Dallas Cowboys 7 Round Mock Draft: No Trades/No surprises/Just chalk
By Reid Hanson
Dallas Cowboys Round 2, Pick 44
Baron Browning, LB
Ohio State
There are six top-flight off-ball linebacker prospects in this draft and there’s a high likelihood at least one of them falls to the Dallas Cowboys in the second round (probably more). After lighting up his Pro Day with elite scores, Browning has the potential to go quite early on Day 2.
Baron Browning is a LB prospect in the 2021 draft class. He scored a 9.98 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 5 out of 2118 LB from 1987 to 2021.
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 30, 2021
Splits projected, times unofficial.https://t.co/9u2aj8ZlSN #RAS pic.twitter.com/teVgAT1x01
For as impressive as he is as an athlete, his film isn’t so jaw dropping. Browning hasn’t consistently produced like someone with his size and skill set should, which is why he may be available here, even if his numbers put him in Micah Parsons territory.
While some have Browning up in the top-40, many others have him much lower. Dane Brugler at The Athletic has him as the 91st prospect. This pick is about size and ceiling and we all know Will McClay loves to chase size and ceiling.
The Dallas Cowboys have long been suckers for the measurements. Dating back to the Bill Parcells era, Dallas has targeted superior athletes over their technically sound polished counterparts steadily, and we don’t expect that to change anytime soon.
Browning’s biggest immediate impact will be made against the run. He’s in the 90th percentile in length and absolutely swallows ball-carriers that stray into his zone. He’s also a strong blitzer. He’s going to need work in the coverage portion of game.
Whether he develops in coverage or not will ultimately separate him from the two linebackers the Cowboys already have in Jaylon (who’s bad in coverage) and LVE (who’s even worse).