While Tyler Booker was a late riser in the days leading up to the NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys surprised just about everyone when they selected him with the No. 12 pick.<\/p>\n
The Cowboys landed on Booker after potential top target Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan went off the board five picks earlier to the Panthers.<\/p>\n
Many thought Dallas would have taken the best receiver available, presumably Texas’ Matthew Golden, but they decided to beef up their offensive line, which has a Zack Martin-sized hole to fill at right guard.<\/p>\n
Time will tell how the Booker pick pans out. Based on the consensus rankings, though, it can only be considered a huge reach.<\/p>\n
It doesn’t help that Golden landed with the Packers, who put a beatdown on the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium the last time Dallas made the playoffs. It also doesn’t help that the hated Eagles pulled off arguably the steal of the first round right before the buzzer sounded on night one.<\/p>\n
The Eagles traded up one spot from No. 32 with the Chiefs to select Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell. It is the latest example of a stud SEC defender falling right into Philadelphia’s lap.<\/p>\n
Some luck is obviously involved, but it is no coincidence the Eagles keep ending up with the biggest steals in every draft. Between Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Quinyon Mitchell, Jordan Davis, and Nakobe Dean, Philly has gotten ridiculous value out of some of its recent picks.<\/p>\n
Campbell might be the best pound-for-pound linebacker in the draft. He potentially could have been a top-10 pick if he didn’t undergo surgery to repair a torn labrum after the NFL Combine. There are concerns the injury is worse than feared, but Campbell is worse the gamble.<\/p>\n
The Alabama product has everything in the tool box to be an elite linebacker. He has a tremendous wingspan that shows up in zone coverage and legitimate sideline-to-sideline range. He explodes to ball carriers and can even rush the passer thanks to his history as an EDGE.<\/p>\n
You put that skill set in Philly and good things tend to happen. Campbell would have been a fine pick for Dallas if they moved back a couple spots from No. 12.<\/p>\n
That the Eagles got him two picks before the end of the first round should make Cowboys fans sick to their stomach, especially since the Booker pick has not received great initial remarks.<\/p>\n The Eagles twisted the knife into Cowboys fans’ hearts when they drafted Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":50895,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n