Cowboys: How WR St. Brown and DT Hurst could be Day 2 steals

Every round the NFL Draft has a handful of certifiable steals slip through the cracks. Here are two steals that should be available on Day 2 for the Cowboys.

It’s nearly time for the NFL Draft, and the Dallas Cowboys find themselves armed with 10 picks. With the capital to move around and pick players of their choosing, the Cowboys find themselves in a position of power this year.

If a player slips through the cracks and falls, Dallas can package those picks and move up in order to take advantage of the situation. Here are two extremely different players who could fall…

Maurice Hurst, DT, Michigan

Hurst is arguably the most productive interior defensive linemen in this draft. Linked to Dallas early in many mock drafts, Hurst fits Rod Marinelli’s 3-technique DT role perfectly.

Based on his skill set and track record of production, he was seen as a sure fire first round pick. That is until…

A heart condition flagged Hurst at the combine preventing him from working out. It will be up to individual team doctors to decide whether or not he will be considered in the draft, but the assumption is a good chunk of teams will remove him from their team draft boards all together.

Because of this, the market for Hurst will be smaller, and the potential to fall increases proportionately. It’s no stretch of the imagination that Hurst could fall well into the second round. For a polished player who can both start on Day 1 and has Pro Bowl potential, that’s a steal.

Equanimeous St. Brown, WR, Notre Dame

Equanimeous St. Brown (E.Q.) is a player that has as high of a ceiling as any pass-catcher in this draft. Instead of health hurting his draft stock, like Hurst, it’s production that’s hurting EQ. After a promising sophomore season that produced 58 receptions for 961 yards and 9 touchdowns, his numbers nosedived, tallying only 33 receptions for 515 yards and 4 touchdowns in 2017.

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While nearly everyone agrees the fall in production was directly related to the run-heavy offense the Irish employed and the horrifically terrible quarterback play he’s unavoidably at the mercy of, EQ is still not expected to go until Round 2 or even Round 3 next weekend.

The 6’5” 203lbs receiver has an obvious size advantage against defensive backs and he uses it well. He has big play speed (4.48 40-time) that he can turn on when running deep routes, crossing routes, or even screen passes. His routes are surprisingly good for a player his size but he still needs to work on consistency.

Since the Cowboys also have a run-heavy offense, EQ wouldn’t have to mentally adjust to role that could be challenging for some (D.J. Moore played a HUGE part on his offense). St. Brown is bit of risk (that’s why he’s potentially a steal) but his reward is through the roof.

He’s one of the few receivers who has WR1 capabilities and if he can add a little more muscle mass, he could be an excellent X-receiver on the Cowboys.

Next: Cowboys 7-Rd Mock Draft: (4/17) Dallas trades back...

Every year, for various reasons, a player or two falls in the NFL Draft. Hurst and St. Brown have the potential to be those players. Will the Cowboys take advantage?