Cowboys News & Notes: Cowboys' Brass Confident They Built A Winner Following Draft

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The Cowboys seem awfully confident in their strategy of building their 2016 roster. Everyone else? Not so much just yet. Plus, The Star in Frisco will be chock-full of Cowboys' folk heroes.

Cowboys Feel Confident In The State Of Their Roster Following The Draft - Rob Phillips, Dallas CowboysThe Cowboys entered last week's NFL Draft believing they had addressed enough roster needs to draft the best prospects available on their board. Now, they believe they have done just that.

"My old saying: 365 days a year you're looking to improve. But, do I think we could go play with everybody on this roster and get going and feel good about it? Yes."

Cowboys QB Search: How Similar Are Dak Prescott, Paxton Lynch? - Ryan Ratty, Blogging The BoysDak Prescott and Paxton Lynch had been the Dallas Cowboys' targets at the quarterback position all along. After all, there are a ton of similarities between the two.

Dallas stayed true to their board, and while the next quarterback on their target list was Connor Cook, the Oakland Raiders moved up just in front of them atop the fourth round to nab the Michigan State product. Prior to the draft, there had been a thought that the Cowboys would select Prescott in the third round with the 67th overall pick. After all, the Cowboys had a third-round grade on Prescott, so when he was available for the Cowboys with the 135th overall pick, the Cowboys pulled the trigger.

Roger Staubach volunteers to be Dallas Cowboys backup quarterback - Charean Williams, The Star-TelegramHall of Famer Roger Staubach was the keynote speaker at The Salvation Army's luncheon at AT&T Stadium on Wednesday. He decided to drop a cute little proposition for Jerry Jones.

"I called Mr. [Jerry] Jones before the draft and said I'd be the backup quarterback," Staubach said. "I told him I'd give him $2 million if he's let me do that. He said, 'How old are you, Roger?' I said, 'Well, I'm 74.' He said, 'Well, I'll do it if you give me $5 million.' So I'm still available to someone."

Stephen Jones: Cowboys knew they wouldn't invite Greg Hardy back at the end of the season | SportsDayOne of the Cowboys' biggest offseason storylines is whether the team will re-sign controversial defensive end, Greg Hardy. It was never going to happen.

"We really thought Greg had the potential, with our infrastructure in place, to come in here and really improve on what he had been as a person, and at the same time, be the great football player that he had been with the Panthers in the years before. But unfortunately, that didn't work out. We've closed the book on that and we're moving forward."

Dallas Cowboys see Maliek Collins as cornerstone player - Todd Archer, ESPN DallasThird-round pick Maliek Collins is 'going to get a lot of snaps' on the Cowboys' defensive line, predicts owner Jerry Jones.

While Ezekiel Elliott, their first-round pick, is expected to bring the most immediate production and Jaylon Smith, their second-round pick, could be the biggest game-changer in the future after he recovers from a knee injury, Collins has a chance to be the most surprising.

"He's going to be a cornerstone player," owner and general manager Jerry Jones said.

"He's a guy when we started the second round we look at as someone that could potentially step in here and have those kind of snaps," Jones said. "I'm reluctant to say starter because I don't want to do that. On the other hand he's going to get a lot of snaps. I do predict that now."

Broaddus: Breaking Down 7 Rookie Free Agents Expected To Sign With Cowboys | Dallas CowboysThe Broad One is back with some quick scouting reports on the undrafted pool the Cowboys brought in to Valley Ranch.

Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott One Of Early Favorites For Offensive Rookie Of The Year - OCC, Blogging The BoysThe first prop bets for the 2016 season are in and they feature Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott heavily.

Bovada.lv have released the first prop bets for the 2016 NFL season, and Ezekiel Elliott features in some of those prop bets. Elliott ranks second only to Jared Goff in the odds for Offensive Rookie of the Year.

If you're not sure about the OROY odds, Vegas also has a prop bet for Elliott's total rushing yards and TDs in 2016:

Ezekiel Elliott - Total Rushing Yards in the 2016 Regular Season

Over/Under: 900

Ezekiel Elliott - Total TD's in the 2016 Regular Season

Over/Under: 7.5

Dallas Cowboys adding Ring of Honor walkway at new headquarters in Frisco - Clarence Hill, The Star-TelegramThe Dallas Cowboys will have a Ring of Honor walkway at The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco.

The Dallas Cowboys will have a Ring of Honor walkway that will feature 21 statues of former players and coaches at The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, the club announced Wednesday.

Cowlishaw: One aspect of one player may save Cowboys' draft weekend from disaster -- and send them back to playoffs | SportsDayLike an object of modern art, when studied from every angle over an extended number of days, the Cowboys' draft still fails to come easily into perspective.

Not even one player, but one aspect of one player that might save last weekend from disaster and send the Cowboys back to the playoffs in just eight months. And that is this: Ezekiel Elliott's ability to raise a defense from the dead.

Laufenberg: Why I don't like hearing Ezekiel Elliott will make the Cowboys' defense better | SportsDayLaufenberg may have a point with what he's saying. The Cowboys are still at a loss for playmaking talent on the defense.

We all know this will not be a dominating defense. Not even close. What they need to do is take the ball away. That will determine the year this team has. In 2014, the Cowboys were plus six in turnover differential. In 2015, they were minus 22. That is a difference of a staggering 28 or 1.75/game. I don't like hearing how Elliott will make the defense better -  better players will make the defense better. No matter if your offense holds the ball for a nine-minute drive. Eventually, your defense has to go on the field.

Andy Jones receives Cowboys' largest undrafted bonus: $15,000 - Todd Archer, ESPNJacksonville University receiver Andy Jones receives the largest signing bonus among the Dallas Cowboys undrafted free agents.

The Cowboys have made significant investments in undrafted free agents, but among the 14 players, they have agreed to deals with this year Jacksonville wide receiver Andy Jones received the largest signing bonus at $15,000. No other player received a signing bonus of more than $7,500.

Mailbag: What About Gathers At DE? Most Impactful Rookie Besides Elliott? | Dallas CowboysProject picks like Rico Gathers could be looking for a role in a variety of ways. However, his skill set would favor tight end.

Bryan: Because the history of this conversion has worked better when taking a basketball player and making him a tight end than a defensive end. You might think of Julius Peppers, but he was a defensive end in college and played basketball on the side. I don't believe Gathers will struggle with the blocking aspect here; it's how he is getting off the line that will be the problem.

Preposterously Early Dallas Cowboys 53-Man Roster Prediction - Tom Ryle, Blogging The BoysSo we have almost nothing to go on, but that does not deter us from guessing (wildly) who will make the 53-man roster in September.

At the moment, they have more than 90 players under contract, so there are some cuts coming. And of course, no one has seen the rookies perform as NFL players. So there is way too little information to seriously be trying to come up with a 53-man roster projection. Not that we are going to let that slow us down even a little bit.

Source: Cowboys News & Notes: Cowboys' Brass Confident They Built A Winner Following Draft