Dallas Cowboys 7-Round Mock Draft: Dak Prescott unsigned and tagged
By Reid Hanson
Dallas Cowboys 7-Round Mock Draft
Round 4, Pick 114
LB Baron Browning
6-foot-3, 240 lbs
Whether Jaylon Smith comes back or not in 2021, the Dallas Cowboys are in the market for a linebacker. Smith and Leighton Vander Esch are coming off poor seasons and neither look like the long-term answer at LB for the Cowboys. With Sean Lee likely gone this offseason, Dallas needs to address all three of their starting spots sooner rather than later.
Baron Browning is a local kid with a high ceiling that could easily develop behind LVE and Jaylon in year one and take over a starting spot soon after.
Dallas wants long and rangy linebackers who can play the short zone in their Cover 3. Browning fits Dallas’ type to a T. He has arguably the best size-speed combo in his draft class and as such has one of the highest ceilings of anyone outside the first round.
#OhioState LB Baron Browning measured in at the #SeniorBowl at 6-3, 241 lbs with an 81 inch wingspan, 33 inch arms.
— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) January 26, 2021
That height is above the 80th percentile and arm length/wingspan are both above the 93rd percentile for off-ball LBs in the NFL.
His biggest obstacle has been his processing speed. The mental aspect of the game has been a struggle as Browning tries to read and react. The more you can simplify things for him the better and he did seem to put it all together in 2020 so there’s hope he can build on that.
Redshirting behind the starters may be perfect for his development.