It is just a guess as to what positions will be priority, but I’ll take a stab at it:
- At RB, if they let Elliott go and sign Pollard, they’ll definitely be looking to get a starting caliber RB at some point in the top 3 or 4 rounds. If they keep both (I hope they don’t) they’ll maybe go late round RB or UDFA. If they let both go, I would expect a RB taken somewhere in the first couple of rounds. I would probably tag Pollard, cut Zeke loose and draft a guy like Spears from Tulane.
- WR is a position that I expect them to look at fairly early. If they sign a free agent WR like OBJ, I’d expect something like a 3rd round stab at this position. With no FA WR, it could be first round. If not first, then likely 2nd.
- At TE, if they let Shultz walk, they will probably go pretty early (2nd-3rd rd) with a TE. I don’t see a first round TE unless they really love the guy and he is clearly the BPA. If that happens with a guy like Mayer, Washington or Kincaid, then I could see it, but we don’t know how highly the team grades those guys. With the team so focused on getting the run game going with Solari (great hire), I could see them really valuing a guy like Mayer or Washington. It will be interesting to see if they bring those guys in on 30 visits.
- OL: I don’t expect them to go early unless they have a real high grade on an interior player (read: BPA) and he is inexplicably available later than the team expects. I could be wrong here, but I think they’re pretty happy with their IOL guys. I think they like Farniok better than the fans do. If something crazy happens like OC Schmitz being available at our 2nd round pick, I think that might tempt them into doing it, but I don’t see this high up on the list. I also think they’ll be fine with the OT’s they have, provided things are going okay with Steele’s recovery.
- CB is an area where I could see them getting by with Diggs/Bland on the outside and Lewis/Mukuamu in the slot… but I do think this is a position where they could easily pull the first round trigger on. I think they’d rather have Bland on the inside with a high level player on the outside opposite Diggs, assuming a player they like at 26 is there, which there probably will be because this is a terrific CB class. There could be another player at 26 that is just so much value that they can’t pass him up (Bijan Robinson for instance) but I half expect CB to be the pick.
- DT is a position where I feel like Quinn has helped the front office evolve. I do think if the right player was there they would use 26 on a DT… but I simply don’t really see a DT that is a good candidate for that. I would be really surprised if they ended up with a first round DT. The second round is a possibility but again, I’m not sure there will be a good candidate there. This might be an ideal spot to spend a little money in free agency. I don’t think it would be Payne… but maybe a mid range DT if one is available.
- On the edge, I really don’t see a big need there, particularly if they re-sign Fowler, which I hope they do. However, they value edge rushers so highly that I feel like they’d pull the trigger on one if there is one there they love. Who that might be, I don’t know. Maybe Nolan Smith, who I personally feel like is a really good player, but I’m not sure how the team views him. This is a position they like to spend high picks on.
- LB is tricky because we have no idea if they’ll bring LVE back or not. If they do, this obviously won’t be a pressing need, but if a guy like Drew Sanders also offers some edge rushing capabilities, then they will value him more. Quinn can scheme up some pass rushing opportunities like he does with Micah, which is really nice to have, but is less necessary if they bring back a guy like Fowler, even though it is technically a different position. If the team brings back LVE and Fowler, I would think a guy like Sanders might not really be needed. With either one leaving, I could justify a guy like Sanders. A guy like Trenton Simpson, I like although I do wonder about his instincts for the position. However, Quinn, if he needs speed and coverage out of a LB (like Simpson has), will not hesitate to just use a big DB like Kearse or Mukuamu at LB… so I’m not sure the team is even that interested in a player like Simpson.
- Safety should be fine if they bring back Wilson. If they don’t, then they might look for a player here but I don’t really see it in the first couple of rounds. They usually bring in a late round or UDFA guy in every draft. Which reminds me of Bell. He hits like a LB and this season, with a year under his belt, might be a very good candidate to play some nickel LB. The guy is a strong tackler.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of unknowns here, which is probably why teams are writing everything with pencil at this point. But if I had to guess right now, I’d probably say that
CB, WR and either
TE, LB or RB, depending on free agency.
The positions where I don’t necessarily see in-house solutions at are CB and WR, which is why I listed them first. I want RB to be a need because I don’t really see Elliott as a guy that I want to keep, but we’ll just have to wait and see what the team does.
I also think they might do a little more in outside free agency this season. Not a whole lot… but more than they have in recent seasons. If so, that will further alter what the team will need out of the draft. By late March, we will have a much better idea of what Dallas will do in the draft.
