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IRVING, Texas - Monday might officially have been Easter Monday in Canada, but here at The Ranch it was the annual Dallas Day, when the Cowboys bring in the area's draft-eligible players for one last workout and a visit.
Typically, this is a day for those players likely to be selected from the middle rounds to the late rounds of the NFL Draft, which will be held April 25-26 this year, and for those players going undrafted and hoping to sign rookie free-agent contracts immediately afterwards.
So that means no Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree or Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford or Baylor offensive tackle Jason Smith, all Dallas-area high school players who have gone on to become not only projected first-round picks playing at their respective colleges, but most probably top 10 picks in the coming draft.
But that does mean two local high school quarterbacks readily known and hoping to get drafted were here among the 25 or so players: Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel of Southlake (Texas) Carroll who led the Tigers to two consecutive Big 12 North Division titles and bowl victories and Sam Houston State quarterback Rhett Bomar of Grand Prairie (Texas) High School who began his college career at the University of Oklahoma before finishing up at the Division I-AA school in Huntsville, Texas.
With only two quarterbacks on the team's current roster, starter Tony Romo and veteran backup Jon Kitna, the Cowboys will be in the market for a developmental quarterback, most likely on the second day of the draft in rounds three through seven, or immediately afterward in free agency. These two quarterbacks follow in sort of that Tony Romo mold, guys you would not have to spend either a high draft choice on or top dollar to acquire, which allows more developmental time.
The Cowboys have drafted only one quarterback since 1991 when they selected Oregon's Bill Musgrave in the fourth round. While Musgrave went on to play six years in the NFL for San Francisco and Denver, he never did make the Cowboys' 53-man roster that summer. So that makes Quincy Carter, their 2001 second-round pick, the only quarterback the Cowboys have selected in the past 17 NFL Drafts.
This Dallas Day workout is not just a mere formality. The Cowboys have drafted and signed free agents brought in on this day, including WR Patrick Crayton, RB Tyson Thompson, CB Jacques Reeves and last year converted WR Daniel Polk.
As for the other guys attending Dallas Day here on Monday, the Cowboys did not officially release who attended, and evidently some of the players expected to work out on Monday ended up being no-shows.
Players from TCU seemed to dominate the group with reportedly five Horned Frogs attending the session: RB Aaron Brown, C Blake Schlueter, LB Jason Phillips, LB Stephen Hodge and LB Robert Henson. Phillips, though, still is on crutches following surgery to repair the torn meniscus in his left knee suffered at the combine workout.
Two notable University of Texas players reportedly worked out, G Cedric Dockery, whose brother Derrick is a starter for the Washington Redskins, along with converted DE Henry Melton, who played two seasons at running back for the Longhorns before becoming a defensive end.
Among some of the other players reportedly invited to work out for the Cowboys were New Mexico State QB Chase Holbrook, Oklahoma CB Lendy Holmes, Houston DE Phillip Hunt, Utah DB Brice McCain and Texas Tech DE Brandon Williams.
The Cowboys are expected to bring in the national players for visits later this week, usually stretching that session over a two-day period. This group likely will include some players expected to be selected in the second to fourth rounds, where the Cowboys without a first-round pick have four draft choices.
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Mickey Spagnola - 
