Dallas Cowboys 7-Round Mock Draft: Trading up for a future All-Pro

Round 1, Pick 8

CB, Jeff Okudah

Ohio State

Jeff Okudah is in the top-3 of most pre-draft rankings so him sliding this far is a victory in itself. But since as many as three quarterbacks could find themselves in the top-5, some elite talents are sure to slip through the cracks. Jeff Okudah is one of those.

How far Okudah could fall is key to a team like the Dallas Cowboys who want to wait as long as possible before trading up. Since Jacksonville, a team in need of a cornerback, seems like the absolute furthest he could fall, Arizona at Pick 8 appears to be the last possible trade partner. And since the Cards are still technically rebuilding, and they just acquired their No. 1 receiver in DeAndre Hopkins, they may be a willing dance partner with Dallas.

Okudah is the true crème de la crème of this cornerback class. He’s a ready-made Day 1 Pro Bowler with All-Pro potential. He’s strong in just about every way including character and maturity (which limits his risk). He’s about as high-reward/low-risk as you can get in this draft so he may be worth trading both Day 2 picks for – especially for a team trying to make a postseason run like the Cowboys.

For reasons discussed Friday, Okudah may be the only CB in this draft capable of filling Byron Jones’ shoes in Year 1. C.J. Henderson has the potential but he’s not a ready-made player. He’s not going to make the Cowboys secondary better in 2020 than they were in 2019. Only Okudah can do that.

If picked, Jeff Okudah slides into CB1 on Day 1 and Dallas confidently scratches cornerback off their to-do list. They are no longer armed with those two Day 2 picks, meaning they’ll need to strike gold in round 4 and 5 if they want to have a successful offseason, but given their positions of need and the strengths of the draft, this may be the perfect draft to try this.