Cowboys add fireworks on offense in 7-round 2024 mock draft

Round 7, Pick 242: Julian Pearl, OT, Illinois

With their final pick in this mock draft, the Cowboys add Julian Pearl from Illinois. The 6-6, 315-pound Pearl was a starter at left tackle over the past two seasons for the Fighting Illini. He also has some experience on the right side, even playing guard early in his career, making him a candidate to be the future swing tackle.

Pearl proved to be a solid blocker in the ground game but will need to improve his pass-blocking in order to make it at the next level. Dallas did well to develop Terence Steele, who was undrafted out of Texas Tech in 2020, so they should be given the benefit of the doubt here as they look for another player to develop. Steele, who was undrafted, struggled in 2023 but he did sign a massive extension before that season after developing into a quality starter on the right side.

Of course, waiting this long to add a tackle means the Cowboys will have to either re-sign Tyron Smith or possibly land another left guard and kick Tyler Smith out to the blindside. Ideally, the Cowboys would find a replacement left tackle this offseason since Tyron Smith can't stay on the field. But they haven't been too aggressive in that pursuit, and after using a Round 1 pick on an offensive lineman, it's not likely they will be using another pick until the third

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