Category: 2023 mock draft

7 draft hauls Cowboys could’ve had if they made different choices

Introducing the Cowboys 2023 Shadow Drafts, mock drafts based on moves they could’ve made if they went in a different direction than what happened in reality. | From @KDDrummondNFL

Every die-hard fan and content creator has their favorites from draft season. Every casual fan has a set of names, mostly from big schools, they’d heard who provides name recognition. Every disgruntled observer has a bit of jealousy when it comes to another organization’s haul.

What happens when it’s all bundled together into a tracking mechanism? Welcome to your 2023 Shadow Mock Draft. Here, we go through a post-draft mock where we identify alternatives to whom the Cowboys selected. A concept originally developed (we think) by Bengals writer Joe Goodberry and adopted by noted Steelers fan and Raider editor Marcus Mosher (we kid, Marcus), presents a recap of what options were available when Dallas was on the clock and how one domino would’ve led to another.

Cowboys 2023 Mock Draft for Rounds 4-7 plus UDFA signings

A look at how the final day of the draft could unfold as Dallas rounds out there roster. Plus, our favorite (projected) UDFA prospects the Cowboys should scramble for. | From @KDDrummondNFL

It ain’t over until it’s over. NFL front offices are judged by how well they do with premium picks across the first three rounds, but legends are made by how well a team can scout for Day 3 additions. The Dallas Cowboys have been represented well in both categories over the last several years, including being able to sign outstanding talent in the period following the final pick.

Day 3 and UDFA additions are the name of the game in this final mock draft exercise of 2023. The team has already addressed defensive tackle, tight end and linebacker-slash-edge-rusher. Now it’s time to go hunting for diamonds in the rough at cornerback, running back, offensive line and wide receiver. Will Dallas hit on all of those roles with their remaining picks and undrafted free agency savvy?

Full Day 2 mock draft sees Cowboys pick OL, WR

After a whirlwind Day 1, here’s how Day 2 could play out for the league and the Dallas Cowboys. | From @TimLettiero

The Cowboys knocked it out of the park with their first selection in Mazi Smith. He can stop the run on day one and has the freakish athletic traits to lend some promise as a pass rusher. Now that their arguably biggest need is checked off, Dallas can go a few different ways with their plan of attack on day two of the draft.

With many notable names still on the board, an albeit unlikely trade up may still be on the books. However, in classic Cowboy fashion the likelihood of much movement happening is Dallas is relatively low. Dallas will have the 58th overall pick and the 90th overall pick in the second and third rounds respectively. Should Dallas stay put, here is a scenario that should have the fans excited for the start of the season.

Seven, 7-round mock drafts: Cornerback in first leads to epic haul

What happens if the Cowboys take a cornerback in the first round? Our latest mock exercise takes a look at one possible haul. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Cowboys can go a myriad of different directions when they are on the clock Thursday night. With most of their holes filed and a team that’s won 12 games in back-to-back seasons, they have the ability to watch the draft board and pluck players as they fall into their laps. Dallas doesn’t have to move around and ensure they pick a certain position before it’s too late, and that level of freedom has led us to our 777 Project.

We’ve already looked at what happens if the club picks any of four offensive positions, and now it’s time to see what happens if they select a boundary corner.

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777 Mocks

More calls for Mayer to be Cowboys’ pick at 26

From @ToddBrock24f7: The Notre Dame star could be the Cowboys’ tight end of the future, and a handful of late mock drafts predict that’s how things will fall.

The drumbeat is getting louder for the Cowboys to address an obvious thin spot on their roster with a prospect who is at the top of his class now… and could be at the top of his position’s class in the pros before much longer.

On Draft Day Eve, more outlets are mocking Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer to Dallas with the 26th overall pick… and they present a convincing case for why the Joneses should make it happen in real life on Thursday night.

The ESPN Analytics Draft Day Predictor pegs Mayer’s chances of still being on the board in the 26th spot at about 60%. The site also has Mayer as the most likely pick for Dallas, with a chance he’ll be the selection at greater than 11%. Jacksonville looks to be the main competition for the Cowboys to land him; the predictor says there’s a 10% chance the Jaguars will turn in Mayer’s card with the 24th pick.

Utah’s Dalton Kincaid is considered by many outlets to have more potential upside than Mayer, but The 33rd Team’s Mike Tannenbaum likes the Golden Domer’s blocking skills better. He has Mayer as the pick for Dallas at 26 in that site’s latest mock draft, echoing most analysts who say the not-yet-22-year-old will step in and be a Day One starter.

Blocking is a key component when talking about any tight end, especially for a Mike McCarthy-helmed club. The head coach spoke just this week about the multiple roles his offense will ask tight ends to fill, and in a scheme that leaned heavily on two-TE sets last year and promises to “run the damn ball” this year, McCarthy made it clear that his tight ends will be doing plenty of the heavy lifting.

Dalton Schultz, the Cowboys starter in 2022, “eventually became a willing, passable blocker,” notes Jake Kemp of D Magazine. But Mayer, he says, “blocks to take the defender’s will away from him” and calls him “a cheat code” once you factor in his abilities as a receiver.

Mayer can certainly do that, too. He “has a little Jason Witten to his game,” Danny Kelly points out in The Ringer‘s mock draft. Considering Big Witt is the franchise’s all-time leader in both catches and receiving yards, even “a little” Jason Witten would go a long way in replacing- and surpassing- Schultz’s production in that department. Kelly mocks Mayer to Dallas at 26, too, forecasting: “He should quickly emerge as one of Dak Prescott’s favorite underneath targets.”

That’s no knock on second-year tight ends Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot. Both played well enough as rookies in 2022 that it was obvious Schultz would be allowed to leave in free agency. But Ferguson was a fourth-round draft pick; Hendershot went undrafted. Either could eventually grow into what Schultz was; Mayer might well turn into another Rob Gronkowski or George Kittle.

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For the Fighting Irish last season, Mayer put up monster numbers in an offense where he was the primary weapon, one that opposing defenses keyed on and still couldn’t stop. What’s more, Kemp notes that Mayer finished in the top ten nationwide in both forced missed tackles and contested catches.

Mayer is a clear-cut first-round talent, but the Cowboys haven’t used an opening-round pick on a tight end since David LaFleur in 1997, The Athletic‘s Jon Machota reminds us. And the Packers never did that during McCarthy’s 13-year tenure in Green Bay. But Machota also sends Mayer to Dallas at 26 in their latest beat writers’ mock, heeding McCarthy’s own apparent openness to the idea at the team’s pre-draft press conference.

“As many 6-4, 250 pound men that can play on four downs: I don’t think you can have enough of that body type on your team,” McCarthy said Monday. “There’s more versatility there.”

Mayer would no doubt give the Cowboys offense tons of versatility, and for many years to come. But whether the Cowboys grab their don’t-think-about-it-again tight end of the future or decide to march to the beat of their own drum come draft night remains to be seen.

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Cowboys Wire’s final 2023 1st-round mock draft: 5 QBs, 4 WRs, 3 trades

The Cowboys stay in the first round but make a trade back while other teams get their fill of offensive talent. | From @KDDrummondNFL

2023 feels like it’s going to be a draft full of surprises. There’s always some differences between mocking and reality, quite a lot actually. But this year’s draft feels like an argument about ice cream flavors. To borrow the analogy from Cowboys radio personality and former scout Bryan Broaddus, there seems to be a wide variety of names which could populate the first round.

This year’s QB class feels like a precursor to a historic one next year, but can GMs and coaches really wait it out? The top tier of talent seems a little thin compared to other years. Does that lead teams to move around a lot of does it afford them sitting and allowing their guy to reach them? In our latest first-round mock, the final one for the 2023 draft season, it’s a little bit of everything.

We know, it’s probably all bad, but it feels good at this juncture.

Five QBs go in the first round with four in the top 10. Despite acknowledging that WR grades are lower than in year’s past, four of them go here.  Check out how we see Thursday’s first round unfolding, then come back to laugh at all of the mistakes.

Seven, 7-round mock drafts: So you’ve grabbed Bijan, Cowboys… now what?

RBs still matter, just nowhere near as much. An explanation why taking one at 26 isn’t a bad idea and a look at how the rest of the draft could unfold. | From @KDDrummondNFL

It was an ambitious endeavor, but we all know what they say about the best-laid plans. Back like it never left, the 777 Project spins forward to the thought exercise of what happens if the Dallas Cowboys were to select a RB in the first round. The last of the offensive positions being examined, running back is another non-Money 5 position that is the cause of plenty of debate.

Money 5 roles are quarterback, wide receiver, left tackle, edge rusher and cornerback. These are the spots that command top dollar in the NFL. Positions such as tight end, running back, offensive guard and safety are on the opposite end of the spectrum. The thinking goes that selecting one of these spots with a first-round pick wastes the surplus value of having a top player on a rookie contract.

Rookie contracts are based on draft slot; market value is based on positional importance and skill level. If you have a player at a high-value position on a rookie deal, that’s more of a positive than if they played a position that normally uses a smaller percentage of the salary cap.

But that’s just one argument. A counter is that good players are good players and several teams have been able to be contenders based on having elite talent at those afterthought positions. But can running back be one of them?

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777 Mocks

Cowboys opt for ‘potential shockers’ in NFL.com’s new 7-round mock

From @ToddBrock24f7: Want familiar names in expected draft slots? This is not the mock you’re looking for. Dallas passes over obvious picks in every round here.

By this stage in the pre-draft proceedings, fans have seen a lot of the same names over and over for their favorite team. But when the phone lines start burning up for real, the surprises can come early and often.

NFL.com’s draft expert Chad Reuter’s latest mock draft projects “some potential shockers” over all seven rounds.

For the Cowboys in particular, he addresses most of the positions that everyone knows Dallas needs… but he does so with names that may cause even the staunchest of draftniks to reach for their scouting reports. Almost as fascinating as who the team takes in this exercise… is who they don’t, in every single round.

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Cowboys go no RB or WR in Dane Brugler’s 7-round mock draft

Dane Brugler made all 259 picks by himself and addressed most- but not quite all- of the Cowboys’ roster needs with their 7 selections. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Dane Brugler, The Athletic‘s draft expert, took on the entire NFL draft by himself and made all 259 picks in his completely comprehensive mock. And while he didn’t include any of the blockbuster trades that will inevitably shake things up between now and the naming of Mr. Irrelevant, the seven-round exercise offers a great way to zero in on each team’s needs and which prospects might be there to meet them as each club goes on the clock.

Brugler has the Cowboys addressing most- but not quite all- of their big holes and known problem areas with their seven selections. A few of the names will be ones that have come up before in previous mocks and projections- and are even known to be on the team’s radar screen through pre-draft interviews and visits- but there are always few surprises when the cards (even hypothetical ones) get turned in.

Here’s how Brugler conducted the Cowboys’ draft, along with scouting reports from Jon Machota, the outlet’s staff reporter who covers the Cowboys, on how each pick might fit into the team’s plans.

Seven, 7-round mock drafts: Does TE only work for Cowboys in trade back?

It’s tough to justify going TE, but in the 777 Project a trade back (multiple, in fact) gives Dallas an epic haul in the 2023 draft. | From @KDDrummondNFL

A little late on the third installment of the 777 Project, the TE scenario is next up on the examination table. Already we’ve seen how the draft plays out when selecting an offensive linemen in the first round to shore up the left guard situation with a premiere player. We’ve also shown how taking a wideout in the first round has domino effects. But what if another offensive position is taken? One where there’s not a ton of perceived positional value, but where the role almost always results in selecting a Pro Bowl player?

Tight end is one of the lowest-paying positions in the NFL, but do to the smaller sample size, no position has a better hit rate of becoming one of the best in the game. Five of the nine first-round TEs taken over the last decade have made the Pro Bowl. The problem is, taking a first-round TE means not taking one of the other positions.

Dallas has done well, shoring up their roster to where they don’t have a glaring need to fill. This allows them some freedom, but obviously there are going to be guys they really like, just like amateur draftinks have favorites. The best way to grab those favorites and take a TE is to move around.

A lot.