The 2024 NFL Draft approaches, now just 12 days away, and teams have completed the next step in preparation for the annual event.
NFL teams have completed their 30-visits and the Dallas Cowboys invited 26 players to The Star for further evaluation.
Here is the full list of players who the Cowboys brought in for a closer look:
- OT Taliese Fuaga, Oregon State
- OT Troy Fautanu, Washington
- C Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon
- OL Graham Barton, Duke
- OT Kingsley Suamataia, BYU
- OT Matt Goncalves, Pittsburgh
- OT Travis Glover, Georgia State
- OT Giovanni Manu, UBC
- RB Trey Benson, Florida State
- RB Jonathon Brooks, Texas
- RB Braelon Allen, Nebraska
- RB Bucky Irving, Oregon
- RB Tyrone Tracy, Purdue
- RB Rasheen Ali, Marshall
- RB Jase McClellan, Alabama
- RB Emani Bailey, TCU
- TE Ja'Tavion Sanders, Texas
- WR Malachi Corley, Western Kentucky
- DT Byron Murphy, Texas
- DE Darius Robinson, Missouri
- LB Edgerrin Cooper, Texas A&M
- LB Payton Wilson, NC State
- LB Junior Colson, Michigan
- LB Trevin Wallace, Kentucky
- LB Jordan Magee, Temple
- LB Nathaniel Watson, Mississippi State
That's quite a list of players to bring in for further evaluation, but what we are going to focus on today is how this list can tell us what the Cowboys' draft plans are.
They Saw What We Saw
Every offseason, thousands of couch general managers on their devices flood the internet with their plans to fix the Dallas Cowboys.
Owner and GM Jerry Jones can't ever get it right, and his son Stephen Jones keeps him from making aggressive moves to the dismay of the fanbase.
Hey, that's not me saying that. I have my opinions but I don't waste too much of my time on a subject that won't be addressed.
Let's be honest. Even if the Jones' happen to see a tweet or hear someone bash them on the radio, do you really think they care?
Shohei Ohtani's translator would bet the answer to that question is “no”, and you should figure that out sooner than later as well.
Despite the angst from Cowboys Nation, a quick glance to the list of 30-visit players above will show you they see where they need to improve.
Even if they don't vocalize it for all of us to hear, the players they brought in tell us they also know they need help at offensive line, running back, and linebacker.
Running Back
Tony Pollard is gone in free agency and backups Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn did not show us enough to have confidence in their abilities.
At no other point of the season was Ezekiel Elliott missed more than a goal line sequence on Christmas Eve in Miami.
After Pollard was not able to get into the endzone on two tries from inside the two yard line, Hunter Luepke fumbled the ball away.
Miami recovered, and the eventual three-point loss took the Cowboys out of contention for the #1 seed in the conference.
The Cowboys officially brought in eight running backs for further evaluation.
Notable names include Jonathon Brooks from Texas and Trey Benson from Florida State.
However, more names are scattered with draft projections ranging from the 3rd round through the 7th and even some undrafted projections.
That tells us they know they need a playmaker early in the draft but also need to add depth in later rounds.
Offensive Line
The Cowboys once had the best offensive line in the NFL for a 2-3 year span but have since come a long way from those times.
Zack Martin is now the only player remaining from those dominant years of the late 2010s after Tyron Smith left for New York and Tyler Biadasz followed Dan Quinn to Washington.
It feels like it's an offensive lineman or bust for the Cowboys in the first round, and I wouldn't be opposed to it.
Dallas has a reputation for their 1st round offensive linemen being plug-and-play immediately, and ending up with All-Pro awards early in their careers.
The talk of Tyler Smith moving out to left tackle this season might be put to rest by who the Cowboys invited to The Star.
There are five offensive tackles on the list, and five total players projected in the first two rounds who can play left tackle.
Linebacker
Remember when S Markquese Bell played linebacker for the Cowboys in 2023 weighing 205 pounds? Good times.
We all complained about getting gashed in the running game all season.
In their only “major” free agent move this offseason, the Cowboys signed LB Eric Kendricks, a player who was drafted by new DC Mike Zimmer during his time in Minnesota.
Now the 30-visits list shows us they are heavily considering drafting a linebacker in a couple of weeks, maybe even doubling up at the position.
There are All-Pro talents like Payton Wilson and Edgerrin Cooper at the top of the list, but also names with later grades.
That part of the list includes intriguing names like Trevin Wallace, Junior Colson, and Junior Magee.
I fully expect the Cowboys to draft at least one of each of the three positions discussed, and possibly double-dipping on at least two of them.
