With the playoffs careening towards a conclusion and the Dallas Cowboys now several weeks removed from the end of their 2020 season, it’s time to expand the mock. We’re now running a seven-round exercise to help get a better grasp on the talent that could be available at certain points of the season. This week, the defense gets a bunch of help for Dan Quinn.
In real life draft news, the number of eligible prospects has been capped. Underclassmen and seniors who opted out of the 2020 season for COVID-19 concerns had until Monday to declare for the 2021 draft. They still have two days to change their minds, but no more can be added. Here’s a link to the current list. Also, the NFL has scrapped the scouting combine and in-person workouts, meaning that information will be tough to come by until Pro Days, and there’s still no idea how all of that translates. It’s going to be the wild, wild west for the 2021 draft season.
With that in mind, in this iteration there’s a heavy focus on defense. The thinking is, without as much information, more darts have to be thrown at the board so there are more chances of hitting the bulls eye. The team cannot risk not increasing the talent level of the defense so in this exercise conducted on The Draft Network’s Mock Draft Simulator, we centrally focus on that mission.
The first six picks are devoted; first attacking the defensive line, shifting priorities to the secondary, then back to the line and finally the linebackers. From there, some help for the offense, getting some depth for the line and the wideout positions.