The Dallas Cowboys have six selections in the 2024 draft in April, and after the release of Michael Gallup and a thinning expansive receiver room, the Cowboys could think about using a back-end pick on a wideout.
This team will not look to take one within the first few rounds, but anything after the third is possible, depending on who is still on the board.
I am not saying they should draft one early, but without Gallup, having to depend on Jalen Tolbert and Jalen Brooks behind CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks doesn't make me feel fantastic about their depth.
Notable Names
Let's start with a guy who could make it to the 3rd round, which could slide right into day one starter for Dallas.
That is Javon Baker from the University of South Florida. Right now, about every mock draft I have seen has him going in the third or fourth round. He had 52 receptions for 1,139 receiving yards in his college career.
https://twitter.com/NFLonCBS/status/1770522537551712567?s=20
His yards per catch are among the best in college, but the worry is his size and the overall projection at the college level.
I still like him because he averaged 17 yards per catch in his college career, which is almost precisely what Tolbert had in college.
Malik Washington is another wide receiver whom I have only seen 3rd round grades.
He falls right inside the top 100 players but was productive in 2023 at Virginia.
#UVA WR Malik Washington working out at pro day pic.twitter.com/bLklvSsCBq
— Jacquie Franciulli (@JacquieFran_) March 20, 2024
He had 110 receptions for 1,426 yards and nine touchdowns. Those are some big-time numbers for a player slotted outside the first two rounds in early every single mock draft.
Again, the problem, like Baker's, is Washington's size. He won't be able to play the outside and has difficulty getting up for a jump ball. Even with that, his explosion is elite, and he is fantastic at YAC ( yards after contact).
Don't Reach
The one thing I don't want the Cowboys to do is reach for a player that they don't need.
Yes, they are thin at wide receiver, but they only need one in the middle of the draft.
Get your offensive line settled, and then either linebacker or defensive line in the second round, and then you can start seeing who is on the board and go from there.
Unless Jerry Jones and the family surprise us all and trade up inside the top 10-15, don't expect them to take any wide receiver you have heard about lately.
This team has become hard to root for at this point. You fail year in and year out, say you will go “all-in,” lose five starters on your team, and sign on the guy.
That is what ticks us all, and I know I am not the only one who feels this way.
I am tired of writing about what the Cowboys might do in the draft to help them win when it doesn't matter who they draft!
Jets expected to sign LT Tyron Smith. (via @rapsheet) pic.twitter.com/OjNOoOqr57
— NFL (@NFL) March 16, 2024
They continue to waste Hall of Fame talent every time they find one.
Tyron Smith left, and you wasted him; Zack Martin probably has a couple of elite years left before you waste him; you are also about to waste CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons.
Yet you won't go out and get the players inside the building who are difference makers; you want to get unproven rookies cheap and hope they make a huge impact off the jump; it is laughable.
Please just resign Stephon Gilmore or something, you just lost Johnathan Hankins Wednesday, so it is only going to continue to get worse over the next month and half.
This window is closing, please stop doing this.
