The Dallas Cowboys were officially eliminated from playoff contention Sunday. With two games remaining in their season, it’s not difficult to begin shifting focus to April’s NFL Draft. If the season ended today, Dallas would have the 15th overall pick. It would be the Cowboys’ first top-15 pick since drafting Micah Parsons 12th overall in 2021.
Judging by what we’ve seen this season and how little Dallas has recently done in free agency, there are some areas that seem like a good bet to be possible first-round targets for the Cowboys. The current top five would be defensive tackle, running back, offensive line, cornerback and wide receiver.
Factoring all of that in, we reached out to Dane Brugler, The Athletic’s NFL Draft expert, to get his thoughts on a player at each of those position groups who could be a fit for Dallas around Pick 15. We’ve trimmed the conversation down to the following responses from Brugler on each player.
1. Defensive tackle
Expected to be back next season: Mazi Smith
Possible key losses in the offseason: Osa Odighizuwa
Potential first-round target: Mason Graham, Michigan, 6-3, 320
Brugler: He’s much more disruptive than what Mazi Smith was in college and what he’s been so far in the NFL. Graham was a five-sport athlete in high school, including a heavyweight champion wrestler. You can see it with the way he plays. Leverage is a premium for him. He has natural leverage and he knows how to win. He’s got twitch in his upper half, so using his hands, getting underneath blockers, and he’s relentless with the way he plays. He’s up and down the line. He’s a guy that has explosiveness. It’s controlled explosiveness. He’s not playing out of control in any way.
He’s not the longest player. That’s maybe the biggest knock on him. But he skillfully destructs blocks. That’s strength, quickness, motor, play recognition. I think he’s a versatile interior guy. If you want him to line up at nose tackle, he could do it. He’s not the best versus double teams but he’s a natural three-technique. When you think of some of the top three-techniques to recently come out, Graham isn’t Quinnen Williams (third overall pick by the Jets in 2019), but he projects as an above average starter and you love his floor. None of these guys are bust-proof. You really like his floor as an NFL starter and a guy that’s going to be a quality defensive lineman for you.
Mason Graham was a unanimous All-American selection this season. (Imagn Images)
2. Running back
Expected to be back next season: There could be a complete overhaul of the position group.
Possible key losses in the offseason: Rico Dowdle
Potential first-round target: Ashton Jeanty, Boise State, 5-9, 215
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Brugler: I think you could make the argument that after Travis Hunter, Jeanty is the best player in the draft. Obviously positional value and drafting a running back — that’ll be something that every team looks at a little bit differently. A lot of teams don’t have a need at running back. The ones that do have a need, they’ll be split on whether or not they feel comfortable drafting one that early. Jeanty and where he falls will be very similar to the conversations we had when Bijan Robinson was coming out. We’re trying to figure out: Where in the first round is he going? He ended up going top 10, so Jeanty could absolutely go in the top 10, but there’s still a high likelihood that he’s on the board when the Cowboys pick as well. He’d be a hard guy to pass on because of how dynamic he is.
He’s built low to the ground. He has exceptional strength. He runs like he’s doused in vaseline. Anything less than a strong wrapped tackle is going to get him on the ground. He’s just so elusive. He can cut, accelerate. His contact balance is exceptional. In terms of him as a pass catcher, that’s what I really think separates him as well. It’s kind of like LaDainian Tomlinson. Yeah, he’s a really good runner, but then you add in the pass-catching element and that just adds another way that he can beat you and another way that defenses really have to game plan for you. What he’s done this past year with the big plays and the broken tackles, that’s going to translate to the NFL.
If he’s still on the board for the Cowboys, I think he would be tough to pass up. At the same time, I understand if they feel like they need to go with a different position. The other thing that factors into this too is this is a deep running back class. You could argue it’s the strongest position in this draft class. So passing on Jeanty to get another quality running back on Day 2 is something that I think a lot of teams will consider.
Built Different @AshtonJeanty2 😤
📺 FS1#HEI2MAN | #BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/xSeCzoLR52
— Boise State Football (@BroncoSportsFB) September 29, 2024
3. Cornerback
Expected to be back next season: DaRon Bland, Trevon Diggs (working back from knee surgery), Caelen Carson, Josh Butler
Possible key losses in the offseason: Jourdan Lewis
Potential first-round target: Will Johnson, Michigan, 6-2, 202
Brugler: He’s a good player. He’s an NFL starter. But there’s absolutely a chance that he falls out of the top 10. If he runs a 40-yard dash, I think it will be like 4.46, 4.47, like an average time but not an amazing time. But he’s fluid, he’s long, he matches up really well. His route recognition is maybe what he does best. He understands route leverage, he can maintain his phase out of breaks. He has that anticipation to key, read, drive, that’s why in three years he had multiple interceptions each year. He set the Michigan record with three pick-six touchdowns. And it comes from that anticipation and ability to read routes. He’s a guy that the speed is more good than great and that’s why he’s not a lock for the top 10 and could still be on the board at Pick 15 or wherever the Cowboys end up. But he looks like a guy you can plug in as an NFL starter from Day 1.
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4. Wide receiver
Expected to be back next season: CeeDee Lamb, Jalen Tolbert, Jalen Brooks, Jonathan Mingo, Ryan Flournoy
Possible key losses in the offseason: Brandin Cooks, KaVontae Turpin (restricted free agent)
Potential first-round target: Luther Burden III, Missouri, 5-11, 205
Brugler: The key with Burden is the run-after-catch. That is his bread and butter. In college there’s been a high volume of quick-hitters, crossers, runway routes where he’s able to get the ball in his hands and go create with his speed. He’s got any-direction burst. He’s physical. He’s not quite running back size, but he’s a pretty well put together athlete. As a route runner, he’s still a little bit of a work in progress, but he’s physical and he tracks the ball well.
I just think there’s a lot you can do with a yards-after-catch weapon like that. He came in as a five-star guy. There’s a lot of hype on him. He was a starter right away. Last year as a sophomore he put up big stats. This year the production wasn’t necessarily there. It didn’t jump off the page. But he was still first-team All-SEC because of the way defenses have to game plan for him because he’s such a dangerous weapon. He’s just a guy that really adds a different element to your offense.
He’s a Burden #MIZ 🐯🏈 pic.twitter.com/2Xsa2J7e2L
— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) July 25, 2024
5. Offensive line
Expected to be back next season: Tyler Smith, Tyler Guyton, Terence Steele, Cooper Beebe, T.J. Bass, Asim Richards, Nathan Thomas
Possible key losses in the offseason: Zack Martin, Chuma Edoga, Brock Hoffman (restricted free agent)
Potential first-round target: Armand Membou, Missouri, 6-3, 314
Brugler: He was a right tackle at Missouri but some teams project him as a guard. He’s a really interesting player. He’s 20 years old. He’s a three-year guy. He’s a little bit of a late bloomer. He didn’t really invest in football and blossom until his junior year of high school. That was five years ago and he’s taken a big jump every single year since. This year he was All-SEC. He has just tremendous body control in his movements. He’s explosive out of his stance. He’s agile. He’s patient in pass protection. His punch is sharp. He’s well-timed. He’s got an anchor that he can sit down and dig his cleats in and hold up against power.
There are areas where he’s still learning and figuring things out, but what he’s put on tape up to this point and where you project the board, he kind of reminds me a little bit of, not apples-to-apples comparisons, but when Tyler Smith was coming out of Tulsa. He’s a young player that’s a little but undisciplined, a little bit unpolished, but, man, the traits are outstanding. I think Membou has a little bit of that as well where maybe not be a finished product yet, but I’m going to bet on these traits all day and his trajectory. He’s a guy that not a lot of people are talking about, but, man, the tape is impressive. I think by the time it’s all said and done, he’ll be a first-round pick. His tools remind me of Troy Fautanu, the 20th overall pick last year.
(Top photo of Ashton Jeanty: Tyler Ingham / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
