Dallas Cowboys Mock Draft: 7-round mock with help from ‘The Beast’

With the No. 129th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Cowboys select:

Cory Trice, Cornerback, Purdue

Height: 6’3  Weight: 210lbs

Career Stats: 106 total tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 5 interceptions, 2 touchdowns, 15 passes defended

After last year’s string of injuries at cornerback and the major injury to Anthony Brown and not being able to find someone to fill in the Cowboys made the decision to trade for Pro-Bowl cornerback Stephon Gilmore. But that is just a short-term solution, Dallas needs to find someone that can play opposite Trevon Diggs once Gilmore leaves. They didn’t pick one earlier because of Gilmore but they did come around to taking one now.

Trice is a big cornerback with long arms and the desired quickness and speed you want to see in this position. He’s very active on the field and is always around the football making him a very attractive player to take in the fourth round. He has parts of his game that need work but he can come in and help on passing downs thanks to his height and he can be matched up against tight ends taking away mismatch opportunities for opposing offenses. Oh, and I forgot to mention he has experience playing safety as well, another versatile player for the Cowboys.

Dane Brugler Breakdown:

"Overall, Trice might never be a high-level technician, but he has exceptional size, speed, and change-of-direction skills to be a disruptive cover man both early and late in the rep. He offers position versatility with starting potential in press-man or Cover 3 schemes."

NFL Player Comparison: Patrick Surtain (comparison via Mockdraftable.com)

* Trade Alert * – Cowboys trade the 131st pick to the Patriots for the 135th and 210th pick in the draft.

With the No. 135th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Cowboys select:

Emil Ekiyor Jr., Guard/Center, Alabama

Height: 6’2  Weight: 315lbs

The Cowboys are a team that loves aggressive offensive linemen but what they really value is position flex and after losing yet another left guard in free agency Dallas is in the market for another guard. Looking toward the future with center Tyler Biadasz’s contract expiring soon the Cowboys leaned into finding a player with center and guard experience and found Ekiyor Jr. Until that time Ekiyor Jr. can step in and compete for the starting left guard job.

Looking at Ekiyor Jr. you see a prototypical guard at the NFL level who plays with a nice pad level and is quick to engage defensive tackles. He will need to work on overextending himself and allowing defenders to slip past him but overall he’s someone that has the potential to be a very good player at the next level.

Dane Brugler’s Breakdown:

"Overall, Ekiyor finds himself in compromised positions when his punch hands get off-schedule, but he moves well with the processing and core strength to be effective in multiple schemes. He has NFL starter talent with guard-center versatility."

NFL Player Comparison: Wyatt Davis (comparison via Mockdraftable.com)