Three months and change until the 2020 NFL Draft kicks off in Las Vegas. Between now and then, there will be mock drafts aplenty from every corner of the internet. After a draft season that came and went without much fan fare for the Dallas Cowboys, they’re back in the mix as they own their first round pick this year, a welcome sight.
It is still early in the process, and the media will continue to catch up with what scouts have known for some time, but it’s always good to get familiar with the names being associated not only with the Cowboys, but the general range of players who will likely be available when they are on the clock.
The early contenders who could end up in Dallas in late April come from two positions that the Cowboys have ignored over the years: defensive tackle and safety. The consensus targets at the moment seem to be on the back end at safety. Both Dane Brugler and Daniel Jeremiah have identified Dallas as a potential landing spot for a safety, though they disagree on the which one.
From Brugler’s most recent mock at The Athletic:
17. Dallas Cowboys — Grant Delpit, FS, LSU
The Cowboys have neglected to upgrade their safeties for years, but there is a decent chance that the first player at the position will be drafted by the Cowboys. Delpit was an up-and-down performer in 2019 (in coverage and in run support), but his awareness and range are traits worth betting on.
Jeremiah, for NFL.com, has Delpit going six picks later to the New England Patriots.
In his stead, he’s chosen who he believes is the top safety prospect, Xavier McKinney out of Alabama, calling him “the best safety in the draft.”
The last time a safety was the apple of owner Jerry Jones’s eye was in 1992, when Darren Woodson, who is somehow not in the Hall of Fame, was taken at pick No. 37. Since then, the Cowboys haven’t spent more than a fourth round pick at the position, and frankly, it shows.
Another obvious position of need is defensive tackle. However, the last time a first round pick was spent on an interior defensive lineman was in 1991, when they selected not one, but two different players at the position. The first was Russell Maryland, who was taken No. 1 overall by way of trade, and Kelvin Pritchett at No. 20, though he was immediately traded to the Detroit Lions to recoup the cost of moving up earlier in the round.
The name to keep an eye on is Javon Kinlaw, the defensive tackle out of South Carolina. With new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan in the mix, it’s unclear what, if any, major shifts there will be in terms of the kind of players the Cowboys will covet up front, but Kinlaw has the requisite talent.
However, there is this concern that that Bryan Broaddus shared on Twitter earlier:
Questions about his knees. https://t.co/tWzeky86hP
— BryanBroaddus (@BryanBroaddus) January 22, 2020
Broaddus is no longer with the team’s media wing, but he’s been able to pinpoint draft targets in Dallas in the past to the point where who the team selected was little more than a fait accompli.
It would take a significant shift in philosophy for any of the aforementioned players to wind up in Dallas down the road. But with a new regime in the fold, what the Cowboys will do seems, for the first time in a long while, up in the air.
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