last season to fill needs on the roster instead of just drafting the best available players, and it resulted in ending up with two guys (Smith and Schoonmaker) who so far don't look like they'll end up being blue-chip players down the road. (I get that it's entirely possible that Dallas really valued those players highly on their board, it just seemed awfully convenient that those were two positions of need going into last year's draft).

If Dallas feels like Brooks really can be a difference-maker at RB, I'm okay with them taking him in the 2nd round. I think that you can probably let him ease in to the season with Dowdle and some free-agent scrub carrying some of the load early on so they can make sure he's fully healthy. There are a few other players who may be available in the late 2nd round I'd probably prefer - Roger Rosengarten (T from UW), Xavier Legette (WR, S. Carolina) and Braden Fiske (DT from FSU) come to mind, but if they're both gone by then, Brooks would be a fine choice.