Breaking down draft prospects Bleacher Report says Cowboys need to avoid

The 2022 NFL Draft is around the corner and everyone has their opinions about who the Dallas Cowboys should pick throughout the weekend. Jerry Jones himself has admitted a need for offensive line help and the front office, in general, has admitted that the team is putting a huge emphasis on gaining talent in this draft.

But are there people the Cowboys should be avoiding? Bleacher Report thinks so. In a recent article, writer Kristopher Knox detailed three players from three different schools that Dallas should not have on their big board. It’s pretty rare to see an analyst strongly suggest against someone, but if the suggestions keep a team from making mistakes, then it’s worth it.

The reality of the draft is that owners and executives will walk away disappointed in some capacity. The player they wanted gets selected right before. Someone they thought would be a huge success ends up being a flop. Hopefully, if the Cowboys avoid drafting these three players, they can help shy away from some of those post-draft regrets.

After losing Amari Cooper, Cedrick Wilson, La’el Collins, Randy Gregory, and Connor Williams and only gaining James Washington, Dante Fowler, and Ryan Nall, the front office has a lot of work to do in this draft. The pressure is on.

Bleacher Report suggests that the Cowboys should avoid selecting John Metchie, Brandon Smith, and Daxton Hill in the 2022 NFL Draft

Let’s go over these three players and understand why they should be avoided.

John Metchie, WR, Alabama

Metchie is a talented wide receiver, but his list of weaknesses is almost as long as his list of strengths. Those weaknesses include a lack of explosiveness, giving away his routes with his body motions, smaller size, and various drops throughout his career. The Alabama product also suffered a torn ACL in December during the SEC Championship. Dallas already has one wide receiver dealing with ACL recovery and they certainly don’t need another. Metchie seems to think he will be ready for training camp, but the prognosis for Michael Gallup was also overly positive at first, too. Plus, the reality is that if the Cowboys are going to spend a draft pick on a receiver, they need one who can start right away. According to Knox, Metchie may not be available for Week 1 in 2022. The upside of his talent just doesn’t outweigh the potential risk of securing this Alabama receiver.

Brandon Smith, LB, Penn State

It’s hard to imagine not drafting a linebacker from Penn State after the amazing success Dallas had with Micah Parsons. This is another case of a guy who won’t be ready to start right away. The Cowboys need to make sure that at least two of their draft picks can fill in on day one. Brandon Smith still needs a bit more polish. While he is very quick and good at blocking, there are a few glaring weaknesses in the Nittany Lion’s game. He’s not an excellent tackler and has growing to do in the run game – an area where Dallas already struggles. If the Cowboys are going to take a linebacker early (with many other priorities ahead), they need one they know is already developed enough to jump into the lineup.

Daxton Hill, S, Michigan

Even though the team has already re-signed Jayron Kearse and Malik Hooker to address the safety position, there’s certainly nothing wrong with adding a bit more developmental help in a later round. According to Knox, Hill “will take risks and often fails to recover.” That’s certainly not something any team needs in their secondary, especially one whose defensive backs already tend to take risks with ball-hawking at safety and cornerback. This does not mean that Hill isn’t a good safety. It just may be wiser for the Cowboys to take someone a bit more disciplined. There are plenty of other teams who will want to allow Hill to develop in their system.

None of these three players are on the list of official pre-draft invites, but with trades and people getting taken unexpectedly, you never know what can happen on draft weekend. How do you feel about these three players?