With the draft now a week away, the last few names of interest for the Cowboys are starting to be fleshed out. The 2020 NFL draft is much different than previous iterations. With no in-person visits, the all-telling 30 national visits and Dallas Day invites which are normally used to determine who the club has heavy interest in are tells the public can no longer use to handicap the possibilities.
Dallas has seven picks in this year’s draft, starting with No. 17 in Round 1 and continuing with No. 51 and No. 82 on Day 2 of the three-day event. Dallas also has a fourth, two fifths and a seventh, barring any trade activity. Here, we break down the list of known prospect interest.
This list would not be possible without the annual detective work spearheaded by several, prominently Bobby Belt (cohost of the Boys and Girls Podcast), Mark Lane (WFAA Sports), Tom Downey (Cowboys Report) and services such as Walter Football who aggregates reports of players visits for all 32 NFL clubs.
One major note, this is clearly not a complete list of prospects Dallas is interested in. It’s quite possible the club has met with players at venues or interviewed them virtually without it leaking to the press. An omission, more than ever this year, should not be taken as a tell-tale sign of a lack of interest.
We’ll divvy up the list using The Athletic’s Dane Brugler’s draft guide, which projects the rounds each prospect will likely be targeted.
Before we get going, a few notes and observations.
- The Cowboys have spoken to three running backs who are projected to be taken on Day 1 or Day 2. With the way Tony Pollard played when given limited opportunities and the contract star runner Ezekiel Elliott has, this is pretty interesting. Could the club be looking to use Pollard as a slot receiver more in 2020? Could they be preparing for an escape from Elliott’s deal in the next couple seasons?
- The Cowboys have two mid-round QBs in their crosshairs and they couldn’t be more different. One is an outstanding runner with a strong arm, the other a pocket QB.
- The team is clearly enamored with the idea of having three dominant WR, as they showed interest in several early-round prospects despite resigning Amari Cooper and having two more years of cheap control of Michael Gallup.
- Dallas has contacted an edge rusher prospect for every single phase of the draft; a first rounder, borderline 1/2, borderline 2/3, third, fourth, fifth, borderline 6/7 and PFA. They’re taking one.
By Round
By Position
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