When will the Dallas Cowboys pick in the 2023 NFL Draft?
By Jerry Trotta
The Dallas Cowboys’ season came to an end Sunday night. There wasn’t a huge talent discrepancy between Dallas and San Francisco, but the team’s biggest roster holes, particularly at wide receiver, came home to roost in the loss.
For the 27th season in a row, the Cowboys offseason will start before the NFC Championship Game. It’s the longest streak in the NFL, and folks are ready to move on from the defeat and shift their attention to how the front office could improve the roster and gear up for another potential playoff run in 2023.
Free agency speculation will take centerstage initially, but NFL Draft will consume the discourse surrounding Dallas before you know it.
Following Sunday’s Divisional Round loss, the Cowboys are officially locked in to the No. 26 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Cowboys own the No. 26 overall pick in the 2023 draft.
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) January 23, 2023
2023 NFL Draft order: Cowboys own the No. 26 overall pick.
As of this writing, the Cowboys have six total picks in the 2023 draft. They have one pick each in the first, second (No. 58 overall), third (No. 90 overall), fourth (No. 127), fifth (No. 159) and seventh rounds (No. 223). The only selection missing is their sixth-rounder, which they traded to the Raiders for Johnathan Hankins.
The team could also receive compensatory picks for free agents they lost last offseason, including Randy Gregory, Connor Williams, and Cedrick Wilson. That would give Dallas extra ammunition in Rounds 4-6.
One thing is for sure, though, and that is if Dallas’ 2023 class is anything like the 2022 class, the Cowboys will have hit a home run.
First-round pick Tyler Smith committed two penalties against the 49ers, but he was solid otherwise in the game and showed real promise all year. Smith is the franchise’s left tackle of the future, but could play left guard in 2023 if Tyron Smith, who missed most of the year with an injury, reclaims his spot at LT.
Tyler Smith deserves so much credit for how quickly he adapted to the speed of the NFL. His timing and technique were wildly inconsistent in college - and he made a huge jump in just one year.
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) January 19, 2023
The Cowboys OL coaches deserve a ton of credit also. https://t.co/OIFCjcMhiq
Beyond Smith, second-round DE Sam Williams, fourth-round TE Jake Ferguson, fifth-round cornerback DaRon Bland, and fifth-round linebacker Damone Clark all played big roles as rookies and have bright futures with the club.
There’s plenty of time to speculate what Dallas should do with their first-rounder, but cornerback and wide receiver will surely top everyone’s wishlist.
As was the case with Tyler Smith, the Cowboys trust their evaluation and scouting process and will draft players based on their draft board. Smith fit their need for an offensive linemen and he topped their big board at the time.
It really is a shock to the mind going from talking about a potential NFC Championship Game appearance to the draft in a 24-hour span, but such is life as a fan of the Cowboys.
