Yes, I know, we just finished an insanely long NFL draft season here on SB Nation Dallas. For those of you who find mock drafts tiresome, the last thing you'd like to think about is what might happen a year from now in the 2012 NFL Draft. For you draft-obsessed fans, it's never too early to start looking ahead. ESPN's Todd McShay is with you, which is why he filed his initial '12 mock draft earlier this week. Here's the position and a potential player that McShay identified as a possible scenario for the Dallas Cowboys next spring.
↵↵↵Dallas Cowboys
↵2010 record: 6-10 | Needs:DE, S, CB, ILB, C
↵Cliff Harris*, CB, Oregon
↵Harris has a lot of work to do as a corner, but few individuals in college football show more explosiveness and big-play ability than he does. Harris is also one of the most dangerous return men in the nation.
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San Diego Chargers
For a team that finished 31st in passing touchdowns allowed, many believed the Cowboys would focus on improving their pass defense this past weekend. Not necessarily in the first round when, as expected, Tyron Smith was still on the board and taken by Jerry Jones. But it was a bit of a shock to see Dallas not take a CB in the proceeding rounds.
↵The Cowboys definitely filled some needs in this year's draft, but shoring up the secondary wasn't exactly one of them. Dallas didn't draft a defensive back until the fifth round when they selected Josh Thomas out of the University of Buffalo. Terrance Newman and his hefty contract are still in Big-D, but without talented players waiting in the pipeline to take his spot, it's unlikely that Newman will be playing for another team in '11. There's the possibility that Jones looks to free agency -- whenever that may be -- to try to improve the secondary. But if that doesn't materialize, McShay could be spot on with his assessment that Dallas will be utilizing their first round selection a year from now on a blue chip cover corner.
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