Cowboys' draft raises difficult questions to answer

The Dallas Cowboys entered the draft with big needs on defense and at backup quarterback.

Then they used their top two picks, No. 5 and No. 34, on a running back and a linebacker who's rehabbing an injury and has no timetable for his return.

FOX Sports' Joel Klatt just doesn't get it.

"I love Ezekiel Elliott. I think he's a wonderful player. But there's no way he's drafted in the top five (as a running back)," Klatt said.

"They didn't need a running back; they've got a great offensive line, they can have a thousand-yard rusher regardless," he added. 

The Cowboys have said Elliott graded higher than any running back in the past decade, and that re-establishing a dominant running game would help keep their defense off the field. But the pick still left Klatt confused.

Then there was the second-round selection of Jaylon Smith, which drew even more harsh critiques because it's not clear when the former Notre Dame star will return to the field, or how effective he'll be.

"Don't they have enough injury questions already? Haven't they had enough injury problems on their defense with Sean Lee? (Tony) Romo's not on the field, and now Jaylon Smith, no timetable for return?

"I don't understand what Dallas is doing. They passed up great players in order to get the players they did: a guy they didn't need and a guy with no timetable for return. I don't get it."

Dallas addressed its need at backup QB on Saturday, drafting Mississippi State's Dak Prescott in the fourth round, after failing to move up and take Paxton Lynch on Day 1. Prescott is the only Southeastern Conference quarterback besides Tim Tebow with at least 70 touchdown passes and 40 touchdown runs. 

The Cowboys also bolstered their defense, taking Oklahoma defensive end Charles Tapper with the 101st overall pick, Purdue cornerback Anthony Brown at 189th, and Central Michigan safety Kavon Frazier at 212.

In the seventh round, the Cowboys took another running back, Eastern Michigan's Darius Jackson, and another intriguing player: Baylor's Rico Gathers, a 6-foot-8, 275-pound basketball player who projects as a tight end. But at least it was with their last pick.

Jerry Jones defended the decisions to take Elliott and Smith.

"I think that with these first two picks for sure that we got two players that were within the top five players in the draft," Jones said. "We got two players, impactful players that are around the ball a lot and are difference-makers around the ball."

Jones thinks a healthy Romo and Dez Bryant are better than anything else at getting the Cowboys closer to 12-4, the record for his NFC East-winning team two years ago.

"To the extent that we can interpret the picks that we've made as to how I felt when I said we're closer to (2014) than (2015), then you can interpret it that way," Jones said. "I certainly feel that way."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.