SI.com draft analyst Tony Pauline wrote on his blog Monday that the Cowboys are targeting Memphis defensive tackle Dontari Poe at the No. 14 pick in the draft, and Poe is the “apple of their eyes.”
But the Cowboys haven’t scheduled a club-facility visit with Poe, which doesn’t align with their usual pre-draft approach for prospects they’re targeting. Every player Dallas has picked first in the draft since 2005 has visited club headquarters before draft day. They’re usually an open book.
According to Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, however, this is a case of Dallas trying to conceal its fondness for Poe. A source told Hill that the Cowboys haven’t set up a pre-draft visit because they “like him a lot but don’t want to draw attention to him.”
So this is either a smokescreen on top of another smokescreen, an attempt at a reverse smokescreen, or a genuine attempt by Jerry Jones’ team to hide genuine interest.
Got that?