Dallas Cowboys had high second round grade on Connor McGovern

The Dallas Cowboys shocked with their third round selection of offensive guard Connor McGovern. Now it’s been revealed why he was their best player available.

Without a first round selection, it was even more important that the Dallas Cowboys get their Day Two selections right. And with their second round pick, the Cowboys took defensive tackle Trysten Hill out of Central Florida.

The selection of Hill wasn’t entirely unexpected as defensive tackle was a projected need for the Cowboys, especially considering the fact former third rounder Maliek Collins is in the final year of his rookie deal. Plus the defensive line struggled against the run in their playoff matchup against the Los Angeles Rams last season.

But the third round selection of Penn State offensive guard Connor McGovern was a shock. The Cowboys figured to have plenty of offensive line depth going into the draft. And the biggest question mark along the O-line, which was who would start at left guard, had three different candidates already on the depth chart. Those players being 2018 second rounder Connor Williams, last year’s starting center Joe Looney and another former second rounder, Xavier Su’a-Filo.

So using one of the Cowboys’ precious few high draft picks on an already stocked position made little to no sense. But the explanation came soon enough. McGovern was simply the best player available when the Cowboys’ number was called.

And recently released footage from the Cowboys’ war room revealed just how much of a value Dallas believed McGovern was at the 90th overall pick late in the third round.

On the 2019 Dallas Cowboys Draft Special, behind the scenes footage revealed a mad scramble when the Cowboys were on the clock in the third round. Dallas was presented with multiple trade down options. One scenario would involved them only moving down three spots and getting an extra seventh rounder as compensation.

Another possible trade offer had Dallas moving down to the end of the third round and receiving both a fifth and a sixth round pick as compensation, apparently from the Baltimore Ravens.

In the end, it was owner and general manager Jerry Jones who made the final call to go ahead and draft McGovern. The footage revealed that the Cowboys actually had a high second round grade on the Penn State prospect. Offensive line coach Marc Colombo celebrated the pick remarking “he’s a stud, man“. You can see the war room footage for yourself below.

The Dallas Cowboys were able to go with the best player available approach in the third round simply because their front office did such a great job in free agency signing numerous veterans to fill the holes on their roster. And if Connor McGovern is able to live up to his high draft grade, the Cowboys may have stole one in the third.