The Cowboys will have a bit of an advantage on the rest of the league when it comes to evaluating the prospects they will coach on the North team in the Reese's Senior Bowl, airing exclusively on NFL Network at 2:30 p.m. ET on Jan. 30.
It just so happens that the squad includes arguably the most intriguing player in the 2016 NFL Draft -- North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz. Dallas might be watching his every move, and they probably won't be alone in doing so.
The Senior Bowl rosters were released on Thursday and Wentz is one of the four QBs for the North squad. Louisiana Tech's Jeff Driskel, Stanford's Kevin Hogan and USC's Cody Kessler are the others, but Wentz, while he hails from an FCS program, is by far the most highly regarded QB prospect of those that will take part in the Senior Bowl. In fact, NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah ranks him as the draft's top QB.
Owner Jerry Jones has said he's open to using the team's top pick, No. 4 overall, on an heir apparent for Tony Romo, and the need to fill that void becomes more pressing with Romo moving past the midway point of his 30s this year.
Is the Wentz-Dallas match meant to be?
Jeremiah projects Wentz to the Cowboys with the fourth pick in his first mock draft of the year, and predicts that the club will "fall in love with him" at the Senior Bowl.
Wentz can go a long way toward making NFL teams swoon with a good showing next week against more talented competition than he's used to facing. NFL executives, scouts and coaches flock to Mobile, Ala. for the annual all-star game each year, and it's always a big week for every prospect on hand, but especially so for those that come from smaller schools.
A scout last month described the squeamishness that could come with deciding whether to draft a quarterback who comes from such a place.
"I'd hate to be a team in need of a quarterback. The best two in this draft might end up being from Memphis and North Dakota State and that ought to scare the (expletive) out of you. It takes some courage to turn that card in," the scout said.
Jeremiah isn't buying into the fear. He writes "Don't be fooled by (Wentz's) level of competition. He's a big-time talent."
If Jones and the Cowboys do indeed fall in love with Wentz next week, we're guessing they won't be too afraid to take a chance on their man in the draft.
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