Welcome to the first edition of “The Outsider’s Totally Amateur Guide to the Dallas Cowboys’ Draft.” I have zero insider information and do very little research. This column is meant to be a fun thought experiment. There is absolutely no danger the Cowboys will do anything I suggest.
A few rules:
- No trades. Since I have no sources inside the NFL, it seems silly to speculate on what professional GMs will do with the resources that determine their career longevity. I’m making use of established draft picks, no more and no less.
- I’m a writer and a college professor, not a GM. Don’t like what I do here? Feel free to say so, but don’t take it too seriously. Again, I have no influence on Dallas’s plans for the draft. I’m not sure I influence anything, in any area of life. So maybe be nice.
- I will be using the Big Boards on The Draft Network or Pro Football Focus. I’ll switch back and forth and let you know which one I used for a given column.
- Priorities will change according to Dallas’s off-season moves. I’m going with TDN’s list of draft needs: Cornerback, Defensive Interior, Safety, EDGE, Linebacker, Offensive Tackle, Interior Offensive Line, Quarterback, and Tight End. That’s also how I’m prioritizing Dallas’s needs. Safety has already moved from second-most-dire need to third. We’ll see what else happens.
- I’ll justify the picks in a minimal way, but again, this is just one outsider’s often under-informed opinion. I’m not paying to get more information on a college player just so I can have some fun here. I try to find players who represent a good intersection of best player available and need. I try not to reach too badly just for need.
- Since I’m just doing this for fun, I’m not going to agonize over these columns. In other words, you won’t be getting my best writing here. These columns will be written, very lightly edited, and posted as is. You want my best work? Buy my books or seek out my short-form published works. You can find links under the “C.V.” section of this site.
Since this is the first mock-draft column I’m posting here on my personal website, I’ll give you THREE mocks for the price of one. Today’s mocks use PFF’s information.
MOCK DRAFT #1
Pick #10: Micah Parsons, LB, Penn State
In this mock, Parsons lasted until pick #10 and seemed a better fit for the Cowboys’ needs than other available players. Considered a tweener who can play straight-up linebacker or the kind of linebacker/safety hybrid that can provide Dallas with versatility, he can also offer some future assurance that linebacker will continue to thrive if Sean Lee retires and Jaylon Smith is eventually released.
PFF grade for the pick: C+. (No idea why. I’ve chosen him this high in other mocks and gotten better grades.)
Pick #44: Richie Grant, S, UCF
A popular second-round target for Dallas, Grant brings a lot of skills that the Cowboys’ secondary can use right now. I completed this mock before Dallas’s recent free-agent signings at the position, so they may not target safety this high, but if they do, Grant seems like the best intersection of skill and availability. (Trevon Moehrig has been consistently going in the first round on PFF.)
PFF grade for the pick: B+
Pick #75: Thomas Graham, Jr., CB, Oregon
The highest-rated cornerback available at 75 in this mock. He’s got experience and skills.
PFF grade for the pick: B+
Pick #99: Rashad Weaver, EDGE, Pitt
As I continue to re-stock last year’s historically bad defense, Weaver is the highest-rated player near pick 99 who also fits a need.
PFF grade for the pick: B+
Pick #115: Jamie Newman, QB, Georgia
It doesn’t seem fair to label Newman as a Georgia QB, but going into last college season, he was looked at as an intriguing player who could flourish in the SEC. I try to pick a QB in each draft around 115 or 138, due to Dallas’s need and Mike McCarthy’s penchant for drafting and developing them. Newman is often available here, so I snapped him up before he was gone.
PFF grade for the pick: A+
Pick 138: Marlon Tuipulotu, DT, USC
The highest-rated player at a position of need. I would have liked to address the position earlier, but things didn’t fall that way here. Luckily, Tuipulotu could help Dallas inside.
PFF grade for the pick: C+
Pick 179: Israel Mukuamu, CB, South Carolina
The other cornerback from SC in this draft, he was the best player available at a position of need.
PFF grade for the pick: B+
Pick 192: Tony Poljan, TE, Virginia
I hadn’t addressed this position yet, and he was the highest-rated prospect available.
PFF grade for the pick: B+
Pick 227: JaCoby Stevens, S, LSU
Stevens is consistently available in the seventh round. He’s got skills and a championship pedigree. He deserves a shot.
PFF grade for the pick: B+
Pick 238: Tristen Hoge, G, BYU
At the very least, he’s a big body that might contribute on special teams or the practice squad. Plus, the O-line needs depth.
PFF grade for the pick: C+
PFF grade for this mock as a whole: B+
Mock Draft #2
Pick #10: Kwity Paye, EDGE, Michigan
Paye brings a lot of skills to the position immediately. He shouldn’t need several years to get off the ground. He plays a position of need and has a high first round grade in most mocks I’ve read. This was the best marriage of need and BPA at 10.
PFF grade for the pick: A-.
Pick #44: Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah, LB, Notre Dame
Sometimes these mocks present scenarios that just aren’t likely to happen in real life. This is one. JOK has a mid-to-late first-round grade on all the mocks I’ve seen, so it’s unlikely that he’d be available here. But if he were, I’d snap him up, as I did here. He can help shore up Dallas’s iffy linebacker unit and provides great value at 44.
PFF grade for the pick: A
Pick #75: Tyler Shelvin, DI, LSU
Shelvin is young and somewhat raw, and he can let his weight get out of control. But if he can stay disciplined, he would be a run-stuffing plug in the middle of Dallas’s D-line for the next decade. He’d be a great addition at the 1-tech.
PFF grade for the pick: B+
Pick #99: Eric Stokes, CB, Georgia
The best available corner, a position of great need that I haven’t yet addressed due to how the first two rounds played out. He’s experienced and solid.
PFF grade for the pick: B+
Pick #115: Jamie Newman, QB, Georgia
He was available here again, so I took him again for the same reasons as noted above.
PFF grade for the pick: A+
Pick 138: Kary Vincent, Jr, CB, LSU
Like Jacoby Stevens, Vincent brings a ton of skills, experience, and championship pedigree to the Cowboys’ new secondary. If he’s available here, Dallas should snap him up.
PFF grade for the pick: B+
Pick 179: Damar Hamlin, S, Pitt
This mock was completed after Dallas’s two new acquisitions at safety, so I felt comfortable with not reaching. Here, Hamlin is the best player available at the position.
PFF grade for the pick: B+
Pick 192: Darius Stills, DI, West Virginia
Another big body for Dallas’s defensive interior, he was the BPA at any position of need.
PFF grade for the pick: B+
Pick 227: Michal Menet, C, Penn State
This mock didn’t allow me much opportunity to bring depth and competition to the O-line, at least not in the early rounds. Here we bring both with someone thought to be versatile enough to play any interior O-line position.
PFF grade for the pick: C+
Pick 238: Nick Eubanks, TE, Michigan
I finally address this position with our last pick. Eubanks brings potential and a big-time-school experience.
PFF grade for the pick: B+
PFF grade for this mock as a whole: A-
Mock Draft #3
Pick #10: Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida
Finally available at 10 in my latest mock, Pitts doesn’t fill the position of greatest need, but he is thought to be a generational talent at his position, and Dallas does need a tight end, and he has the versatility to line up wide. Selecting him also means he won’t fall to a division rival.
PFF grade for the pick: A-.
Pick #44: Alim McNeill, DI, North Carolina State
Described as a player with the potential to contribute anywhere along the D-line, McNeill would be a fantastic get for the Cowboys, who need to invest in the interior. I’d be thrilled if Dallas manages to get him.
PFF grade for the pick: B+
Pick #75: Paris Ford, S, Pitt
The BPA who also meets a need at 75, Ford could contribute right away and learn from the free agents who have recently signed only one-year deals.
PFF grade for the pick: B+
Pick #99: Shakur Brown, CB, Michigan State
Like Ford before him, Brown was the BPA who also fulfilled a clear need. In most mocks, I try to grab Patrick Surtain or Caleb Farley at 10, unless one of the top-10 players falls to me. I couldn’t get them in these mocks, as it turned out, so I’m building the secondary in the later rounds.
PFF grade for the pick: B+
Pick #115: Jamie Newman, QB, Georgia
Here he is again.
PFF grade for the pick: A+
Pick 138: Richard LeCounte, S, Georgia
A big-time player for a big-time team in the best conference in college football, LeCounte joins our safety rotation at 138, which seems to be in the range PFF believes he’ll go. We’ve got a realistic shot at him if we don’t address the position earlier.
PFF grade for the pick: B+
Pick 179: Garrett Wallow, LB TCU
We haven’t addressed the second level of the defense yet. He’s the BPA.
PFF grade for the pick: B+
Pick 192: Brendan Jaimes, T, Nebraska
In these mocks, I keep having to wait until the later rounds to address the O-line, but Jaimes could potentially be a steal.
PFF grade for the pick: B+
Pick 227: William Bradley-King, EDGE, Baylor
It’s really late to address this position, but like Jaimes, Bradley-King has the potential to outplay his draft status.
PFF grade for the pick: B+
Pick 238: JaCoby Stevens, S, LSU
See above. He’s available again here. Taking him with our last pick almost feels like robbery.
PFF grade for the pick: B+
PFF grade for this mock as a whole: A-
Well, there we are: three different mocks you can scoff at. Feel free to let us know what you think.
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