picks - somewhere between the fourth and sixth rounds.
So improving this team - this year - will likely come from the draft. Therefore, let's talk a little draft. And it's going to be quite interesting to see how it develops.
Let's be honest, the Cowboys probably don't have more than six or seven roster spots that a rookie could even take, especially since they don't have a first-round pick this year - nor do they want one, because of the difficulty it will be to sign first-round picks this year based on the rules of the uncapped season that looms in 2010.
It's rather complicated, but just don't expect the Cowboys to package any deals to move into the first round. Trader Jerry will probably wheel and deal all day and move around with these picks, but just don't anticipate them going into the first.
OK, and since the Cowboys have no first-round pick and aren't scheduled to select until more than midway through the second round with the 51st selection, there probably won't be a lot of potential starters coming out of this draft - not starters for this year anyway.
Sure, you might pick someone in the second or third round at positions such as safety or defensive end or tackle that could develop into starters. But it's just not likely.
That isn't to say the Cowboys don't need depth at many positions. But starters? It's unlikely.
However, there are attributes this team needs and the first one is definitely speed.
Not sure where the phrase "speed kills" originated from or exactly what it means, but I know it killed the Cowboys last year not to have a lot of it.
Sure this team has guys that can run fast. They wouldn't be in the NFL if they couldn't. So save the "they're faster than you" emails, please. I get it. All NFL players are fast.
But this team needs some blazers. Speed demons. We're talking track-star good.
When you look at the Cowboys' current roster, and by current we're talking about the guys that are on there at this very moment, personally, I don't see a big change being made at the wide-receiver position. That is definitely a column for another day, but as for now, I would imagine that Terrell Owens will be a part of the 2009 Cowboys.
That being said, the Cowboys still need more speed on offense.
Sure, Owens is fast, as is Miles Austin. They're probably the two fastest receivers on this team. Now Roy Williams can run, too. But even he called himself a possession receiver. Sam Hurd and Patrick Crayton are more possession-type guys also. And let me say, those guys are much-needed as well.
I've heard enough cornerbacks say that great route-runners are just as tough, maybe even more difficult to stop than a one-dimensional speed threat.
Still, the Cowboys are lacking speed. And maybe it's not speed they need as much as quickness. Owens, Williams, Austin, they can all get by people especially if no one is in their way.
But the Cowboys seem to be lacking that jitterbug-type guy who can start and stop, then start again, cut this way and that way and then turn it up the field for about 60 yards and a touchdown. The only player on this team that somewhat resembles having that type of ability is Felix Jones. He was the team's home-run hitter for six games before his hamstring and then toe injury ended his season rather abruptly.
This year, the Cowboys are counting on Felix once again, but they need a more vertical presence, too.
If you've heard our radio shows the last year, then you know my stance on this. But I've said it for a while now, the Cowboys never truly made the defenses pay for the way they cover T.O.
OK, so they double him all over the field - jam him at the line with safety help over the top. That's fine. But that means other players are getting single coverage. That's where the Cowboys couldn't exploit teams.
If you're going to put that much pressure on Owens, then someone needs to be running deep. Not every play, of course. But just that presence on the field can be valuable.
Now when it comes to this year's draft, obviously the Cowboys aren't going to get some 6-3, 225-pound receiver with 4.3 speed that catches everything in sight and runs the best routes. That's Andre Johnson from a few years back and he went No. 3 overall to Houston. Larry Fitzgerald also went No. 3 and had just about all the tools as well.
The guys I'm talking about will be missing something. Not sure exactly, but just something.
To get a blazer in the middle rounds, he'll probably not be the biggest guy in the world. He may have inconsistent hands. He may be small with bad hands. Maybe his attitude isn't the greatest, maybe he's just a raw player who hasn't played a lot of football.
Whatever the case may be, it'll probably be a project that needs tooling.
But just make sure he can run!
With that in mind, let's throw out just a few names. Again, it's early with the combine still to take place this weekend, not to mention the Pro Day on the college campuses. There will be plenty of guys who will run their way into the mix.
But for now, how about some guys like Penn State's Derrick Williams or Florida's Louis Murphy. They both can run like the wind and Williams is a shifty, cat-quick player who has been at several positions on the field, but is being projected at receiver. Maryland's Darrius Heyward-Bey is considered one of the fastest receivers in the draft, but it appears he has enough of the other tools to put him in the first round.
If Heyward-Bey isn't the fastest, it might be Ole Miss' Mike Wallace, who said during last week's media day at Michael Johnson's Performance Center in McKinney that he is hoping to run a 4.2. The trainers up there at the center have their fingers crossed that Wallace will run the fastest 40 at the combine.
Now that's the kind of guy the Cowboys need. Wallace is just 5-11, 195, but he can fly. If you look at his numbers, he caught just 101 passes for 1,910 yards and 15 touchdowns - in three seasons at Ole Miss. However, what sticks out is that 18.9 yard-per-catch career average. He's obviously getting down the field.
Other names to watch include USC's Patrick Turner and North Carolina's Brandon Tate. That's two more guys who weren't even the most heralded receivers on their college teams, but can certainly stretch a defense.
Again, it's still early. There will be more names to surface because of ungodly 40 times.
But those are the guys that Cowboys need to be looking at. They've got guys who can catch, work the slot, go up and get the ball, make plays in the open field.
What they need more of is someone who can flat-out run.
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Nick Eatman - 
