The Cowboys opened the doors to The Star this week for the first of their Top 30 visits. The meetings are always tantalizing for fans, as they’re often assumed to be an indicator of which elite prospects the front office is most interested in prior to the draft.
But not every visit is a precursor to a long-term relationship. Not every first date works out. Sometimes, it’s just talking.
The Cowboys opened up a dialogue on Monday with wide receiver Treylon Burks. Fellow wideout Chris Olave from Ohio State is reportedly slated for a Tuesday visit.
Ohio State WR Chris Olave is visiting the Cowboys today, per source. Cowboys expressed interest in WR DeVante Parker before he was traded to the Patriots.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 5, 2022
Both are considered surefire first-round selections this year, at a position of need for Dallas after they traded away Amari Cooper and let Cedrick Wilson leave in free agency. And with Michael Gallup also expected to miss time to start the season as he rehabs an ACL injury, the team could look to the college ranks early for another starting-caliber pass-catcher.
A Top 30 visit is just that, though, a visit. There is no workout involved, no drills on the field. Teams may look into a medical issue while a prospect is in the building, but it’s largely a get-to-know-you exercise.
The Cowboys do traditionally end up using their first-round pick on a player who’s visited, but not always. CeeDee Lamb was famously surprised by his 2020 phone call from the Joneses, as he hadn’t spent any time with the club beforehand. (And he certainly wasn’t expected to still be on the board when the Cowboys picked at 17.)
Of course, the 2020 visits weren’t in-person for anyone, as the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic had made virtual interviews the new normal. The Top 30 visits this year are the first in the NFL in two years.
And while Dallas has most of their 30 permitted visits booked- keeping a couple spots open for late adds or last-minute follow-ups- it’s hard to glean much concrete takeaway intel on which way the front office is leaning with their wish list.
After all, 11 different positions are represented on the current list of visitors, both offense and defense. Some are early-round locks, some are late-round question marks. Maybe the team has already met with a player at the combine and wants to continue the chat, or an official visit might be scheduled because the club wasn’t able to meet with the prospect in Indianapolis.
Some of these meetings aren’t even for 2022. It’s not uncommon for a team to host a player they’re not considering taking in the draft; rather, the visit is to start building a personnel file for when that player hits free agency four years down the road.
Other agendas for a Top 30 visit include getting info from one player on another prospect from the same school, doing a simple background check, administering a psych test, or even flat-out trying to con other teams into believing there’s genuine interest where there isn’t.
Would the Cowboys love to have Burks? Almost assuredly. But they’d also be happy with Olave, or guards Kenyon Green or Zion Johnson, or even defensive tackle Jordan Davis. All are scheduled to visit Dallas this week alone, and each will get the same red-carpet treatment when they arrive.
Burks will visit Tampa Bay later in the week. Last week he was with the Saints. It’s all just talk right now, and everybody’s talking to everybody.
As for the theory that Burks somehow has the edge in Dallas because he comes from Jerry Jones’s alma mater? It’s true the Cowboys owner may have a personal soft spot for Arkansas, but the numbers don’t show that being a deciding factor come draft day. He’s taken more players from Ball State, Eastern Carolina, James Madison, and William & Mary than from Arkansas.
In fact, in the Jones era, the Cowboys have drafted only one Razorback, running back Felix Jones in 2008.
Burks is unquestionably a top-tier talent. And the fact that the Cowboys used one of their 30 visits on him is noteworthy, to be sure.
But so is Olave. And Green and Johnson and Davis and every other name on the list.
For now, no one outside The Star can know for sure what the notes actually say.
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