Frisco, Texas – For those following the mock NFL Draft, which is less than two weeks away, the overwhelming consensus seems to be that the Cowboys will use the 24th pick in the first round on an offensive tackle.
I can understand if you use the logic from a distance. The Cowboys lost the services of starting left tackle and future Pro Football Hall of Famer Tyron Smith. He was healthier than ever last season, starting 13 games for the first time since the 2019 season, matching his own record for most starts. Both are the first seasons since 2015.
Hypothesis: There's a big blindside hole there for Dak Prescott.
So when these mock draft predictions flood in, those simulators usually confirm that an offensive tackle will be available when they get to No. 24 without actually talking to anyone.th There are a lot of people in different positions that are selected without even considering all the other needs of the Cowboys. Or they fail to consider whether there is a better player at another position at the time.
For historical reasons, does anyone remember when the Cowboys selected Taillon with the ninth pick in the 2011 draft? He was the first team to use a first-round pick on an offensive tackle since Howard Richards in 1981. That was the second time they signed Tyler Smith in 2022. Also, remember that they chose Tyrone, who was 20 years old at the time. The then 20-year-old was the first offensive tackle taken out of the draft. I also got the best one.
But in some of these 2024 mocks, the offensive tackle sent to the Cowboys knows this is a deep offensive lineman draft and will often be drafted off the board in the first round. It was the sixth one to come. The last time the Cowboys went this deep in the first round with a player at any position was in 2017, when they took the sixth defensive end in the first round in Taco Charlton. It was time.
Heck, even last year's Maji Smith, the jury is still out on him, was only the third player at 26 years old to go from being a defensive tackle in the first round at least. And, come to think of it, I wouldn't have any problem getting a DT again this year. .
At this point, no one really knows what the Cowboys will do with the 24-year-old, but that includes 5 or 6 to get another third if they have multiple favorites at that point in the draft. It also includes trading as many frames as possible. Goodness knows they need every bit of draft capital they can get, with just seven picks this year. Additionally, even in previous years, the draft may not be as deep as some people think, with the Cowboys known to only have around 15 to 18 first-round players.
This is reminiscent of the 2013 draft, when the Cowboys were in the process of rebuilding an offensive line that seemed to become stale overnight during the June 10, 2010 season. Tyrone appears first. Next came that year's center Travis Frederick, who earned the coveted spot by going 31 down from 18, and Terrence, who was selected as a future starting wideout candidate with the third RBI he earned as compensation for his troubles. We got Williams.
And even the following year in 2014, they took notice of defensive lineman Aaron Donald, but he didn't quite get to them at age 16 (he turned 13)th Rams) and linebacker Ryan Shazer (No. 15 to the Steelers), but famously settled on guard Zach Martin. He was the fourth offensive lineman overall taken off the board, but all-important was the first interior lineman.
And we're still experiencing the rest of the future Hall of Famer's story to this day.
So, what decisions do the Cowboys have to make, especially after they just spent a 2022 first-round pick (also No. 24) on versatile offensive tackle Tyler Smith? Until Tyron Smith, who played left guard throughout middle school and training camp, was put out for the season two weeks before Opening Day. Tyler then moved to left tackle, starting 16 games (one at guard), and performed very well before playing at a second-team All-Pro level as a guard last season.
Is Tyler a better left tackle than any other tackle available in the draft at age 24?
In an NFL meeting, head coach Mike McCarthy said Tyler is a guard “right now,” but injected the old theory that he would “start with the best five.” If that means Tyler is a tackle, why take a tackle when this team has so many other needs to fill? And if the Cowboys still choose a tackle, to me that player better be versatile enough if he has to replace tackle Tyler Day 1 at left guard.
But again, in terms of human capital and cap savings, we're already spending first at that position and the cap money that comes with it, so moving Tyler to tackle and then grooming guard TJ Bass to left guard He played a more than adequate role as an undrafted rookie last season. He performed well enough to start two games as an injury replacement and pitched complete games in the other two games as an injury replacement.
Definitely none of these mocks take this into account. Too deep.
Then, how about taking a look at the 2013 draft when replenishing the offensive line and instead taking that first round pick, perhaps trading down, to select a player with every player in a position to touch the ball? I wonder. 60-odd of them will snap the match.
Tyler Biadasch, a Pro Bowler and 16-game starter in free agency in 2023 and 2022, is no more, following Dan Quinn and Mucho $$$ to Washington. What happens to that spot if the center is worth a first-round pick? Or even if he's worth a second-day top-10 pick? They may not have to wait too long to get a second-round pick on their player. As with Frederick, the Cowboys were heavily criticized for trading down to draft a center that many thought they could take at No. 2, but they still could get him with the 47th pick. There was no guarantee.
“We've got a third-round grade on this guy,” NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said at the time. Hmm, maybe that's why he failed as the Raiders' general manager. And who knows where the anonymous AFC scout who reportedly classified the pick as “Yeah” on Twitter in 2013 is now.
After a few Pro Bowls, what would that be?
Now, what caught my eye is this center who is expected to be available at the end of the first round or the beginning of the second round. West Virginia's Zach Frazier, 6-3, 314. Ran the 40-yard dash in 5.24 seconds. Those are not bad numbers for an Interior offensive lineman. He is also a four-time West Virginia High School Heavyweight Wrestling State Champion, losing just two matches throughout his high school career at Fairmont. He was a two-time All-America center as well as a National Soccer Foundation Scholar-Athlete. (It's always good to have a smart center.)
Frazier caught my eye while watching his training and game tape. It moves well. bulldog. Anchor in the middle. Has the ability to move laterally and climb to the second stage. Oh, and this: One of his scouting reports compares him to, er, Tyler he Biadasz. He could be a true center for the first time since starting four seasons at West Virginia, where he was a three-time All-Big 12 Conference center and a three-time team captain. Because his arms are short, he fights even harder.
And much of the draft decision regarding this center will be based on coach Brock Hoffman, who originally signed out of Cleveland as an undrafted rookie free agent from Virginia Tech in 2022 and spent time practicing with the Browns and Cowboys. They will probably focus on what they think. team that year. However, he played in 17 games for the Cowboys in 2023, starting two of them, and played well in those starts.
If for no other reason, the center position should definitely get the Cowboys' attention. If Hoffman is the starter, who is the backup? Weakening the middle would spell doom for the offense, and the Cowboys are well aware of that. After moving on from veteran Andre Grode, the team struggled there in 2011-12 before prioritizing center by drafting Frederic in 2013. You may remember then-head coach Jason Garrett complaining. Over the past two seasons, his various centers have been forced into quarterback Tony Romo's lap too often, most of all during run blocking.
Bottom line: Since they're 24 years old, the Cowboys don't have to be boxy about drafting a tackle in the first round and could settle for a down-the-line tackle if a higher-grade tackle doesn't fall. There is sex. Especially if you already have good players on your team. Follow their big board.
For me, all things being equal, I'd rather have a guard with Tyler in hand. And we never want to be satisfied with just a center. I want to have a good time.
That's certainly a pretty logical idea, don't you think?
