Seven, 7-round mock drafts: What happens if Cowboys go WR first?
The Cowboys have afforded themselves the opportunity to go in a myriad of directions during draft weekend. Prudent planning and a shift of offseason strategy had them fill their two biggest roster needs, WR2 and CB2, with outside help. No, they didn’t dabble in veteran free agency; giving a bunch of guaranteed money to players who haven’t contributed to the financial success of their organization is still a big no-no.
The club is now 100% capable of not only going full Best-Player-Available-at-a-Position-of-Need (BPAPN), but instead of having two or three positions to select from in the first round, they actually have six or seven in the 2023 draft. This exercise is meant to go through the dominoes of what happens to their choices in later rounds once that first decision is made.
In Sunday’s Edition, Dallas went offensive line, selecting Tenneessee’s Darnell Wright with the intention to move him inside to left guard. Using Fanspeak’s On the Clock Simulator we showed how that selection, followed by taking a WR in Round 2 saw the cornerback market ravaged. Dallas was still able to come away with what we think is a highly intriguing corner in Round 4.
In Monday’s Edition of the 777 Project, we will investigate the fallout from taking a WR in the first round.
Round 1 Target: Wide Receiver
The Cowboys are good at WR, but they aren’t really. The position group is, save for offensive line which starts five at a time, the deepest on offense.
Things have changed over the years, even in the very recent history. In 2019, Dallas entered Week 1 with just five receivers on the 53-man roster. It moved up to six for the next two seasons and reached seven in 2022.
From Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, Tavon Austin, Randall Cobb and Devin Smith to CeeDee Lamb, Gallup, Noah Brown (PUP in 2019), Jalen Tolbert, Simi Fehoko, KaVonte Turpin and Dennis Houston (whew).
In 2023, Lamb is entering his fourth season and is about to get his fifth-year option activated. Gallup is another year removed from his ACL injury, but he hasn’t been a standout contributor since 2019 and the team must proceed as if he’s a complimentary piece despite the ill-advised contract extension they gave him in 2022. Dallas trading for Brandin Cooks and his six 1,000-yard receiving campaigns in nine seasons allows a three-headed monster again.
The Cowboys reworked Cooks deal into a massively affordable two-year relationship.
Beyond those three, however, are a bunch of question marks which is unideal. The Cowboys have made it clear they feel this is unacceptable. In our National Visit and Interest tracker, the club has shown a ridiculous amount of interest in top-100 targets at this spot.
7 of their 30 visits have been WR
They met with 3 others extensively (1 Dallas Day, 2 private workouts)
They interviewed three others during combine week
Thoughts on the top of the WR class
The Cowboys have shown interest in a ton of wideouts, but which ones are worthy of a first-round pick? This year’s crop isn’t dominant like some other seasons, and in reviewing a ton of them, my opinion is that there are only two players guaranteed of being Day-1, impact players in the league.
WR Jordan Addison, USC
WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio State
The biggest issue is that neither is likely to make it to Dallas at No. 26.
Zay Flowers (BC), Josh Downs (UNC) and Jalin Hyatt (TEN) all have plenty of upside but feel like slot options and if Mike McCarthy’s offense doesn’t change Lamb’s usage dramatically; they don’t feel like great fits for Dallas at the cost of passing by other options.
In other words, there are WRs later who could present as much value to the Cowboys as these pigeon-holed prospects would. Meanwhile, Quentin Johnston flashes a few warning lights as a guy who may not be all he seems due to not using his physical gifts the way one expects.
First-Round Options
Seeing either Addison and Smith-Njigba make it into the 20s is going to take a minor miracle; it took 12 different simulations for this to occur and have either reach within reasonable trade-up striking distance.
Reasonable meaning, Dallas may be more inclined to trade up this year, but giving up resources would have to make sense for both sides. The Ravens at No. 22 was the first target to accept a trade proposal we felt comfortable offering.
30 Visitors still on the board to consider:
CB Joey Porter, Jr., Penn State
WR Josh Downs, UNC
WR Zay Flowers, BC
TE Darnell Washington, Georgia
Edge Will McDonald, Iowa State
WR Jalin Hyatt, Tennessee
CB Emmanuel Forbes, Mississippi State
Trade with Ravens
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Dallas sends 1.26, 2.58, to Baltimore for 1.22, 3.86, 4.124
1.22 Ohio State WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
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JSN is quite simply, the prototypical weapon for a Mike McCarthy offense. His intelligence is augmented by his tremendous footwork and body control which makes him an absolute menace to corners trying to decipher where his routes are taking him.
Imagine having an offense with two Lambs. They play differently, but their athletic symmetry is uncanny.
Domino Effect of taking WR at 22
This is obviously compounded by trading away the second-round pick, but things got pretty dire following the move up.
Cornerbacks gone by 86
Devon Witherspoon, ILL
Christian Gonzalez, ORE
Joey Porter, Jr., PSU
Cam Smith, South Carolina
Deonte Banks, UMD
Emmanuel Forbes, Miss St
DJ Turner, Michigan
Kelee Ringo, UGA
Clark Phillips, Utah
Tyrique Stevenson, Miami
Julius Brents, Kansas State
Cory Trice, Purdue
Darius Rush, South Carolina
Still on the board:
Clark Phillips, Utah
Eli Ricks, Alabama
Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, TCU
30 Visitors gone by 86
WR Quentin Johnston
LB Trenton Simpson
WR Josh Downs
Edge Will McDonald
WR Zay Flowers
WR Jalin Hyatt
OG Steve Avila
CB Emmanuel Forbes
WR Rashee Rice
LB Drew Sanders
CB Tyrique Stevenson
TE Darnell Washington
DT Jaquelin Roy
Options at 86
30 Visitors Remaining
Edge DeMarvion Overshown, Texas
3.86 OL Joe Tippman, Wisconsin
Wisconsin offensive lineman Joe Tippmann (75)
Tippmann is an absolute mauler and has already said he would be interested in playing left guard. Dallas drafting him allows them to play their Top 5 lineman as he could also stay at his original spot as a center and upgrade from Tyler Biadasz who was a down-line replacement Pro Bowler.
Dallas having six starter-level players in their OL group (Tyler Smith, Tyron Smith, Biadasz, Zack Martin, Terence Steele) is the bare minimum and Tippman gets them there. New OL coach Mike Solari likely wants to shop for some groceries of his own and Tippman is a good jump off.
3.90 LB/Edge DeMarvion Overshown, Texas
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That’s right, edge. There’s a rumor floating that teams believe there’s an angle to having Overshown being a part-time edge rusher. It’s certainly an intriguing possibility as Dallas has already successfully converted Micah Parsons in that way.
4.124: Ole Miss RB Zach Evans
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Evans is an intriguing running back option in a deep class. He is a bell-cow possibility who has the speed to break away and the power to get short yardage.
4.129: Coastal Carolina DT Jerrod Clark
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Clark is a 82.8% attribute match with Johnathan Hankins, who Dallas re-signed to a one-year deal this offseason.
Trade
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Trade sends 2024 4th-round pick to Tampa for 5.153
5.153: Cincinnati LB Ivan Pace, Jr.
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5.169: USC Guard Andrew Vorhees
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Trade
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Cowboys give 6.35 + 2025 fifth-round pick for 5.41
5.176: Michigan TE Luke Schoonmaker
Michigan tight end Luke Schoonmaker
7.244: Kansas State RB Deuce Vaughn
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Full Haul
