Don’t look now, but the NFL draft season is nearly upon us. College football’s regular-season is over, with only bowl games remaining. And believe it or not, the NFL postseason is only about a month away. It’s an exciting time for football fans, especially for those of us who enjoy scouring the Internet for 2020 NFL mock drafts.
Lucky for us, Matt Miller, one of my favorite draft analysts, just dropped his latest 3-round 2020 NFL mock draft. Miller is one of my favorite draft analyst because he not only has his ear to the ground listening to the whispers around the NFL, but he has a really good understanding of teams needs as well. That’s why I tend to listen when he has something to say.
Now, I know the majority of you around Cowboys Nation couldn’t care less about who he selected for all the other 31 teams around the league, so I won’t waste your time. What you want to know is who he decided to choose for the Dallas Cowboys, and why? Well, let’s take a look…
Round 1, Pick 21
Grant Delpit, S, LSU
Matt Miller understands that big changes are coming in the Dallas Cowboys secondary next season with both Byron Jones and Anthony Brown set to hit free agency, but it wasn’t a cornerback he went with with the Cowboys first pick. He decided to address the backend of their defense with arguably the best safety in the 2020 draft class, Grant Delpit out of LSU. Here’s what he had to say…
“LSU’s Grant Delpit looked like a top-10 player before the season began, but he’s played a little timidly this year. That doesn’t affect his talent, though, and NFL scouts will see when evaluating 2018 tape and his testing times that Delpit is still a Round 1 player with the potential to become a Derwin James-type safety”.
I can’t argue with Matt Miller’s reasoning here. The Dallas Cowboys definitely need to upgrade the safety position, hence the attempt to trade for Jamal Adams ahead of the 2019 NFL trade deadline. So, why not pull the trigger on the best one in the draft class? The only other positions I think that could be of higher priority here is cornerback and defensive end, the latter of which Miller addresses next for the Cowboys.
Round 2, Pick 53
Jabari Zuniga, DE, Florida
In Round 2, Matt Miller decided to stick to the defensive side of the ball and selected Defensive End Jabari Zuniga out of Florida for the Dallas Cowboys. This is a pick that makes a lot of sense for the Cowboys with both Robert Quinn and Michael Bennett currently under one-year deals that will expire after the completion of the 2019 season. But, I’m not completely sold.
Nothing against Jabari Zuniga, but I think the Cowboys might prefer to double dip in the secondary and draft their highest rated cornerback instead. I believe Zuniga will be a fine player in the NFL, but there’s nothing about his game that excites me. I just don’t see him making as much of an impact as a CB would. However, it’s definitely a “need” pick, hence Miller’s reason for selecting him for Dallas.
Round 3, Pick 85
Isaiah Hodgins, WR, Oregon State
In Round 3, Matt Miller shifted his focus to the offensive side of the ball for the Dallas Cowboys and selected Wide Receiver Isaiah Hodgins out of Oregon State. With Randall Cobb set to hit free agency once again after the season and with Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup as the only proven receivers left on the rooster, the Hodgins selection makes sense.
At 6’4″, 210, Hodgins would definitely bring some much-needed size to the position for the Cowboys. Having said that though there are a couple of WRs I like better who are still available, Collin Johnson and Devin Duvernay, both out of the University of Texas. Johnson is a physical freak at 6’6″, 220 pounds and a contested catch/redzone demon, and Duvernay (5’11”, 210) is a yards after the catch nightmare. I believe both are a better fit for Dallas’ offense, but that’s just my opinion.
