The Kenyon Green train is picking up steam as the Cowboys prepare to pull into the 2022 draft day station.
The Texas A&M lineman has been a popular name in Cowboys mock circles all offseason, but the roster is thin in several spots. Seemingly just as pressing to Dallas’s plans this season are a wide receiver who’s ready to go Week 1, a legitimate edge rusher, a starting-quality linebacker, solid tight end depth, and more beef for the interior defensive line.
Add to that lengthy shopping list a very deep collegiate class and a bonkers free agency period that has shaken up multiple rosters with blockbuster trades, and it’s still anybody’s guess what the Cowboys- or practically any NFL team- will do once they’re on the clock Thursday night.
All of which is perhaps why Ari Meirov of Pro Football Focus has made his latest mock draft his only mock draft of 2022. Calling this year’s event “easily one of the most unpredictable drafts in recent memory,” he has nonetheless called his shots for the first round on the basis not of what he thinks teams should do, but rather, “what people around the league and in the know believe will happen.”
Those people are suggesting that the Cowboys will go with the Aggies guard with the 24th selection.
“Starting to inject some youth into the Cowboys’ offensive line feels like a must,” he writes. “Green started at every single offensive line position except center last season, earning a 79.8 PFF grade. He’s interviewed really well with teams throughout the draft process, meeting with most teams in the back-end of Round 1 and top of Round 2. Dallas met with him at the combine and then brought him into its facility as well for a visit. Drafting someone with the versatility to play multiple positions is very enticing to teams.”
It’s likely especially enticing to Dallas, who’s seen a lot of rotation on the O-line over the past couple seasons due to injury, COVID, suspension, and plain old ineffective play.
Plugging the 6-foot-4-inch Green into the Cowboys’ projected starting front as left guard would give the team three of five players who are 25 or younger on opening day, with the other two being perennial Pro Bowlers.
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