Is the “BPA” strategy really best? Even if someone like Sauce Gardner, Nakobe Dean or Treylon Burks is there at the 24th pick, regardless of player projections, doesn’t a top offensive lineman IMPROVE the Cowboys as a team much more than any other place (and especially for years to come)? — THOMAS NARRO / ARLINGTON, MA
David: The thing that makes the draft so fun is that the results unfold over the course of a decade. Ezekiel Elliott was drafted to improve the Cowboys immediately and help extend Tony Romo’s window to win a championship. And that decision worked out perfectly for several years. But sitting here in 2022, it’s hard not to notice that the guy they opted not to pick, Jalen Ramsey, is the best player at one of the most important positions in football. So yes, while I think a good guard would do wonders to improve this team in 2022, I also don’t think you can afford to have a narrow viewpoint about these types of decisions.
Rob: I tend to agree with that because guard is really the one spot they haven’t addressed in free agency. They do need somebody who could step in and compete to start right away. But if they didn’t follow “BPA,” Micah Parsons and CeeDee Lamb wouldn’t be here. Lamb’s production and potential gave them the flexibility, in their mind, to save cap space by moving on from Amari Cooper, and Parsons transformed the defense in one season. If you’re not spending big to sign free agents, then you’ve got to find future stars in the draft, and you don’t accomplish that by reaching too much for position needs.
With college offenses being pass heavy these days, I’m wondering if there are any running backs whose pass blocking stands out on tape, even if they don’t jump off the film otherwise as a running back, that could be targeted Day 3 of the draft? — MARCO ASPAAS / VANCOUVER, WA
David: I think there are a lot of fun options starting on Day 3 of this draft. Obviously, no one you draft that late is going to be a finished product, but there…