The Cowboys three biggest needs heading into the 2021 draft

What are the biggest positions of need for the Dallas Cowboys in 2021?

The Dallas Cowboys are currently projected to get a top-five draft pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. This year has been plagued with injuries and poor play for Dallas for much of the season thus far. Both sides of the ball have struggled and the team has several glaring holes that it needs to address this offseason.

Some of those needs will look less glaring with the return of key players next season like quarterback Dak Prescott and left tackle Tyron Smith. However, this year has highlighted that America’s Team is in desperate need of help at least a handful of positions.

While it is impossible to know at this point exactly where the team will be drafting come draft night it seems safe to assume that Dallas will be making a selection early in the night (unless they trade down).

There are a lot of interesting and very talented players in this years’ draft that will be worth watching over the next couple of months. Fans of Dallas should probably have their eyes on at least of few of them as possible first-round selections.

However, perhaps even more important than specific players are the positions that the Cowboys should focus on during the course of the draft. Here are the three biggest positions of need for the Dallas Cowboys heading into the 2021 NFL Draft.

3. Offensive Line

The Dallas Cowboys offensive line has long been the strength of the team. However, due to several significant injuries and the unexpected retirement of the team’s star center Travis Frederick, it has now become one of the organization’s biggest liabilities.

The Cowboys o-line headed into 2020 coming off of an impressive season. The unit allowed only 23 sacks in 2019 which was the second-lowest mark in the entire league. However, the group was headlined by aging players like Frederick and injury-prone players like Smith (who is both aging and injury-prone) and right tackle La’el Collins.

That inconvenient truth meant that the team was going to be forced to confront this deficiency at some point in the near future. However, the season-ending injuries of both of the organizations’ starting tackle’s expedited this concern.

The Cowboys should feel confident that getting back their starting tackles will lead to improved play, but with seven-time Pro Bowl tackle Smith turning 30 soon it would probably be a good time for them to address this growing problem. It should also be mentioned that rookie center Tyler Biadasz showed flashes of promise this season before he suffered a hamstring injury against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

America’s Team potentially high draft pick might mean they will be able to nab offensive lineman Penei Sewell out of Oregon who is widely considered to be one of the most talented players in this years’ draft class. Sewell would serve as a worthy successor to Smith and allow the team to continue to protect Prescott’s blind spot moving forward.

However, if the organization decides to trade down or miraculously starts winning games again USC offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker and Ohio State’s Wyatt Davis would also make suitable picks as well. The team could also hope Tenessee lineman Trey Smith or another top-rated player at this position falls to them in the second round.

Overall, this draft class has many good prospects along the offensive line and the Dallas Cowboys would be served well to reinvigorate a unit that has been the backbone of the team for nearly a decade. The team should focus on trying to find a replacement for Smith and someone to play opposite of the team’s star guard Zack Martin.