This was an important draft year (well, they all are really), but this is a team that had the #1 seed in the NFC and looked like a team headed towards the Super Bowl.  Then Eli Manning suddenly turned into Peyton Manning, beat the Cowboys at home, and went on to win the Super Bowl.  Like every year I read several draft magazines, looked at the Cowboy's roster, and eagerly awaited the draft.  Here is my breakdown of that draft.

1st pick:  with the number 22 overall pick, the Cowboys selected Felix Jones, RB from Arkansas.  Well, Jerry didn't get the RB from Arkansas he coveted, but got a very good back nontheless to replace underachieving Julius Jones who now plays in Seattle via free agency.  Good cut back runner with a lot of speed.  He brings the HR threat and should be an upgrade over Julius.  The problem is Rashard Mendenhall was still on the board at the time.  Much has been made about he and Barber having similar styles but I don't buy into that.  Who cares?  Mendenhall has speed and power and would have been a better upgrade than Jones.  Still, I like this offenses chances with Jones and was glad we got him.

2nd pick:  with the number 25 pick overall, the Cowboys selected Mike Jenkins.  Great pick.  Good cover guy with good speed.  In that playoff game in the first half, the Cowboys drove down the field eating up clock and scored a TD to lead by 7.  With only 53 seconds left until halftime however, Eli tore apart the Cowboy's secondary and tied the game.  This was a huge need pick and I think Jenkins will be a very good corner for years to come.

3rd pick:  with the number 61 pick overall, the Cowboys selected Martellus Bennett, TE from A&M.  A very confusing pick.  They traded Anthony Fasano and Akin Ayodele for a 4th round pick, then used a second round pick for a back up TE.  I would have rather they package that pick and another to move up to take Limas Sweed, Malcolm Kelly or Devin Thomas.  WR help was much more of a priority that back up TE, especially with Jason Garrett wanting to use a FB more. 

4th pick, Tashard Choice, RB Georgia Tech.  A definte upgrade over Tyson Thompson, last year's third back.  However, this was a fourth round pick that they traded down to get while WR's Mario Manningham, Early Doucet, and Andre Caldwell were still on the board.  While I don't expect any of them to be superstars  any of them would be an upgrade over Sam Hurd, Miles Austin or Isaiah Stanback.  The Cowboys blew a real opportunity to upgrade a suspect WR corp by not drafting any of those guys.

5th pick, Orlando Scandrick.  Another addition to a suspect secondary.  Good physical corner with some potential.  Learning from guys like Anthony Henry and Terrance Newman will do him some good.

6th pick Erik Walden.  Very surprised they waited this long to take yet ANOTHER LB, given their penchant for drafting LB's.  Looks like a guy with some raw talent and has a decent shot at making this team.  But it'll be tough, this is a team stacked with LB's so we'll see.

 Overall a decent draft, upgraded some positions but missed some real opportunities to upgrade the WR position.  I would give them a final grade of B.