Here's a fly-by of our 12th and final draft position series entry: Special Teams.
DespiteDavid Buehler's inconsistencies, the Cowboys are unlikely to draft a kicker for the third time in the last five years. He'll compete with Kris Brown sometime this offseason. Mat McBriar is a Pro Bowler and arguably the best in the league. Not that punter would be a draft priority, anyway.
Expect the Cowboys to target contributors on the special teams units in most rounds, particularly the middle to later ones. That's the best chance those later picks have of making the team, particularly linebackers and defensive backs.
And it wouldn't be surprising if they sought some return help – maybe not a specialist, but a developmental offensive or defensive player who could contribute on special teams in the meantime, a la Akwasi Owusu-Ansah.
The Cowboys would like to use Dez Bryant's return talents as much as possible, but it's hard to see him handling kickoffs and punts if he's a starting receiver. Among the many prospects throughout the draft with return experience are LSU's Patrick Peterson (top 10), Clemson's Marcus Gilchrist (2nd-3rd), Oklahoma's DeMarco Murray (2nd-3rd round), TCU's Jeremy Kerley (middle rounds), Fort Valley State's Ricardo Lockette(middle rounds) and Eastern Washington's Taiwan Jones (middle rounds).
-*Rob
*@robphillips3 (Twitter)
