It is draft month. For Cowboys Nation this means keeping your collective ears even closer to the ground of Frisco, Texas. Anything that comes out of The Star could prove pertinent some 35 miles down the road on April 27th at AT&T Stadium – where the 2018 NFL Draft will get underway from the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
At this point in the draft process, mock draft projections are also of tremendous value.
This week, the three mock drafts below continue to address positions of need on the Cowboys roster, doing so with prospects that have seemingly been forgotten about as potential Dallas targets.
CBS Sports: Vita Vea, DT – Washington
“Cowboys sprint to the podium for this pick, right?”
Analysis:
Not so fast, Mr. Brinson. Although Washington’s Vita Vea would greatly improve the Cowboys defensive line at a position of need, the team drafting a true 1T DT in the first round is not as simple.
Mock drafts linking Vea to the Cowboys have been few and far between ever since Stephen Jones announced that the team would only prioritize a player at his position if he’s versatile enough to also play 3T.
The Cowboys believe Washington DT Vita Vea is a three-down player…not a typical nose guard. Rod Marinelli told me as much at the combine
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) April 3, 2018
This latest development may have come too late to factor in CBS Sports’ most recent mock draft, but it is fair to say that this should only be the start of Vita Vea to Dallas talks ramping back up in these coming weeks.
Vea did take an official pre-draft visit with the Dallas Cowboys, and did flash rare ability from a 1T on tape at Washington to get up the field and into the face of quarterbacks.
Bleacher Report: Courtland Sutton, WR – SMU
“It might feel like at least a slight reach if any wide receiver not named Calvin Ridley is selected in the first round. But any risk tied to that draft aggressiveness is worth it for the Cowboys because of their wide receiver desperation.
The need to grasp for receiving talent was alleviated to some degree when the Cowboys signed free agent Allen Hurns. But much more is needed.”
Analysis:
The fact that Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Jason Garrett was at SMU’s local pro day to work out Courtland Sutton last week certainly gives this projected pick more than enough credibility.
If one thing has remained constant through this offseason for the Cowboys, it is that their search for receiving talent has left no stone untouched. Covering their bases through all of the top prospects available, Sutton absolutely deserves to still be in this conversation.
While I personally don’t see the Cowboys being “wiped out” on their board at enough positions of need to reach for Sutton at 19th overall, the possibility remains that the Southern Methodist star will continue playing football in Texas at the next level.
SB Nation: Isaiah Wynn – OL Georgia
“As Dallas looks to return to the playoffs, they might consider wanting to go back to a dominant offensive line. That could happen with the addition of Wynn, a Pro Bowl-caliber interior lineman who can move outside in case of emergency.”
Analysis:
If the Cowboys add another first-round offensive lineman at the draft, the best value they could get out of the 19th overall pick would be a plug-and-play left guard that also has the ability to play tackle.
Georgia’s Isaiah Wynn fits this model better than any other player in this 2018 class. The Cowboys should feel great about potentially starting their draft with Wynn, a ready-made guard with elite athleticism and power.
Not only would Wynn sure up the front of the pocket for Dak Prescott, and help Ezekiel Elliott in his “comeback” season, but the Cowboys could feel much better about their depth at OT behind Tyron Smith and La’el Collins with Wynn.
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Vita Vea, Courtland Sutton, and Isaiah Wynn are all prospects that break up the monotony of the mock drafts that came before these for the Dallas Cowboys.
The team addressing DT, WR, and OG respectively is nothing new – with these resurfacing names serving as reminder that the strengths of the 2018 Draft class line up pretty nicely with those of its hosting franchise.
It will be difficult for the Cowboys to not improve noticeably — on paper at least — following a draft with ten total selections. Nailing their first round pick though, as the Cowboys have consistently done in recent years, will be as crucial as ever if AT&T Stadium wants to host more than just this draft.
The potential for playoff games returning to Dallas is at the Cowboys fingertips, based on the talent being placed in the star weekly in an array of mock drafts.
