Cowboys Sign Undrafted Free Agents

The official NFL Draft is over now, and the Dallas Cowboys were able to draft 9 players that will hopefully improve their team. But the end of the draft was not the end of finding and signing college players. As soon as the draft was over, Cowboys staff got busy signing college players that were not drafted, but might have enough talent to play in the NFL. Following is a list of 23 players that sources say have signed with the Cowboys. They will attend the rookie mini-camp next week, and probably go to the Cowboys' Training Camp at the end of July -- and perhaps, one or more of them could even make the team.

Chris Whaley (Texas), defensive end
J.C. Copeland (LSU), fullback
Dustin Vaughan (West Texas A&M), quarterback
L'Damian Washington (Missouri), wide receiver
Cody Mandell (Alabama), punter
Brian Clarke (Bloomsburg), guard
Jordan Najvar (Baylor), tight end
Davon Coleman (Arizona State), defensive end
Dontavis Sapp (Tennessee), linebacker
Casey Kreiter (Iowa), long snapper
Chris Boyd (Vanderbilt), wide receiver
Ben Malena (Texas A&M), running back
Ryan Smith (Auburn), safety
Keith Smith (San Jose State), linebacker
Ronald Patrick (South Carolina), guard
Jarrod Pughsley (Akron), offensive lineman
Glasco Martin (Baylor), running back
Evan Wilson (Illinois), tight end
Marvin Robinson (Ferris State), safety
Jocquel Skinner (Bethel), defensive back
Josh Aladenoye (Illinois State), offensive lineman
Joe Windsor (Northern Illinois), defensive end
Andre Cureton (Cincinnati), offensive lineman

Cowboys Sign Lots Of Free Agents

The Dallas Cowboys only drafted six players in this year's NFL draft. While they seem to be quality players (at this point), that's not a lot for the Cowboys. They usually have more picks than that, either through trades or compensation for players signed by other teams. Because of that, Jerry Jones said this year's class of free agents would be a large one.

It looks like Jones wasn't kidding. The Cowboys have signed at least sixteen players to free agent contracts, and they're giving two other players a try-out and may sign one or both of them. Here are the names of the Cowboys free agents (along with their position and school):

Matt Nichols, quarterback (Eastern Washington)

Alfonso Rashaun Greer, wide receiver (Colorado State)

Terrell Hudgins, wide receiver (Elon)

Verran Tucker, wide receiver (California)

Lonyae Miller, running back (Fresno State)

Will Barker, offensive tackle (Virginia)

Mike Tepper, offensive tackle (California)

Chet Teofilo, guard/center (California)

Phil Costa, guard/center (Maryland)

Nick Tow-Arnett, tight end (Minnesota)

Chris Gronkowski, fullback (Arizona)

Junior Aaumavae, nose tackle (Minnesota State-Mankato)

Barry Church, safety (Toledo)

Bryan McCann, defensive back (SMU)

Danny McCray, safety (LSU)

Lorenzo Washington, defensive end (Alabama)

Delbert Alvarado, kicker (South Florida) - try out

Simon Harris, tight end (North Carolina State) - try out

Of course, it's a real long shot for any of these players to still be with the team on opening day of football season. But who knows? One or two of these players may play their way on to the team in training camp and the pre-season games. It has happened before.

For now, these players will get to wear the blue and silver. We'll just have to wait and see if they can earn that star on their helmet.

18 New Cowboy Hopefuls Are Chosen

The 2008 NFL draft is now over, and it looks like the Cowboys have at least done what they wanted to do. They wanted to plug holes at cornerback and running back and get players that can make an impact this next year.

In the first five picks, they chose two running backs (Felix Jones of Arkansas and Tashard Choice of Georgia Tech), two cornerbacks (Mike Jenkins of South Florida and Orlandro Scandrick of Boise State), and a tight end (Martellus Bennett of Texas A and M). These five players stand an excellent chance of both making the team and contributing this next season -- at least on special teams (which needed improvement).

The sixth draftee is a much longer shot to make the team. He is a defensive end who will probably be converted to an outside linebacker (Erik Walden of Middle Tennessee). The Cowboys like this guys work ethic, but they're pretty happy with the linebackers they already have. I guess it comes down to a question of whether he's better than Carpenter or not. I think that's who he's have to beat out to get a spot on the squad.

Yesterday, the Cowboys announced the acquisition of 12 free agents. These are the guys who are really a long-shot to make the team. But having said that, it is not unusual for a free agent or two to work their way onto the team. They are:

Danny Amendola (Texas Tech) wide receiver

Drew Atchison (William and Mary) tight end

Mark Bradford (Stanford) wide receiver

Andrew Brecher (Harvard) offensive tackle

Julius Crosslin (Oklahoma State) fullback

Dowayne Davis (Syracuse) safety

Keon Lattimore (Maryland) running back

Marcus Dixon (Hampton) defensive end

Brandon Hale (Sam Houston State) offensive tackle

Daniel Polk (Midwestern State) wide receiver

Jay Ottovegio (Stanford) punter/kicker

Darrell Robertson (Georgia Tech) defensive end

If I had to guess right now who might make the team out of this dozen, I'd have to put my money on Danny Amendola. He reminds me of a past Cowboy named Bill Bradley in that he's too small and too slow -- all he does is make great plays when his team needs it the most. The guy is just a player.

But this is all just guesswork right now. We really won't know anything until at least the pre-season games. But as a Cowboys "homer", I can always dream can't I?