Dallas Cowboys: Making sense of these mock drafts

By taking time to review a few different mock draft opinions, you can get an idea of who the Dallas Cowboys could be looking at with their first selection.

Mock drafts are what they are. Anyone’s best guess at what that individual thinks might occur. For the Dallas Cowboys, their draft position may be one of the hardest to mock.

They are not at the top of the draft, where all the excitement and flare happens. They are not at the bottom either, at the mercy of every other team before them.

With the nineteenth overall selection, Dallas is at the back end of the middle. They have to wait their turn but there are still some very intriguing and helpful options available.

When it comes to those who make their living analyzing prospects, there is a known truth as it pertains to the draft. Even though there are 32 first round picks, not all first round picks are deserving of first round draft status.

In a common draft, there is usually anywhere from 15-20 players that are deserving of first round grades. Depending upon your team’s philosophy and draft position, this truth may cause you to move up or trade out of your slot.

The Dallas Cowboys could essentially do both. Thanks to the draft capital of having ten picks as well as a team on the cusp of perennial playoff berths, this is an option. Dallas could mortgage their second round pick to get up into 10-13 range. They could also decide to obtain another second or third round pick and move down or out of round one.

Last Sunday, I took a look at the likely best available picks based on the team’s draft needs. Today, we’ll look at a few mock drafts from the professionals to see what they forecast.

Charley Casserly of NFL.com projects Dallas selecting Alabama defensive tackle Da’Ron Payne at 19^thoverall. This is a solid pick and one I could definitely see the Cowboys making. There were two things that I found quite intriguing about his mock, however.

The first being that he has Florida State safety Derwin James slipping to pick # 17. I firmly believe that if was available at 12, the Cowboys would do a deal to move up. James is one of the three prospects in this draft that I have worthy of such asset allocation.

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The other interesting part of Casserly’s mock is that he has Payne going before fellow Crimson Tide defender Rashaan Evans. He also has the Cowboys passing on guard Will Hernandez and safety Justin Reid. All five of these names I project as possible options as well, making that decision at 19 a difficult one.

Brad Gagnon of The Bleacher Report agrees with Casserly as he also has Dallas selecting Payne and leaving Evans out there. Ironically, his mock has another superior defender, Georgia’s Roquan Smith, falling to the Chargers at 17. Much like James, if Smith is available at 12, expect Dallas to make some calls.

ESPN’s Todd McShay has the Cowboys selecting a defensive tackle as well, however he has Taven Bryan from Florida coming to Big D. Payne went off his board at, you guessed it, 17 and he, too, has Evans still available when Dallas drafts.

Only one mock that I referenced, Will Brinson’s from CBS Sports, has the Cowboys forgoing a defensive player altogether. Brinson has Dallas selecting receiver D.J. Moore from Maryland.

Regarding this selection, not only am I vehemently against it, but no other mock has Moore going this high. In fact, all of the mock drafts only have one receiver being selected before Dallas Picks. Three of those four have Calvin Ridley going as high as ninth and no lower than sixteenth. The other has Courtland Sutton from SMU going sixteenth.

The last remaining mock draft, (ESPN’s Mel Kiper, Jr.) has Dallas selecting Evans, fulfilling the number one need of linebacker.

In case you’re wondering, Kiper has Leighton Vander Esch going 23^rdoverall to New England. Both prospects are on the list 30 who were given an invitation to meet with Dallas pre-draft.

With four of the five mock drafts pointing towards the Cowboys adding talent on the defensive side of the ball, I’d be satisfied with that scenario. Obviously, anything can happen between now and April 26, but it seems we are closing in on a direction.

Next: Will the Cowboys trade up for a WR in round two?

A linebacker still seems like the biggest need. However a dominant interior lineman like Payne could make everyone better. And does Dez Bryant’s recent release push wide receiver further up the needs list for the Cowboys? Until the real draft occurs, we’ll need to continue to use the mocks as a glimpse into the Dallas Cowboys possible future.

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