Dallas Cowboys: Pick 9
Round 6, Pick 219
WR
Jaelon Darden
Now the fun pick. In true “go local” fashion I’m going Jaelon Darden on Day 3. Darden is one of the most electric players in college football this season and figures to gain quite the fanclub as the draft community sinks their teeth into his tape.
Highest-graded WRs heading into Wk 10
— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 7, 2020
1. DeVonta Smith, Alabama - 92.5
2. Jaquarii Roberson, Wake Forest - 91.1
3. Khalil Shakir, Boise St - 90.1
4. Jaelon Darden, N Texas - 89.6
5. Elijah Moore, Ole Miss - 89.4 pic.twitter.com/4jUq6TcGdW
As this year’s Devin Duvernay/James Proche/Lynn Bowden, Darden is sure to captive fans with his highlight reel. The 5-foot-9 170 lb WR from North Texas is a match-up nightmare. He plays the slot, he plays in the backfield. He’s a motion man, a jet sweep weapon, and a kick returner.
His acceleration is through the roof and his change of direction is something to be reckoned with. The best thing is – he’s an excellent route runner. Darden comes to Dallas as a gadget guy but figures into their long-term plans at slot receiver.
Jaelon Darden only saw 6 targets in week 10, but he certainly made them count. pic.twitter.com/ptBk8FCXxm
— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 9, 2019
In the not-too-distant future, Dallas will be without their BIG-3 WRs (Gallup or Cooper has to go) and CeeDee Lamb will be a fulltime outside receiver. Never too early to look for that replacement inside.
Round 7 Pick 224
LB
Amari Gainer
The Dallas Cowboys always seem to draft LBs no matter how good they appear on paper so here’s the obligatory nod to the second level of the defense. Gainer is a linebacker worth being excited about. At 6-foot-3, 227 lbs, he’s a bit on the small side for LB.
FSU uses him a variety of ways and lean on his length and speed tremendously. He’s a good hunter in space and looks like a special teams weapon on Day 1 with nickel LB duties soon to follow. Could he be a fulltime LB one day? If he gains weight then yes, but even if he can’t there’s great value in being a coverage LB in today’s NFL and the Cowboys could do worse than grab one here.
More from Cowboys Draft
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- Dallas Cowboys 2023 UDFA profiles – Who are these guys?
- Dallas Cowboys 2023 draft grades: The science of the grades, pick by pick
Final Tally
So the main knock here is the Dallas Cowboys didn’t address CB until Round four and while I believe they found their future starting outside CB and starting slot CB, it’s not an advisable plan heading into the draft. That said it wasn’t advisable letting Byron Jones leave…but I digress…
As with all Dallas Cowboys mock drafts of mine, I was as opportunistic as possible. If the draft experts have a player I think is ranked too low, I’m going to pounce. It may pay off or it may not. It’s all about projection right now and I think the Dallas Cowboys found a future starting LT, SAF, 2 CBs, DT, and DE. I’m pretty good with that.
Things are going to change with the Dallas Cowboys draft position as well as players’ rankings so this will be an ongoing exercise. So in the meantime let’s hear from you. What players and what rounds so you like in the 2021 NFL Draft?