2023 NFL Draft: Could one of these players fill a void on defense for Dallas?

Apr 2, 2023
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2023 NFL Draft: Could one of these players fill a void on defense?

The NFL draft is now 25 days away, and the Dallas Cowboys have put themselves in a prime position to draft the best available players with the great offseason they’ve had.

The team did saw defensive linemen Carlos Watkins sign with the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday.

Although it was tough to see he go after reports said the team was trying to bring him back, they did resign Johnathan Hankins a few days prior.

With Watkins gone, one void I would love to see them focus on in this years draft is on the defensive line. With the team grabbing Stephon Gilmore and Brandin Cooks via trade, this is one the biggest needs for Dallas.

As I’ve been looking over the draft board, I have seen a few players I would love to see the Cowboys take with the 26th overall pick and beyond.

With as great of an offseason the team has had, they now can look to grab a possible player in the first round at pick 26. Maybe we can hope they get lucky outside the first round and find a player like Jared Allen, Jason Taylor or Elvis Dumervil.

Nonetheless, let me dive into two players who I think could be a real possibly for the Cowboys. One that could go first round, and another they may be able to steal in the next couple of rounds.

These two players could be listed as a defensive linemen or as an edge rusher, but here are two names I think the Cowboys could strike gold with

BJ Ojulari

BJ Ojulari is a Junior from LSU, I didn’t get to watch him much in college, but his older brother currently plays for the Giants.

Wouldn’t that be great if they both got to play each other twice a year in the NFC East? In the past two seasons at LSU he totaled more than 100 pressures and 17 sacks.

He is 6’2, 248, he was First Team All-Sec in 2022. Even with as deep as this draft is, the edge rushers are probably going to so early and often in this draft, so if he is still sitting for the Cowboys at 26 in the first round, I would take him.

I have a few others above Ojulari on my board, but I just don’t think they are going to make it near the bottom of the first round.

Mazi Smith

Mazi Smith is a guy I LOVE in this years draft. Smith can play in both the 3-4 and 4-3. While the Cowboys run the 4-3, he could play nose tackle for Dan Quinn.

He really doesn’t have great pass rush skills, but he could be a great piece for Dallas in sub packages. The best thing about him? He is one of the BEST run defenders in this draft.

I originally thought maybe Dallas should take him at pick 26, but he just doesn’t posses enough skills to rush the passer to be a first round pick. If the Cowboys can take him in the second or even third round, it would be an absolute win for them.

The Cowboys have a ton of options in this years draft. They addressed the major needs via trade, and can now bulk this team up with young depth to try and make a run at a Super Bowl title.

Buckle up, it is going to be a fun next few months.

Shane Taylor

Shane Taylor

Shane Taylor is a sports journalist with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and seven years of professional media experience. He has written 766 articles for InsideTheStar.com, reaching over 928,000 readers. Prior to Inside The Star, Shane worked as a Sports Reporter for Journal Star and a Regional News Reporter for Shaw Media. He currently works in the TRIO Upward Bound department at a junior college.

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Jason Linden
Jason Linden
Apr 2, 2023 1:13 PM

These are 2 of the dumbest picks. I don’t think either one is 1st round talent. This would be a waste. Hopefully our scouting and management are smarter than the guy who wrote this

Cowboys fan
Cowboys fan
Apr 2, 2023 12:46 PM

Bj isn’t good enough to go in the 1st round!! Maybe in the 2nd round!! And Mazi Smith is good enough to go in the 1st round!! He’s shown flashes of being able to rush the passer, so all he needs is some coaching up and he can be an every down player!! One thing is for sure, and that’s that he won’t be there for us in the 2nd round, there’s no way!! And another thing is that, just cause we traded for Stephon Gilmore, it doesn’t mean we don’t need a corner!! Gilmore is only under contract for one year, so I think it would be smart to draft a corner in the 1st round so he can learn from Gilmore for a year and then take over as the starter next year!! And we would have a starting caliber corner ready to play in case of an injury!! We can’t have another year like last year where we sign people off the street cause our depth isn’t good enough, and then the ones we sign off the streets aren’t good enough either!! We need some good depth and I think the best way to do that is to draft one of the best corners left in the 1st round!!

Chris Tedder
Chris Tedder
Apr 2, 2023 11:20 PM

How about filling voids on offense for a change? Defense is in a better place than the offense is.

Phillip Garretson III
Phillip Garretson III
Apr 2, 2023 10:30 PM

With Mazi power and atheleticism, playing at 3-tech 1on 1 against guards will make him unblockable. Grabbing him and another big body in the 4th or 5th rd turns the Ds greatest weakness into a strength for years to come. The DL will be like the 90s Eagle’s line. Mazi will be our Jerome Brown, pass rushing can be taught. He’ll be another UNICORN on our team at 3-tech.

Steve Preciado
Steve Preciado
Apr 5, 2023 12:11 AM

“Could they? Will they? Should they? Can they? Rumor is? Maybe might probably???” Folks just avoid any story that has these words in the title. They don’t know, you don’t know. Just wait til the draft and THEN enjoy reading about whoever your team selected. Such a waste of time reading these stupid speculation stories.

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