Dallas Cowboys First Round Mock Draft: Pass Rusher Wanted

The NFL’s official website mocks a pass rusher to the Dallas Cowboys with their first selection in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before. The Dallas Cowboys need a pass rusher. And as their front office refuses to find a quality one in free agency, Dallas is expected to once again look to the draft to find him.

In 2014, the Cowboys traded up in the second round to select Boise State’s DeMarcus Lawrence. The following year, Dallas found top-ten level talent Randy Gregory out of Nebraska sitting in their laps at the 60th overall pick, also in the second round. Then in 2016, the Cowboys opted to wait until the top end of the fourth round to add the highly-athletic Charles Tapper to their roster.

Unfortunately, none of the above defensive ends have turned out to be that critical disruptive force long-time Cowboys pass rusher DeMarcus Ware once was.

After a foot injury essentially red-shirted his first season in Dallas, Lawrence went on to lead the Cowboys with 8.0 sacks in 2015. But a four-game suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy limited his effectiveness last season, posting only 11 total tackles and one sack in nine games. And a second offseason back surgery in as many years doesn’t bode well for the 24-year old’s future health.

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Gregory’s issues have been well documented. After several failed drug tests and multiple suspensions, the 24-year old has played a total of 14 games in two years. He’s recorded just one sack in that span. Now suspended for the entire 2017 season (and possibly longer), it’s a toss up whether Gregory will ever play another down in the NFL.

Despite being a mid-round selection, the Cowboys pass rushing hopes laid squarely on the young shoulders of Oklahoma’s Tapper last year. But the hyper-athletic defender that ran an incredibly 4.59 forty at the Scouting Combine despite his 6-3, 271 pound frame, was mysteriously absent through the team’s offseason training programs.

It was later revealed that Tapper had broken his back and suffered a setback during his rehabilitation. He was subsequently place on Injured Reserve, ending his rookie campaign before it even began. Now declared full healthy, Tapper hopes to show what he can do for the Cowboys in 2017.

Maybe the ultimate answer for the Cowboys is to draft a pass rusher with their first round selection. It can be argued that Dallas hasn’t done so since drafting Ware back in 2005. Although they did trade up to draft Purdue linebacker Anthony Spencer in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft.

Because of their success last season, the Cowboys own the 28th overall selection in the first round of this year’s draft. And the league’s official website has Dallas mocked to draft themselves a pass rusher at that very spot.

"Derek Barnett – DE, Tennessee: Dallas has taken shots at finding upper-echelon talent on the edge, but for the most part has missed. Barnett isn’t as twitched-up as Randy Gregory, but he’s strong, productive and consistent. – Lance Zierlein, NFL Media draft analyst via NFL.com"

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Barnett has been a consistently great player for the Volunteers. In his three seasons at Tennessee the 6-3, 257 pound defensive end has racked up 198 tackles, 52.0 tackles for a loss and 32.0 sacks. Described by CBS Sports draft expert Dane Brugler as not an elite athlete, Barnett excels more due to his technique, persistent effort and overall awareness. Sounds like a Rod Marinelli guy to me. But so did the last three.

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