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If the season ended today, Dallas would have the 15th overall pick. It would be the Cowboys’ first top-15 pick since drafting Micah Parsons 12th overall in 2021.
Judging by what we’ve seen this season and how little Dallas has recently done in free agency, there are some areas that seem like a good bet to be possible first-round targets for the Cowboys. The current top five would be defensive tackle, running back, offensive line, cornerback and wide receiver.
Factoring all of that in, we reached out to Dane Brugler, The Athletic’s NFL Draft expert, to get his thoughts on a player at each of those position groups who could be a fit for Dallas around Pick 15. We’ve trimmed the conversation down to the following responses from Brugler on each player.
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1. Defensive tackle
Expected to be back next season: Mazi Smith
Possible key losses in the offseason: Osa Odighizuwa
Potential first-round target: Mason Graham, Michigan, 6-3, 320
Brugler: He’s much more disruptive than what Mazi Smith was in college and what he’s been so far in the NFL. Graham was a five-sport athlete in high school, including a heavyweight champion wrestler. You can see it with the way he plays. Leverage is a premium for him. He has natural leverage and he knows how to win. He’s got twitch in his upper half, so using his hands, getting underneath blockers, and he’s relentless with the way he plays. He’s up and down the line. He’s a guy that has explosiveness. It’s controlled explosiveness. He’s not playing out of control in any way.
He’s not the longest player. That’s maybe the biggest knock on him. But he skillfully destructs blocks. That’s strength, quickness, motor, play recognition. I think he’s a versatile interior guy. If you want him to line up at nose tackle, he could do it. He’s not the best versus double teams but he’s a natural three-technique. When you think of some of the top three-techniques to recently come out, Graham isn’t Quinnen Williams (third overall pick by the Jets in 2019), but he projects as an above average starter and you love his floor. None of these guys are bust-proof. You really like his floor as an NFL starter and a guy that’s going to be a quality defensive lineman for you.
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2. Running back
Expected to be back next season: There could be a complete overhaul of the position group.
Possible key losses in the offseason: Rico Dowdle
Potential first-round target: Ashton Jeanty, Boise State, 5-9, 215
Brugler: I think you could make the argument that after Travis Hunter, Jeanty is the best player in the draft. Obviously positional value and drafting a running back — that’ll be something that every team looks at a little bit differently. A lot of teams don’t have a need at running back. The ones that do have a need, they’ll be split on whether or not they feel comfortable drafting one that early. Jeanty and where he falls will be very similar to the conversations we had when Bijan Robinson was coming out. We’re trying to figure out: Where in the first round is he going? He ended up going top 10, so Jeanty could absolutely go in the top 10, but there’s still a high likelihood that he’s on the board when the Cowboys pick as well. He’d be a hard guy to pass on because of how dynamic he is.
He’s built low to the ground. He has exceptional strength. He runs like he’s doused in vaseline. Anything less than a strong wrapped tackle isn't going to get him on the ground. He’s just so elusive. He can cut, accelerate. His contact balance is exceptional. In terms of him as a pass catcher, that’s what I really think separates him as well. It’s kind of like LaDainian Tomlinson. Yeah, he’s a really good runner, but then you add in the pass-catching element and that just adds another way that he can beat you and another way that defenses really have to game plan for you. What he’s done this past year with the big plays and the broken tackles, that’s going to translate to the NFL.
If he’s still on the board for the Cowboys, I think he would be tough to pass up. At the same time, I understand if they feel like they need to go with a different position. The other thing that factors into this too is this is a deep running back class. You could argue it’s the strongest position in this draft class. So passing on Jeanty to get another quality running back on Day 2 is something that I think a lot of teams will consider.