Dallas Cowboys 7-round mock draft 2023 (Reloading the playmakers)
By Reid Hanson
It’s draft season, so like all good Dallas Cowboys fans, we shift a hefty chunk of our attention on the upcoming 2023 NFL Draft. The college season is over, film is being digested, and big boards are falling into place.
While many things can change as more film gets reviewed, rumors gain validation, and workouts take place, it’s not too early to run the Dallas Cowboys through some mock draft scenarios.
Playmakers are added in this 2023 Dallas Cowboys 7-round mock draft, fixing the biggest issue holding them back.
The Dallas Cowboys most recent postseason appearance came to an abrupt ending when their team simply ran out of playmakers. The team which leaned almost solely on CeeDee Lamb and Tony Pollard all season, found their top-5 offense stuck in mud when the latter was lost to significant injury.
The Dallas Cowboys are extremely thin in playmaking talent heading into 2023, making the need to reload at the skill positions critical for a team hell-bent on taking the next step.
Helping on this mock draft will be primarily The Draft Network and Pro Football Focus. Both have various scouting reports, big boards and simulators that we utilize in this process.
Round 1 (26): WR Jordan Addison, USC
Jordan Addison, 6-foot, 175lbs, is one of the most highly regarded WR prospects in this season’s draft. The bulk of early draft boards have him slated firmly behind TCU’s Quintin Johnson and slightly in front of Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba (but PFF has him third).
While there’s zero reason to think Johnson will lose his status as top dog in their top-heavy WR class, many believe JSN will leapfrog Addison when all the testing is said and done.
The film solidifies Addison’s place as a top WR prospect. The former Biletnikoff winner is one of the most polished prospects in the draft. He’s an elite route-runner who knows how to gain separation and plays with a natural feel navigating through secondaries.
His measurables are why I think he’s going to slide. He’s undersized, and while fast, may not be an elite burner. In the mold of DeVonta Smith and Jerry Jeudy, Addison is going to underwhelm when GM’s compare his measurable to others in this class and if it’s determined he’s a primary slot player, teams will downgrade him.
This isn’t to say Addison runs the risk of falling out of the first round. He’s far too good for that and even falling to 26 for the Dallas Cowboys is a big drop.
To me, he’s not a slot-only WR but he’s also by no means an X. He can be used as a Z and as far as production and role. I can’t help see a Calvin Ridley career arch for Addison (minus the suspension, of course).
The Dallas Cowboys gain a playmaker who can impact the game at all three levels (screens, intermediate, and deep). He’ll instantly slide into WR2, allowing CeeDee Lamb to operate heavily out of the slot and Michael Gallup to play X in 11 personnel.