Dallas Cowboys 7-Round Mock Draft: Drafting WR 1st (40-point offense)

Final Pick

DT, Garrett Marino

UAB

Garrett Marino is another fun traits player to take a stab at. The 6-foot-2, 285lb defensive tackle isn’t the biggest guy in the class, but he sure is explosive. The 1-gap lineman from UAB is a try hard pass-rusher, capable of playing 3-tech in an even man front and 5-tech in an odd man front.

He moves off the snap quickly and is often in the gap before offensive linemen have their hands up. He’s not overly strong and can be neutralized by guards with strong technique, but he’s a fighter and has quickness in his favor so every play has possibility.

On the Dallas Cowboys, Marino is a long-term project. Unless Trysten Hill craters, there probably isn’t a place for him in the rotation in 2020. But he has a future as a situational pass-rusher inside and that’s always a valuable skill to have.

Mock Draft Debrief

When we speak of 40-burger, many assume it means utter neglect of the defense, but in this mock draft we went 40-burger offense and were still able to invest three of the top four picks on defense and essentially did a lot more good for the team than reaching for an unworthy player at a position of need instead.

Now this is only going to work like this if a star like Jerry Jeudy falls to them. The Dallas Cowboys just have to be smart enough to pull the trigger on the best player available.

In today’s example, Jerry Jeudy was there at 17. C.J. Henderson and K’Lavon Chaisson were both gone, but even if they were available, Jeudy was the higher rated player on my board and more worthy of the pick.

After that we looked to Round 2 to fill the need at CB. There are about half-a-dozen options in that range and in this simulation we had Travon Diggs and A.J. Terrell to pick from. (A.J. is higher on my board but I went with the traditional pick for the Cowboys and grabbed Diggs).

In Round 3 I could have picked Troy Pride Jr or Amik Robertson. I opted for the latter since I already grabbed my outside corner with Diggs and love the playmaking style of Robertson. That gives me two strong CBs capable of filling the need at CB.

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In Round 4 I went with my favorite 1-tech run-stopper. I was tempted to go with a thumper at strong safety but I’m still not convinced Will McClay is open to the idea. He has appeared to be open to investing in 1-tech with the addition of Dontari Poe. Fotu here would be Poe’s successor at NT.

In Round 5 we finally shift back to offense and grab two valuable project players. Devin Duvernay is a big play speed demon machine while Colby Parkinson is a mismatch waiting to happen at pass-catching TE. We wrap it all up grabbing a pass-rush specialist at undertackle. You can’t coach quick first steps and Garrett Marino has that.

At the end of the day I’ve vastly upgraded offense AND defense. Defense is admittedly easier to upgrade since the needs are aplenty. But to upgrade the offense into 40-burger, the Cowboys are going to need a premium prospect like Jeudy to do it.

You may not like the specific choices, but hopefully you can see the different options that unfold. Drafting a WR with the first pick doesn’t have to be the kiss of death for the defense. Both sides of the ball can win if you aren’t afraid to draft the best player available. Future seasons will thank you for it.

Would you be willing to draft Jeudy if he’s there? Are you willing to let the offense regress with Cobb now gone? Do you think you can keep the defense from slipping with Byron Jones and Robert Quinn gone? Run through some mocks drafts over at the Draft Network and find out. Be sure to share results below…