The first round is over. How’d it go?"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Dallas Cowboys NewsDallas Cowboys 2019 Draft2019 NFL Draft: First-round analysis shows Cowboys still in the hunt for what they needNew Dallas Cowboys Jamize Olawale Jersey ,33commentsThe first round is over. How’d it go?CDTShareTweetShareShare2019 NFL Draft: First-round analysis shows Cowboys still in the hunt for what they needChristopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY SportsThe first round of the 2019 NFL draft has officially concluded. After months of speculation over what exactly the Arizona Cardinals would do with the first overall pick, they did what everyone had been saying they would do for all those months and took Kyler Murray. But what followed was little more chaotic. Things were going according to plan at first, with the 49ers taking Nick Bosa and the Jets taking Quinnen Williams. Many draft analysts considered Bosa and Williams to be the consensus top two players in the class, so it wasn’t surprising to see them go off the board in the top three. Then came the Oakland Raiders at the fourth overall pick. After trading away Khalil Mack, Jon Gruden needed to find his new star pass rusher and with Josh Allen of Kentucky still on the board, it seemed like he was about to do it. And while the Raiders did take an edge rusher, it wasn’t Allen. Instead, it was Clemson defensive end Clelin Ferrell, who many considered to be a late-first-round option. Instead, he ended up being a top five pick, and the Raiders were once again mocked around the Twitter-sphere. The Raiders were just getting things started in a crazy first round that saw a lot of players taken far earlier than expected and a lot of players falling below their expected draft slot. The Giants took Duke quarterback Daniel Jones sixth overall with Dwayne Haskins and Drew Lock, as well as a lot of great pass rushers, still on the board. The Lions took tight end TJ Hockenson eighth overall instead of looking to build up their defense a bit more. The Steelers traded up ten spots to steal Michigan linebacker Devin Bush Jr. from the division rival Bengals. Haskins fell all the way to the Redskins at 15; they resisted the urge to trade up for a quarterback despite a plethora of insider tweets indicating they wanted to do so throughout the day. Safety Darnell Savage and offensive tackle Tytus Howard heard their names called in the middle of the first round even though many draft experts expected both to be day two picks, that just added to the mayhem. The Eagles traded up three spots to take offensive tackle Andre Dillard with all of the wide receivers in the class still on the board, and then both the Redskins and Giants traded back into the first round Womens Jamize Olawale 2019 Jersey , causing quite the commotion in the NFC East. And just for good measure, the Raiders selected safety Johnathan Abram, one of the safeties the Cowboys were looking at, with the pick that they acquired from Dallas in the Amari Cooper trade. Depending on your opinion on Abram, that might sting. But as surprising and hectic as this first round was, perhaps the most surprising thing was all the players that didn’t hear their names called. This whole draft process we’ve been told that Ole Miss wide receiver DK Metcalf was the best at his position group, but he’s still on the board. Similarly, the top two cornerbacks in the class, Greedy Williams and Byron Murphy, are still waiting. Tackle Jawaan Taylor, largely considered a top 15 prospect, is still available, as is quarterback Drew Lock.The biggest takeaway from the first round, at least for Cowboys fans, was all the defensive backs that fell down draft boards. Safety is clearly a big priority for the Cowboys Cheap Jamize Olawale Youth Jersey , and cornerback seems to be a point of emphasis for their draft plans, too. Only one cornerback and two safeties were taken, leaving a whole lot of players at those positions still on the board heading into round two. That increases the odds that Dallas will be able to get one of those players at 58. Instead, the first round was surprisingly heavy on defensive linemen. In the first 32 picks, 12 defensive linemen or edge rushers were taken. That included a pair of Mississippi State players in Montez Sweat and Jeffery Simmons, both of whom were unsure if they’d be taken in the first round due to various issues not related to their on-field play. Sweat was taken by Washington at 26th overall and Simmons went to the Titans at 19th overall. The first round was chock full of delirium, proving only that NFL teams are still virtually impossible to predict around this time of year. As we get ready for the second round to begin, there are still a lot of players left that could become impact players for the Cowboys, although don’t be surprised if the craziness from the first day continues on into Friday night. The front office of the Dallas Cowboys is going to have some big financial decisions to make this offseason. Between their own free agents and several players with expiring contracts looming, there could be a lot of new deals getting done soon. We know the team will re-sign DeMarcus Lawrence. It’s just a matter of how much it’s going to cost them. A couple weeks ago, we took a shot predicting his contract, estimating he’ll cost about $19.3 million per season. The Cowboys also have several other of their own free agents hitting the market. Cole Beasley may very well receive bigger offers from other teams to where he won’t be playing for the Cowboys in 2019. While everyone would love to see Beasley return to the team, the front office has to be responsible with their spending so they can continue to re-sign their star players.One of those star players is recently acquired Amari Cooper. The Cowboys traded a precious first-round draft pick (27th overall) to the Oakland Raiders much to the chagrin of Cowboys Nation. But it didn’t take long to turn those frowns upside down as Cooper made a huge impact during his time in Dallas. He’s awesome; we love him.While Cooper is a great wide receiver, he also comes with an expiring rookie contract. Oakland picked up his fifth-year option so he’s under contract for another season, but the Cowboys need to get a long-term deal done to protect their 2019 first-round pick. What does this all mean? Let’s take a look at the Amari Cooper situation and determine what makes the most sense.What we know - Cooper is getting re-signedWhen the Cowboys made the trade to acquire Cooper they had already made their mind up that they were going to sign him to a long-term deal. You don’t give up a first-round draft pick without expecting to shell out a good chunk of change to keep him. Cooper has put together a nice body of work during his first four years in the league and the future looks promising for this 24-year-old wide receiver.What we sorta know - just how good is he?Before we estimate Cooper’s market value White Randy White Jersey , let’s try to place him in the correct tier of receivers. How does he stack up against the other top paid receivers in the league? To get a good idea where Cooper fits, let’s look at the numbers for some of these receivers leading up to their second contract. Here is a 16-game average for the top 12 receivers in the league (Note: These stats were calculated by taking a per game average for the years leading up to their new deal, and then prorating them over a full 16-game season):Cooper’s first four years have been really good which has earned him three trips to the Pro Bowl. He hasn’t produced at the superstar level that Antonio Brown or Odell Beckham Jr. has and there’s a reason why those guys are the two highest paid receivers in the league. Cooper’s also not in the elite tier as this group also contains some of the top receivers in the league. Where he fits in the best is with Jarvis Landry and Brandin Cooks. Landry’s been a catch monster throughout his career, but outside of that, these numbers are very comparable. This puts Cooper in the “strong” category.What we don’t know - how much will he cost?If Cooper’s talent is comparable to Landry and Cooks, then it’s reasonable to expect him to demand a similar contract. Of course those guys got new deals last offseason and the market price for premium receivers has gone up bit. To get a proper estimate, let’s calculate his new salary based on the cap percentage required from players in his tier. Calculating an average of Landry and Cook’s cap % estimates that Cooper’s average annual salary will be 8.83% of the salary cap. With the 2019 cap estimated to be between $187 and $191 million, that projects Cooper’s annual salary to be $16.7 million per year.That’s a hefty price to pay, but players like Cooper aren’t roaming around all over the league. He’s one of the better ones. And you don’t have to convince Cowboys fans just how much he meant to the team. What’s the rush - why not play him under his fifth-year option?The Cowboys aren’t pressed to re-sign Cooper because the Raiders picked up his fifth-year option last offseason. He is under contract for $13.9 million for the 2019 season. A fifth-year option is sorta like a mini-franchise tag for expiring rookie deals. Teams can rent them for another year rather than allow them to hit free agency. The cost of their fifth-year deal is dependent on the position they play and where they were taken in the first round. Top 10 picks get higher compensation than the rest of the players selected on Day 1. Here is a breakdown of the cost for each group:Photo courtesy of Pro Football RumorsCooper’s $13.9 million salary is circled as well as a couple others you might want to keep your eye on for later. Some may wonder, why bother giving him a contract extension right now? Why pull the trigger on upping his cost to $16 million a year when they still have a season where they’re only paying him $14 million?It would be nice if the answer was that the team wants to show good faith and reward players for what they’ve done. It sets a good precedent. While that makes us feel warm and fuzzy, the reality is - the NFL is a business. If the team gives him a long-term deal, it’s because it saves them more money in the long run. Take Zack Martin’s contract, for example. The Cowboys could’ve saved some money last season by playing him under his fifth-year option price, but instead signed him to a six-year deal that bumped up his annual salary by nearly $5 million. While they might’ve gotten savings up front, it would’ve ended up costing them more money in the long run because the market value increases each year. Not only that Randy White Jersey 2019 , but if you stack another All-Pro season on his r茅sum茅, that’s only going to jack up his price. A couple years from now, Martin’s deal will seem like a bargain.And that’s why they’ll give Cooper an extension. If they believe he’s the real deal, then signing him now saves money. Cooper’s mini-slump in Oakland can actually save the Cowboys a little money because his stock may go up after another season in Dallas. If you project Cooper’s production during his 11 games with the Cowboys (nine regular season + two playoff games) over a 16-game season, he moves into the elite category.Numbers like that would cost the Cowboys even more money as he would take up an even larger percentage of the cap space. Furthermore, the 2020 cap is likely to reach $200 million so Cooper’s annual cost would be on the north side of $19 million, making him the highest paid wide receiver in the NFL.The good news is the Cowboys aren’t going to have to pay $19 million for his services, but keeping him won’t be cheap. A quick comparison of their options are as follows:Sign him now: $16.6 million x five years = $83 millionSign him later: $19.3 million x five years = $96.5 millionBy acting now, the Cowboys can save a total of $13.5 million. There is no reason to drag this out. They know what they have in Cooper and securing an legit number one receiver for years to come would be a great achievement for this organization. Good things come to those players who go about their job the right way and produce on the field. Amari’s done exactly that - pay him.Predicted contract: Five years, $82.5 million.Cowboys offseason to-do list:We’ve made three predictions regarding three key players and there are still three more players to go. Stay tuned