Dallas Cowboys Draft: Defensive Prospects You Need to Know

This class has some depth along the defensive tackle position and it all starts with Derrick Brown and Javon Kinlaw. Brown will most likely be gone by the time the Cowboys pick, but Kinlaw is a name to watch. Raekwon Davis and Neville Galimore are the top four at defensive tackle, and Galimore might be an option in the second round if he makes it that far.

The next group of guys include Leki Fotu, Ross Blacklock, Justin Madubuike, and Rashard Lawrence. Some of those are less 1-technique guys, but each have athleticism to play inside, it just depends on what the Cowboys are looking for. The drop off after Lawrence is pretty wide, but there are some names in the middle rounds to watch. Jordan Elliott, Benito Jones, and Tyler Clark are all names that could pop up late in the third to late in the fourth rounds.

At defensive end the pass rush in this draft is inconsistent once you get past the first few picks. Yetur Gross-Matos, K’Lavon Chaisson, and A.J. Epenesa are names to look at around the seventeenth pick. Chaisson has the tools, but the production hasn’t always been there. All three would be solid picks, but each has some consistency to work on. The draft is thin after that group with Curtis Weaver, Terrell Lewis, and Julian Okwara all worthy of a second round grade, but the next group doesn’t really show up until the middle to end of the third.