Dallas Cowboys Draft: A Perfect Three Round Mock?
By Carl Daley
The Dallas Cowboys will have a lot of needs to address as we head into the 2017 NFL Draft. Here is a look at some of the choices they will have to face.
The Dallas Cowboys will need to nail this draft as the team looks to build a roster capable of making a Super Bowl run. If the Cowboys want to do this they will need a little bit of luck and some things to fall their way during the draft. Here are some of the best options the team can hope for heading into the draft.
Perfect Three Round Mock – Round #1
The first round for the Dallas Cowboys can go several different ways. The team could look to trade back with a quarterback needy team preferably still in the first round ie the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints.
If DeShaun Watson or Mitchell Trubinsky is still on the board at 28 the Cowboys will be fielding a ton of trade offers. Trading out of the first round entirely seems like a mistake even if it does net you an extra second round pick.
The most likely outcome could be that the team stays put at 28. They will look to select either a defensive back or a pass rusher with their first pick and that is pretty much set in stone. If Alabama cornerback Marlon Humphrey fell to the end of the first round that would be a pretty big surprise but it is a possibility.
Humphrey would most likely be the best case scenario for Dallas as he is the second best cornerback in the draft. The same could also be said for free safety Malik Hooker. The Ohio State alum would be a Day One starter in the Cowboys defense, however even with his injuries it would be tough to see him fall to the end of the first round.
The name that keeps popping up at 28 is Michigan defensive back/linebacker Jabrill Peppers. Peppers seems to be one of the more likely options for Dallas as his versatility has worked against him in terms of his draft stock.
Peppers would be a hard hitting player in the Cowboys backfield however his number of turnovers in college is a bit concerning.That is why the team may reach for Connecticut safety Obi Melifonwu. He is a true defensive back who has experience playing with Dallas safety Byron Jones.
He would be a bit of a reach considering the players who could still be available and that brings us to the pass rushers. There are only two choices at defensive end that will make sense and should be available, Missouri’s Charles Harris and Michigan’s Taco Charlton.
Between the two of them I would have to give the edge to Harris, he is faster and has better instincts than Charlton. Harris also could play linebacker in a pinch but cannot play inside. Both players have their drawbacks but Harris looks like he has the most upside.
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It is tough to say which player I like better but either one would be a bonus for the Cowboys pass rush. The team lacks a first round pass rusher and either of these guys could be immediate day one starters.
The same could be said about linebackers as UCLA’s Takkarist McKinley and Wisconsin’s T.J. Watt could be terrific selections at the end of the first round. Watt’s injury history is a cause for concern as he has suffered injuries to both knees.
As much as a like him as a player, his bloodline, and his upside, I have to give the edge to Takk as he has proven to be the more productive player. When you take everything into account the choice is fairly simple.
The pass rushers the Cowboys have to pick from are not the elite players like Myles Garrett so why take a player with questions? Peppers would be the best defensive player left on the board and could be a franchise safety for years to come.