(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 4 will feature inside linebackers.)

IRVING, Texas - The Cowboys had so much success finding an inside linebacker in the middle rounds of the 2003 draft, they've apparently decided not to push their luck.

The team snagged LSU's Bradie James in the fourth round that year, and developed him into one of the team's best defensive players. But as solid a pick as it was, the Cowboys haven't taken the same route in the search for his sidekick in their 3-4 defense. Instead, the weak inside linebacker spot has been a revolving door of veteran free agents - first Akin Ayodele, then Zach Thomas, and now Keith Brooking.

With 11 picks in the April 25-26 draft and a need for a fourth inside linebacker on the roster, maybe the Cowboys go back to the middle rounds, where this draft seems to have good value at the position.

What They Have: After James, there are plenty of question marks. It's probably asking too much of Keith Brooking to return to the Pro Bowl level he played at from 2001-05, five straight seasons he capped with a trip to Hawaii. Even if his two most productive years in that span were under the tutelage of Wade Phillips as Falcons defensive coordinator, Brooking is 33 now, and probably needs to be relieved on third downs.

The Cowboys are hoping Bobby Carpenter can display the coverage ability Brooking used to possess, and at this point he appears to be the odds-on favorite to win the nickel and dime linebacker job formerly held by Kevin Burnett. Phillips and Jerry Jones have said they think Brooking can still contribute on third downs, and Carpenter recently said he expects to be challenged for the role in training camp.

Beyond those top three, the roster doesn't hold much depth at all. The Cowboys signed versatile linebacker Matt Stewart at the beginning of March, but he hasn't played since 2006. They've also looked at third-year player Justin Rogers at inside linebacker previously, but he's been solely a special teams contributor during his young career.

What They Need: While there is finally some hope Carpenter will carve himself a niche on the Cowboys defense as a third down linebacker, he's now just one play away from becoming a starter. If he was ready to be a starter, or the team was comfortable with that, Brooking wouldn't have been signed. Though Carpenter hasn't lived up to first-round expectations, he's probably ahead of any rookie the Cowboys could pick for this season. Maybe a first-year linebacker doesn't even see the field in 2009, but the club will have the chance to draft someone who could develop into Brooking's replacement in time, or Carpenter's if they find out he truly doesn't have it.

On top of Burnett, the Cowboys are currently without Carlos Polk, an unrestricted free agent who was a key special teams contributor for the second half of 2008. They could still choose to re-sign Polk, but he's 32 now, and the Cowboys could stand to get younger and cheaper at the fourth linebacker spot, primarily a special teams job anyway.

Since they have so many positions of need, the Cowboys could pick any position in any round depending on how their draft board stacks up. They could wait until the sixth or seventh round to take a middle linebacker, figuring he'll only play special teams right away, or they could just as easily target a player to push Brooking and Carpenter with their first pick, currently No. 51 overall.

Who's Out There: There isn't a real glut of talent in this year's class of interior linebackers, especially after USC's Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing, who played outside linebacker for the Trojans but has the size to move inside. Ohio State's James Laurinaitis is a big name, but the recent struggles of Buckeye linebackers in the NFL creates a shred of doubt about his chances. All three of those players should be gone by the time the Cowboys pick in the second round, and there will probably be better value at other positions at that point. Even in the third round, where the Cowboys hold the fifth pick, the position has to be considered weak.

Not to say there won't be good players out of this class. The real inside linebacker value figures to be found in the middle-to-late rounds. The Cowboys could go back to the place that produced James to select Darry Beckwith, a second-team All-SEC player as a junior and senior with the Tigers and Butkus Award finalist last year. The LSU product may be a bit short to play in a 3-4 defense though, measuring just 6-0 at the NFL Scouting Combine. The SEC yields a couple more options for the early-to-middle rounds in Georgia's Dannell Ellerbe (6-1, 236) and South Carolina's Jasper Brinkley (6-2, 252).

One local prospect who could come at a decent value is TCU's Jason Phillips, a 6-1, 239-pounder who tore the meniscus in his left knee at the combine and will be rehabbing until June. He started all four years for the Horned Frogs, earning first or second-team all-conference honors each season. Gerald McRath (6-2, 231) of Southern Miss, and Scott McKillop (6-1, 244) of Pittsburgh also seem to be mid-to-late round projects who could contribute on special teams at first and maybe work their way up a depth chart with the proper seasoning. Wake Forest's Stanley Arnoux (6-0, 232) may be a bit undersized, but he has experience working alongside a good player, Demon Deacons blue-chipper Aaron Curry.

Draft Nuggets: The twin brother of Jasper Brinkley, named Casper Brinkley of all things, played defensive end for the Gamecocks from 2006-07 . . . Joseph "Animal" Laurinaitis, father of the Ohio State linebacker, was a professional wrestler in the champion tag team The Legion of Doom . . . Maualuga was disciplined twice at USC, following an arrest in Nov. 2005 and an incident at a fraternity party in Oct. 2006. The linebacker is said to have matured greatly after the death of his father two days before the 2006 Rose Bowl . . . Phillips began his college career as a fullback . . . Arnoux is bilingual, speaking English and Creole . . . McKillop worked for the Pittsburgh Pirates as an intern in their special events department.

Look Back: Following 2004's porous defense, coach Bill Parcells decided to transition the Cowboys to a 3-4 defense full-time beginning with the 2005 draft. With the No. 11 overall pick the team selected DeMarcus Ware out of Troy, planning to transition him from defensive end to outside linebacker. Then with their second pick of the first round they got LSU's Marcus Spears, an experienced 3-4 defensive end with the right tools for the position. The Cowboys then drafted Tennessee's Burnett in the second round, with pick No. 42 overall. Burnett's size (6-3, 242) and athleticism made him versatile enough to play any linebacker position, and indeed the Cowboys would transition him to middle linebacker in 2007, following two years spent backing up Ware. Burnett's character was a big reason for the pick. In 2004, he and offensive tackle Michael Munoz were the first Vols juniors to serve as team captains since 1944. The next year they would become the school's first two-time captains since 1924-25.

Up Next: Safety

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