The 2024 NFL Draft is under a month away.
That means we can finally start to accurately speculate on who the Dallas Cowboys draft picks will be.
At this point, the Senior Bowl, the NFL Scouting Combine, and the rush of free agency are in the rearview mirror.
The positional needs of teams are all but set and the prospects have been seen.
As things get closer, it becomes harder for teams to keep their player interest internal, so we are getting a look behind the curtain at which organizations like certain prospects and who could shape up the first round.
This stays true for the Cowboys draft as well.
The draft is especially important for them this time, and nailing their first round pick could be the difference between winning and losing in the 2024 season.
Let’s take a look at the three best first round options for Dallas in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Texas A&M LB, Edgerrin Cooper
This has been a name floating around the Cowboys draft speculation for months.
As we inch closer to the names being called, I see Linebacker Edgerrin Cooper as a very real possibility for Dallas in the first round.
Cooper is one of the first confirmed 30-visit guys for the Cowboys, which means he is one of 29 other prospects that Dallas gets to bring into the facility, interview, test, get medicals from, and more.
History tells us this is extremely indicative of the Cowboys’ interest.
And it makes a lot of sense why they would be interested in Cooper.
Regardless of the Eric Kendricks signing, linebacker is still a major long and short-term need for the Cowboys roster, and Cooper can fill that void for years to come.
He is a tackle machine with a prototypical size and elite athleticism.
Learning under Kendricks for a year could make him destined to lead the Dallas defense for a decade.
There should not be many obstacles for Cooper to reach the 24th pick, and there is even some speculation he is more likely to be a second-round option for the Cowboys draft.
I don’t quite buy that, so jumping in on Cooper at 24 and fixing the linebacker corps is fine by me.
Oklahoma Tackle, Tyler Guyton
As the draft gets closer, it seems like this is the offensive tackle name that pops up the most for the Cowboys.
Former Sooner, Tyler Guyton has been the Cowboys pick at 24 in an increasing amount of mock drafts.
Sometimes that is not just a projection, that can also be a tell-tale sign of real interest leaking out.
This seems like the case to me with Guyton and the Cowboys.
The two met formally at the combine, and while the list has not come out in full yet, we can probably expect him to be a 30-visit for Dallas.
CEO Stephen Jones commented this week that there is a “pretty good chance” they take an offensive lineman early in the draft.
Pushing the issue of Jones telling the world the Cowboys’ draft strategy for a minute, this is a really important quote to remember as the draft approaches.
Guyton is going to be drafted right around the range Dallas is picking and he fits the bill of the kind of tackle they’d look for in the first round.
Especially if they are trying to find a guy that matches the build of Tyron Smith.
That does not mean Guyton will be Smith right away, but he has a similar build and skillset to what Smith had coming out of USC, and boy did Dallas develop that Southern California kid pretty well.
If Dallas does go offensive tackle at 24, it seems like Guyton will be the name they call.
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Oregon C, Jackson Powers Johnson
If you have been following the draft, you are familiar with former Oregon Duck, Jackson Powers-Johnson by now.
“JPJ” is the clear-cut best center in the draft for me and many others, and this has led to his name being taken out of the Cowboys draft talks in the last month or two.
That might just be changing, however.
Smoke is coming out about Powers-Johnson’s medicals, and it might be sliding him down the board.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper has yet to include Powers-Johnson in the first round of any of his mock drafts, and now NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah has him going 24th to Dallas.
Those two names are some of the biggest to follow in terms of mock drafts.
It is not just making predictions for Kiper and Jeremiah; what they write is what they are hearing from the league sources.
It still makes a lot of sense for Dallas to draft a center, even if it means moving Tyler Smith out to left tackle and slotting T.J. Bass in at left guard.
Dallas never shows any fear in taking a player with medical problems.
Sometimes it feels like they are even seeking it out; there is no reason to believe Powers-Johnson would scare them away.
Powers-Johnson is a top-12 player in this draft class to me, and some have him even higher than that; he is an elite center prospect with All-Pro potential.
It might be time for Cowboys fans to start looking at the draft’s best center once again.