Cowboys take massive risks in 7-round 2024 NFL mock draft

Because of the way they've been strapped in NFL free agency, the Dallas Cowboys have backed themselves into a bit of a corner in the 2024 NFL Draft. Dallas lost some key players on both sides of the ball in free agency, perhaps none more notable than longtime starting left tackle Tyron Smith. How are the Cowboys going to replace him? How are they going to replace Tony Pollard?

The Cowboys have seven picks in the 2024 NFL Draft. They're picking 24th overall in the first round and they won't likely be able to get one of the top-tier tackle prospects in the class. The Cowboys might need to take some risks in the 2024 Draft if they're not going to make a move up the board.

What kind of risks could they take?

1. 24th overall: Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma

There's inherent risk in the NFL Draft no matter what, but then you start talking about taking a guy who started just 15 games in four years at the college level. Not only that, but Tyler Guyton played the right tackle position at Oklahoma, so the Cowboys would be betting on a pure projection here. It's wild to think that someone like Amarius Mims has played even less, but the name of the game in the NFL Draft is rolling the dice, and when you roll the dice on traits, it's not always a terrible idea.

The question is whether or not those traits are translatable, and Guyton has translatable traits in spades.

Having an athlete like Guyton on the left side is what you want, but the Cowboys are also going to have to be willing to live with the growing pains.