6 Cowboys Starters Who Will Be Replaced in the NFL Draft

3. Markquese Bell, LB

Leighton Vander Esch isn’t the only linebacker that the Cowboys are likely going to look to replace in the 2024 NFL Draft. During this past season, they were using Markquese Bell as an outside linebacker. Bell played very well finishing the campaign with 94 tackles, but this was never his natural position.

An undrafted free agent out of Florida A&M, Bell is a safety who converted to linebacker under Dan Quinn’s defensive scheme out of necessity. Again, he did better than most expected but at the end of the day, he didn’t give the Cowboys enough strength against the run.

That was evident in their loss to the Green Bay Packers in the first-round playoffs as they had the road team way with them on the ground. Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love even said afterward, while appearing as a guest on Micah Parsons’ podcast, that the Cowboys had a defensive back playing linebacker, which gave them plenty of confidence to run the ball.

Ideally, the Cowboys will be able to move Bell back to his natural position. Jayron Kearse is a pending free agent, so Bell may even slide into his vacant role, should he sign elsewhere. Then in the draft, they need to look for somebody who can play outside linebacker. Some of the same names mentioned with LVE would work such as Marist Liafau but also keep an eye on Steele Chambers from Ohio State, Jaylan Ford from Texas, and Washington’s Edefuan Ulofoshio.