Potential Draft Picks: Charles Brown, OT, USC

USC tackle Charles Brown has excellent quickness and could be Flozell's successor.

The Cowboys desperately need help at offensive tackle. Flozell Adams is still effective in run blocking, but his pass protection took a sharp turn downhill in 2009. According to our film study, Adams yielded nine sacks on the year and got Romo hit the same number of times.

Marc Colombo was solid before his injury at Green Bay, but struggled mightily once returning in the playoffs. He should be able to return to form in 2010, but there are no guarantees.

Many praised backup tackle Doug Free for his performance at right tackle after Colombo went down, but a lot of this praise, in our opinion, was due to low expectations. Free was expected to be a huge downgrade, and when he came in and played average, people tended to overreact. There is still a fairly large gap in talent between he and Colombo.

The Cowboys still have yet to find out what they have in last year’s third-round selection Robert Brewster. He is an X-factor, but nothing to count on.

Thus, acquiring a capable OT is a huge concern, so much so that we listed the position as our #2 draft need for Dallas. One option is USC’s Charles Brown, who we are higher on than most. No word yet on if Snoopy will become the Cowboys’ official mascot with the selection of Brown.

Scouting Report

Brown is a highly athletic tackle with great quickness. As such, he is excellent at pulling, a task USC asked of him frequently. A lot of his speed, though, comes from the fact that he is very undersized in terms of weight (6’5”, 295 pounds). It remains to be seen whether he can maintain his agility after bulking up. Dallas typically favors larger linemen, but that may change after their pass protection struggles against Minnesota.

Brown is very polished. Many Dallas fans will be glad to hear that he was seldom penalized at USC. His strength could be an issue. Dallas could utilize his positives by running power to the right and counters and other misdirection plays to the left, thus allowing Brown to implement his quickness and hide his strength deficiency.

Projection

Brown should go right around the Cowboys’ #27 selection. He would be neither great value nor a reach, but may be the selection if Dallas sees him alongside fellow tackles Russel Okung, Bruce Campbell, Bryan Bulaga, and Anthony Davis in the top tier.

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