Welcome to the eighth annual edition of my DRAFTPLEX featured content series, Drafting Dallas! In this exercise, I assume front office duties to mock draft the full seven rounds for my favorite team, the Dallas Cowboys, using my DRAFTPLEX Board and the current official draft order.
In previous years, this has been, more often than not, a fun exercise in team building — an opportunity to explore the board, connect the dots, and craft a scenario that serves to address a priority need or two, identify potential upgrades, and churn the depth at the bottom of the roster.
But, make no mistake about it, with the way the Cowboys have operated this offseason, be it by circumstance or by choice, this edition of Drafting Dallas is defined by plugging holes — filling the significant vacancies across the depth chart created by a mass exodus of popular starters, valuable reserves, and quality role players who will no longer be wearing the star in 2024, headlined by the likes of Tyron Smith, Tony Pollard, and Tyler Biadasz on offense and Leighton Vander Esch, Johnathan Hankins, and Dorance Armstrong on defense. The organization subsequently compounded the losses through their limited participation in the free-agent market, signing only two outside veterans in linebacker Eric Kendricks and running back Royce Freeman.
The front office has also put itself in the uncomfortable position of approaching this draft with franchise-altering decisions looming, with Dak Prescott only under contract for 2024, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons due for massive extensions, and Mike McCarthy and his staff effectively coaching for their jobs. Add to that a roster that could see substantial turnover again next offseason, and the Dallas Cowboys could look very, very different in 2025 both in construction and competitiveness.
To that end, this edition of Drafting Dallas was perhaps my most challenging effort of the series to date. Are the Cowboys operating lean, honing their focus on competing in 2024 while knowing they must attempt to do more with less? Or is the front office “all in” towards building for the future, letting the chips fall where they may this season as they weigh decisions that will affect the team for the next three to five years or more?
Or is it both?
How they proceed with their selections on Thursday night, Friday night, and Saturday will be telling. In the meantime, I’ve done my best to view this draft through those competing lenses to present what I believe is a realistic scenario that could play out based on my personal evaluations, my impressions of pre-draft reports, and how the board may fall.
With that in mind, let’s go on the clock with Drafting Dallas 2024!
Round 1 | Pick 24
Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma
The future of the left tackle position has been a topic of conversation, if not consternation, for several years now with the Cowboys consistently banking on having Tyron Smith available, regularly having to scramble when he wasn’t, and not seeing a potential successor emerge thus far from a slew of mid-round OT selections over the past several years. #77 is now no longer with the team, and with the position left uncovered in free agency, Dallas enters the draft with a desperate need and a sense of urgency to select a new starter.
Of course, there’s also the lingering argument that the Cowboys already have a solution on the roster in the form of All-Pro left guard Tyler Smith. #73 kicked out to tackle as a rookie and performed well there, but that doesn’t appear to be the plan moving forward.
So, I look for the Cowboys to prioritize left tackle with their first-round selection, with a decision that likely comes down to Oklahoma’s Tyler Guyton and Arizona’s Jordan Morgan. Guyton is more physically impressive and may be viewed as having the higher ceiling, while Morgan is more experienced and may be viewed as more pro-ready.
Going back to the thought about drafting for now or for the future, I have them leaning towards Guyton as the balance between the two. While he needs seasoning and will require an adjustment period as he moves from right to left tackle, the Cowboys make this pick with the confidence that he can make the transition smoothly and the conviction that the offense can weather any early struggles.
Other considerations:
Graham Barton, OL, Duke
Jordan Morgan, OL, Arizona
Edgerrin Cooper, LB, Texas A&M
Round 2 | Pick 56
Jonathon Brooks, RB, Texas
Two seasons ago, the Cowboys had an enviable complementary balance at running back between Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard. Elliott was cut for financial reasons last offseason and Pollard allowed to depart in free agency for the same just a year later, leaving the team with an unproven, inexperienced room heading into the draft.
Considering the returning group of Rico Dowdle, Malik Davis, Deuce Vaughn, and Hunter Luepke boasts less than 200 combined career carries between them and the late signing of veteran Royce Freeman does nothing to tamper the immediate need for a bonafide starter in the backfield, the Cowboys expect to be among the handful of teams targeting a running back in the early rounds.
Thus, it makes a lot of sense that the team has been connected to Texas’ Jonathon Brooks, a fringe first-round runner who projects to be available at a discount due to a knee injury suffered late in his final college season. When you consider the front office’s history of chasing value in the second round with “Blue Star Special” targets and the fact that, conveniently enough, team doctor Dan Cooper performed the surgery to repair Brooks’ torn ACL, the signs point to Dallas being a potential suitor for the former Longhorn.
At this stage, there don’t appear to be any concerns with Brooks recovering in time to see meaningful action to start the season, but should he need time to ramp up, I see the Cowboys making this pick being comfortable with the idea of platooning the position temporarily until he’s ready to go.
Other considerations:
Junior Colson, LB, Michigan
Trey Benson, RB, Florida State
Round 3 | Pick 87
Trevin Wallace, LB, Kentucky
Last year, the play and the plan at linebacker was less than ideal, to put it mildly. The Cowboys lost promising rookie DeMarvion Overshown to a torn ACL in the preseason and lost veteran starter Leighton Vander Esch to what turned out to be a career-ending neck injury early in the season, leaving the position effectively decimated. Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn tried being resourceful by slotting in safeties, tapping into the practice squad, and even rotating in Micah Parsons, but the deficiencies of the roster could only be masked for so long and the soft middle of the defense was far too often exposed by the end of the season.
Following Quinn’s exit for the head coaching job with the Commanders, the Cowboys have turned to former coordinator Mike Zimmer to call the defense in 2024. With Zimmer’s arrival also came the only outside free-agent signing of consequence this offseason, veteran linebacker Eric Kendricks, who started for Zimmer during his head coaching stint with the Vikings and was productive last year for the Chargers.
With Kendricks in the building, Overshown coming back from injury, and regular starter Damone Clark also returning, the Cowboys look to be in better shape at linebacker, on paper at least, heading into the summer.
Still, you have to think they’re not interested in being caught in a similar situation again, which leads me to believe linebacker is a position of strong consideration in the early to middle rounds. Among the names Dallas has been linked to is Kentucky’s Trevin Wallace, an athletic second-level defender with sideline-to-sideline range, downfield coverage ability, and the speed and physicality for downhill pursuit. Wallace does have room for development and refinement, though, so his initial contributions could be in subpackages and on special teams to start, before taking on more of a down-to-down role on defense later this season or next.
Other considerations:
T’Vondre Sweat, DT, Texas
Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, OC, Georgia
Round 5 | Pick 174
McKinnley Jackson, DT, Texas A&M
The Cowboys drafted Mazi Smith in the first round last April, viewing the massive Michigan man as a space-eating 1-technique defensive tackle while also noting an untapped potential as a pass rusher. The latter thought would seem to be the reason he proceeded to shed the bulk that made him successful as a run-stuffer in college, resulting in him being ineffective at both as a rookie. The Cowboys will be looking for him to return to form this season as he takes over for veteran Johnathan Hankins, who signed with Seattle, alongside Osa Odighizuwa up front.
That said, the true DT depth chart only includes Mazi, Osa, and journeyman Carl Davis, so depth remains an issue. And with a hallmark of Zimmer defenses being a strong middle, odds are that another big body gets added to the mix on Saturday, if not sooner.
A name to watch on Day 3 for Dallas either here or with a reasonable climb of the board is Texas A&M’s McKinnley Jackson, who tipped the scales at 326 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine and plays with a combination of strength and explosion that could prove valuable as part of the DT rotation.
Other considerations:
Beaux Limmer, OC, Arkansas
Round 6 | Pick 216 (compensatory)
Matt Goncalves, OL, Pitt
One unaddressed need thus far for Dallas is center, where a first-round selection remains a possibility, but is not the path in this scenario. The Cowboys do have Brock Hoffman on the roster and may be planning to give him the first crack at earning the starting role, or they could look at trying out T.J. Bass in the middle after he impressed at guard as a rookie. There are also a number of center prospects Dallas could consider in this range, although the opportunity to come away with an upgrade-level talent over previous starter Tyler Biadasz will have likely passed.
However, for a team that appreciates both position flex and value, a dark horse candidate for the competition at center could be a versatile lineman like Pitt’s Matt Goncalves, who missed most of his final college season and much of the pre-draft process due to a toe injury. Goncalves would bring experience at both left and right tackle and is reported to have had conversations with teams about kicking inside to both guard and center.
Evaluations on Goncalves appear to vary, both by position and by grade, so his eventual placement in the draft order will be a mystery until his name is actually called, but as a tackle, I have him potentially being in range of Dallas here. And if they were to land an eventual starter or multi-positional swing lineman from a Day 3 pick, it would be quite the return on the investment.
Round 7 | Pick 233 (via Las Vegas Raiders)
Chigozie Anusiem, CB, Colorado State
Round 7 | Pick 244
Myles Cole, EDGE, Texas Tech
With their seventh-round picks, like most teams, I could see the Cowboys targeting prospects with developmental traits and special teams value, most likely on defense where there should be roster spots up for grabs at the bottom of the depth charts at cornerback and edge rusher, especially with a new defensive coordinator.
Colorado State’s Chigozie Anusiem is a physical, height-weight-speed cornerback prospect who offers press-man and zone coverage experience, as well as the temperament and tackling ability for run support. His path to the active roster would likely be as a special teams contributor on the kickoff and punt teams to start.
Texas Tech’s Myles Cole is height-weight-speed edge prospect with exceptional length who offers inside-outside flex as a down lineman across the defensive front, as well as experience as a standup rusher. As more of a developmental project than a rotation-ready contributor, Cole could likewise find a home on special teams early, where coordinator John Fassel would aim to leverage his length and power on the field goal and punt block teams.
Jason Pruett
DRAFTPLEX