Dallas Cowboys Complete Mock Draft: Dak Signed, Trades Galore
5th Round, Pick 147 (Traded Picks 151 and 220 to HOU for 147)
Jaylen Twyman, DT, Pittsburgh
With Dallas having as many draft picks at their disposal, it seemed inevitable that they would double-dip at least one position. We’ve done it once with cornerbacks and now we’re doing it with interior defensive linemen. The best part is this pick could be incredibly valuable in the future.
Twyman was seen as one of the better interior defensive linemen in this class to start the season but after opting out of the 2020 college football season his stock has fallen. It’s pretty crazy that a guy who tallied 10.5 sacks a season ago has fallen out of demand but here we are.
Twyman is listed at 6-foot-2, 290 pounds, and displays good athletic ability. He displays good explosiveness allowing him to win with speed or counter pass rush moves. He currently isn’t super diverse with his pass rush plans unable to consistently turn speed into power and unable to use other power moves like club-rip, cross chop rip, etc. It’s pretty impressive Twyman was as dominant as a pass rusher without a diverse skill set.
Twyman is the perfect prospect for someone like Dan Quinn to develop. Grady Jarrett is a top 5 under tackle in the league and has credited a large part of his development to Dan Quinn. Jarrett was drafted in a similar round and had way worse college production but his athletic ability and play strength were crafted into a complete pass rusher.
It’s a bit ridiculous to suggest that Twyman would undergo this type of development but he’s the same body type with similar athletic ability learning from the same coach. It’s a possibility.
5th Round, Pick 173 (Traded Picks 178 and 225 to GB for 173)
Dazz Newsome, WR, UNC
One of the two incredibly productive North Carolina wide receivers, Newsome is listed at 5-foot-11, 190 pounds. Newsome would be contrary to Mike McCarthy’s ideal wide receiver frame but he does have the frame and skill set to be a Z or Slot receiver in the NFL. Drafting a receiver seemed inevitable with the number of picks the team has, but picking Newsome does a lot more for the team in the long run.
The team has Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and CeeDee Lamb as their starting three receivers. Michael Gallup will be on contract for one more year and likely hits free agency commanding a deal that the Cowboys likely can’t afford unless an unforeseen explosion of the salary cap ceiling were to occur.
Enter Dazz Newsome. Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb have the versatility to play every wide receiver position while Newsome can split between the Z and slot receiver positions. The team would essentially fill a future need with a good player who’s cheap and provides likely better versatility than what Gallup provides for the team. (Gallup is an incredible intermediate and deep threat but is often playing on the outside and rarely in the slot)
Will there be a possible drop off in production? Sure. Newsome experienced one this season with running backs Javonte Williams and Michael Carter catching more passes. That said, it’s not like the team doesn’t have Blake Jarwin, Dalton Schultz, and Tony Pollard as receiving threats? As long as a solid third receiver exists, the Dallas Cowboys offense will be just as smooth sailing.
Newsome has solid athletic ability and generates separation quickness in the short and intermediate areas of the field using hip and foot fakes that allow him to test the leverage of his defensive back in phase. He displays the ability to adjust to balls thrown at different angles but unfortunately, his hands don’t always cooperate with him. Even so, that hasn’t stopped him from being a productive receiver with Sam Howell as his quarterback. Things should translate nicely with Dak Prescott as his new QB.