Dallas Cowboys: Are the Cowboys preparing to draft the best player available?

The Dallas Cowboys could be looking to draft the best player available on their board by the time they are on the clock. But which player will that be?

The Dallas Cowboys appear to be planning on keeping the 19th pick as they are looking at a number of prospects that should fall outside of the top ten. As it stands, the Cowboys do not have a lot of outstanding needs at any position besides linebacker.

If Dallas manages to sign a player like Navorro Bowman in free agency then they could be a little less likely to be focused on that position but that may be somewhat of a long shot at this point.

There are numerous players that make sense for the Dallas Cowboys to take with the 19th overall pick and with such a deep quarterback selection in the first round it is likely that five signal callers will be selected before Dallas is already on the clock.

There is a lot that goes into drafting a specific player and as the Dallas Cowboys wrap up their pre-draft visits we are getting to see who they are the most interested in. While the team will not put out an official list of those who attended Dallas Day, had private workouts, or had pre-draft visits most of the players names are uncovered by those who have either attended Dallas Day or those who have been keeping a careful eye on social media/ the draft prospects who are heading to Dallas.

The Cowboys have basically looked at two of the best defensive tackles, wide receivers, offensive linemen, and linebackers so it is obvious they expect a slide of talent in the first round at various position groups.

Taking a defensive end, safety, cornerback, running back, or tight end appears to not be in the cards for the Cowboys this year. This should give Cowboy Nation a feeling they will not be trading up or trading back considering how much depth they would like to add with their draft picks.

If you look at the players that they have focused on realistically they could land there are up to eight potential starters they could select. At linebacker, the Cowboys seem the most interested in Rashaan Evans and Leighton Vander Esch.

Roquan Smith is expected to be gone by the 19th pick and even if he is available a lot of medical red flags have put him on some teams no draft list. So that really leaves Evans and LVE to select if they are both available. Evans seems like the better player out of the two especially when it comes down to rushing the passer.

Evans seems like the safe call at 19 and could become the pick we expect by late April. Next up are the two wide receivers they could look at in the first round. There is a wild card in Courtland Sutton but he may project to go later than at 19.

Calvin Ridley and D.J. Moore remain the top two favorites at the wide receiver position. Ridley here seems to make more sense as he is the more talented overall player and is the type of flashy offensive weapon the Dallas Cowboys could use right now.

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In terms of offensive linemen, the Dallas Cowboys could take Mike McGlinchey and Kolton Miller should be the favorites as players like Quentin Nelson should be gone by then. Miller would provide the biggest boost to this offensive line and would easily fortify it for years to come.

Lastly, you have defensive linemen, Vita Vea and Da’Ron Payne. There is also a long shot here as well in Taven Bryan but I just do not see the Cowboys considering an interior lineman like Bryan when better players could be on the board. 

Vea is a physical freak of nature and would instantly add a much more disruptive presence to this defense. Payne is more geared to run stopping and would likely take some time to develop as a pass rusher.

Unless Vea is there I do not see Dallas taking an interior lineman.

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The two players that seem to like the most are Ridley and Evans which would explain why Dallas was so interested in Alabama’s pro day. I would expect out that by the end of April the Dallas Cowboys newest player will be an Alabama alum.