NFL fans are now just days away from the 2015 NFL Draft … and not a moment too soon. At this point, teams have pretty much completed their evaluation of players and are finagling the first versions of their Big Boards. (The Cowboys are doing so inside Valley Ranch as you read this.) These rankings are paramount to how teams approach the draft and leads them to the many permutations of mocks, so they can try and predict every scenario which they could face come draft weekend. Over the past several weeks, Joey Ickes and myself have worked on trying to emulate the Dallas brass’ thinking on how they would stack their board.

Big Boards are comprised of not only player evaluation, but also scheme fit for each respective team. We all know in the past, for instance, Dallas hasn’t valued the one-tech position too strongly. There is word that has shifted a bit this year and the team has concern over stopping the run up the middle. We know Dallas’ affinity for linebackers, and incorporated that.

What was also incorporated was our own evaluation of said prospects. This is where Big Boards get tricky. Trying to combine our own thoughts on prospects, with projections of how we feel they fit in Dallas, as well as combining what we are hearing about their affinity for certain players. It all makes for an interesting exercise.

Here’s our take at a Top 100 Big Board for the 2015 draft, through the lens of the Dallas Cowboys.

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Round 1 Total18 RankOverallLastFirstSchoolPosition 11WinstonJameisFSUQB 22WilliamsLeonardUSCUT 33BeasleyVicCLEMRDE 44CooperAmariBamaWR 55WhiteKevinWVUWR 66MariotaMarcusOREQB 77GurleyToddUGARB 88FowlerDanteUFRDE 99DupreeBudUKRDE 1010ParkerDevanteL'VilleWR 1111JonesByronUCONNCB 1212CollinsLandonBamaS 1313GregoryRandyNebraskaRDE 1414ColemanTevinIndianaRB 1515JohnsonKevinWakeCB 1616GordonMelvinWiscRB 1717ScherffBrandonIowaOL 1818WaynesTreyMich StCB Yes, three running backs given first round grades. A lot of people are starting to come around on Coleman and there’s a reason why. As Keith Mullins says on the Crunchtime Podcasts, there isn’t a single Indiana offensive lineman that projects to the NFL. Coleman got over 2,000 yards with a broken foot. Coleman outperformed Gordon, who runs behind the elite Wisconsin offensive line, in same-foe matchups. Coleman is going to be a star. Also of note, we see Byron Jones as the best cornerback fit for the Dallas Cowboys. His press ability, his tenacity and his 3 Sigma athleticism all indicate to us he’ll be the next great cornerback. table.tableizer-table { border: 1px solid #CCC; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; } .tableizer-table td { padding: 4px; margin: 3px; border: 1px solid #ccc; } .tableizer-table th { background-color: #104E8B; color: #FFF; font-weight: bold; }

Round 2 Total47 RankOverallLastFirstSchoolPosition 119CollinsLa'elLSUOT 220KendricksEricUCLALB 321BrownMalcolmTexasNT 422ThompsonShaqWashLB 523RandallDemariousASUS 624OdighizuwaOwaUCLALDE 725CollinsJalenLSUCB 826WilliamsPJFSUCB 927McKinneyBernardrickMiss. StMLB 1028DavisCarlIowaUT 1129RayShaneMizzouRDE 1230HaroldEliUVARDE 1331PeatAndrusStanfordOT 1432ErvingCamFSUC 1533Green-BeckhamDorialOUWR 1634SheltonDannyWashNT 1735FlowersErickMiamiOT 1836PerrimanBreshadUCFWR 1937ClemmingsTJPittOT 2038DarbyRonFSUCB 2139AjayiJayBoiseRB 2240OgbuehiCedricTAMUOT 2341HundleyBrettUCLAQB 2442StrongJaelenASUWR 2543FisherJakeOregonOT 2644SmithDevinOSUWR 2745JarrettGradyClemsonUT 2846RollinsQuentinMiami(OH)CB 2947OrchardNateUtahRDE 3048SmithPrestonMiss. StLDE 3149RoweEricUtahCB 3250YeldonTJAlabamaRB 3351CooperXavierWash StUT 3452GoldmanEddieFSUNT 3553DawsonPaulTCULB 3654Edwards,JrMarioFSUDL 3755BennettMichaelOSUUT 3856CannAJS.CarOG 3957AbdullahAmeerNebraskaRB 4058AgholorNelsonUSCWR 4159WilliamsMaxxMinnTE 4260DorsettPhillipMiamiWR 4361TomlinsonLakenDukeOG 4462CoatesSammieAubWR 4563PerrymanDenzelMiamiLB 4664FunchessDevinMichTE 4765PetersMarcusWashCB The meat of the draft. With 47 names rated as Second-Round prospects, the likelihood is Dallas is going to be getting two of these players, even without a trade down scenario. To get full value, it behooves them to look for such an opportunity should one of their top targets not fall to them. table.tableizer-table { border: 1px solid #CCC; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; } .tableizer-table td { padding: 4px; margin: 3px; border: 1px solid #ccc; } .tableizer-table th { background-color: #104E8B; color: #FFF; font-weight: bold; }