3 players the Cowboys should target if they can trade into the 4th round

The first three rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft are in the books and Saturday brings us rounds four through seven.

Some consider Will McClay & Co. to be the best in the business finding mid to late-round talent and he has four picks this afternoon.

The Cowboys unfortunately don’t have a 4th round pick, a round in which they have steadily found starting talent over the past decade.

McClay’s track record in the 4th round is stellar since 2014 and Jerry Jones would be smart to do everything he can to recoup the pick he sent to San Francisco for QB Trey Lance.

I assure you Jerry is working the phones and doing everything he can to acquire a pick before the 174th overall pick in the 5th round.

Dallas’ last pick, LB Marist Liufau was picked at 87. If the Cowboys can’t work themselves back into the 4th round or at least closer to the top of the 5th, they will watch 87 players get called before they pick again.

That stretch of the draft is loaded with talent and rich with players who weren’t picked earlier due to unanswered questions presented by scouts.

The Cowboys have a great coaching staff that focuses on player development. For that reason, the Cowboys’ mid-round picks flourish more often than not.

In a draft where the team needs to draft impactful players who need to contribute sooner rather than later, more mid-round picks would help the Cowboys realize that goal.

Among the remaining talent in the 4th round range are several players that have been connected to the Cowboys at some point in the draft process.

I want to point out a few of those players that the Cowboys could trade into the 4th to target.

Previous Picks

The Cowboys go into the draft with many holes after losing roughly a dozen players to free agency after the 2023 season.

In the first three rounds, they’ve covered left tackle, defensive end, interior offensive line, and linebacker with four players that Cowboys Nation should be happy with.

However, there are still impact players needed at running back and 1-tech defensive tackle, as well as depth needed at wide receiver, cornerback, and maybe even safety.

S Jaden Hicks, Washington State

The draft started with 15 consecutive offensive players before a defensive player was taken, DE Laiatu Latu to the Indianapolis Colts so it’s no surprise for a player the caliber of S Jaden Hicks to still be available in the 4th round.

Dallas allowed the contract for S Jayron Kearse to expire, leaving Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker at the top of the depth chart with promising young S Juanyeh Thomas waiting in the wings.

Hooker is getting up there in age, and no disrespect to Juanyeh, but there’s a reason he was an undrafted player.

Both the floor and ceiling are higher for Hicks, and he could provide the type of talent that DC Mike Zimmer covets in his safeties.

RB Jaylen Wright, Tennessee

The departure of RB Tony Pollard to Tennessee in free agency left a barren running back room.

Rumors of Ezekiel Elliott returning may be nostalgic but he alone doesn’t add enough to the room for the immediate future.

The Cowboys were heavily tied to Texas RB Jonathon Brooks, but he was snatched up by the Carolina Panthers 10 picks before Dallas’ turn.

Brooks remained the only running back drafted at pick 56 so the Cowboys had their choice of the litter.

Instead, they drafted DE Marshawn Kneeland from Western Kentucky, leaving us to hope for a running back at pick 87.

In between 56 and 87, Cowboys Nation frustratingly watched coveted players like Trey Benson and Blake Corum get drafted.

After the pick of LB Marist Liafau in the 3rd, RB Marshawn Lloyd was drafted with the next pick by the Packers.

Jaylen Wright is the top-rated running back left in the draft. He has elite breakaway speed with a low center of gravity to navigate in between the tackles.

I would love to see Wright in a Cowboys uniform.

CB Decamerion Richardson, Mississippi State

Stephon Gilmore is still a free agent and CB Trevon Diggs is recovering from a torn ACL suffered near the beginning of the 2023 season.

The depth at cornerback for the Cowboys is questionable after the top trio of Diggs, DaRon Bland, and Jourdan Lewis.

Nahshon Wright has not been the answer and Israel Mukuamu was a no-show in 2023.

Sixth-round draft pick Eric Scott Jr. never saw the field and who knows if Mike Zimmer will even like his traits to give him an opportunity in his defense.

There is an intriguing prospect still on the board that the Cowboys may feel the need to trade up and steal in the draft.

Decamerion Richardson is a 6’2″ 188lb cornerback from QB1 Dak Prescott’s alma mater Mississippi State.

Richardson is sticky in coverage and is a willing and punishing run defender. He likes to hit and that physicality has been lacking from the Cowboys’ defense in the last two playoff losses.