It’s coming down to the wire as teams finalize their big boards in preparation for the NFL draft. Most of the major prospects have been evaluated, tested, and scrutinized to exhaustion (both their own and fans’) by now, and most followers of a particular squad have a good sense of which names to be on the lookout for when it’s their front office’s turn on the clock.
But put the gradebooks away for a moment, because there’s also a place for going with gut. And if that gut belongs to longtime ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr., it just may the thing that tips the balance between two comparable players when the pick is due.
Kiper has released his annual list of favorite prospects at each position in this year’s class. They’re not necessarily the best at their position or the guys that will be taken first, so there are a few diamonds in the relative rough. These prospects, Kiper explains, are ones he personally may have rated higher than his peers, or ones he’s given the edge to in case of a tie, or ones he simply finds himself repeatedly drawn to when watching tape.
The Cowboys are known to be believers in taking the best player at his position. And with several positions on the roster seen as areas of need, it may be worth getting to know who Kiper considers his favorite at those spots.