Dallas Cowboys 7-Round Mock Draft: Trading Gallup and Trading Back

Dallas Cowboys 7-Round Mock Draft

Round 2, Pick 46 (From NE)

Chatarius Atwell, WR

Louisville

Before you bite my head off for taking a WR this early, hear me out – this dude can fly. Besides, we unloaded Michael Gallup in the Stephon Gilmore trade earlier. We actually have a need at WR now and if CeeDee Lamb is ready to move to one of the outside spots (I like him as an X), grabbing an inside guy like Atwell seems like a good move.

With that explained, let’s talk about the one thing this Dallas Cowboys offense is missing: Speed.

Cooper, Lamb, Jarwin, and Zeke aren’t slow by any means, but they aren’t fast either. Having one guy who can be a threat anywhere and everywhere is what Kellen Moore is missing in this attack. Using a guy like Atwell on sweep motion, crossing routes, bubble screens, and even deep down the seam, can take this offense to the next level. Check out his highlight reel here

There’s a reason all the top offensive minds are going out of their way to inject elite speed into their attacks. It helps everyone.

https://twitter.com/PFF_AustinGayle/status/1363234803752062978

At 5-foot-9, 165lbs. Atwell isn’t the biggest guy. He’s not even a great route-runner for that matter. But the kid has elite speed and can cut on a dime, and that can’t be taught. Said to be clocked at 4.27, Atwell, or “Tutu”, is lightening in a bottle. He’s extremely raw and will need time to develop. But on the Cowboys who have polished receivers like Lamb and Coop around to do the heavy lifting, they don’t need him to be polished right away.

Tutu brings what the others don’t and he stretches defenses in ways that open opportunities for others. His speed will get him overdrafted. Which is honestly what I’m doing here. Some are mocking him to go all the way up in the first round while others grade his play as a Day-3 guy. It’s going to be all about the situation and expectations for Tutu. And Dallas may be the perfect situation.

Note: the Top-6 OTs were off the board and while a top-2 safety consistently falls to this spot, I don’t see Dallas drafting one no matter how much us fans want them to.

This is a luxury pick made possible by trading back but it’s speed and this offense desperately needs speed.