The NFL Draft is growing inexorably closer, and NFL teams are shifting into preparation mode. Over the past week, teams have begun bringing prospective draftees in to meet face to face with coaches and staff. For observers and the media, there is a bit of cloak and dagger about the process, as many teams are less than forthcoming about who they have in to visit in order to hide their intentions from rivals.


The Dallas Cowboys are one of the teams that don't go out of their way to divulge information about who they have come visit. As was previously covered here, recent history shows that they prefer to meet with the players they spend their first round pick on. Three of their last four picks were invited to the team's headquarters at Valley Ranch. The fourth, Morris Claiborne, has been something of a disappointment and is a good argument to try and bring all the possible first round picks in to talk.

A look at the players who are known to have visited the Cowboys shows some definite areas of interest for the team. The list of national invitees is heavy with players that are projected to be in the first three rounds of the draft, the picks that teams can ill afford to get wrong. And the Cowboy appear to be clearly focused on certain positions. All but two of the names are cornerbacks, defensive ends, linebackers, or running backs. This tracks fairly closely with the moves the team has made in free agency, where the major signings were to address problems in those positions.

Even thought they now have players who can fill the needs, the team clearly is looking to upgrade the talent through the draft. Rookies are generally cheaper than free agents, often significantly, and draftees are locked up for four years on those affordable first contracts.

While the Cowboys under Jason Garrett have embraced the concept of drafting the best player available, it is easy to extrapolate from the visitors they have had in to visit that they don't look to put players at all positions on their draft board. Given that there are only about 20 or so "blue chip" players in this year's draft, the team can tailor their board to the major needs of the roster and feel confident that they are getting one of the best talents left. And all teams have to take what their needs are in the draft. There are only seven rounds worth of picks, and they must be used to correct roster deficiencies. And the earlier you take a player, the better the chances that the player will develop into a key contributor.

While the national invitees are a strong indicator of what the Cowboys will do in the early rounds of the draft, the "Dallas Days" visitors are a perennial source of lesser known players that can be acquired as undrafted free agents. Players who attended high school or college in the Dallas area are eligible, and sometimes talent that escapes the notice of other teams can be unearthed. The team usually has one or two of these stick on the roster. The biggest find in recent years is Cole Beasley from SMU, who has become a key third down/possession receiver and something of a favorite target for quaterback Tony Romo. The team can also use Dallas Days to save a national visit, as they did by bringing in Jay Ajayi, who attended high school in the area before going to Boise State to become one of the top running back prospects this year.

The draft is getting closer, and speculation about who each of the 32 teams will pick will continue until the last name is called. We won't know how accurate our predictions are until then. 

But true draftniks will already be looking to 2016 by then, and the process will start again.