The Dallas Cowboys were about to win the National Football Conference (NFC) East Division until Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott broke his ankle in a Week 5 win over the New York Giants on 11/11/20. Their season descended into an abyss as Dallas finished with a 6-10 record. With Prescott back, the Cowboys will look to regain the top spot in the NFC East Division.
However, the team needs to add some depth to be able to better withstand injuries throughout a National Football League (NFL) season. Fortunately, Dallas ended up with "eleven" picks in this season's NFL Draft. Let us take a sneak peek at who the Cowboys selected.
Round 1, Pick 12: Micah Parsons - LB - Penn State (6'3", 246 lbs). America's Team needed a linebacker. The Cowboys drafted the best linebacker in the draft in Parsons. Even though he opted out of the 2020 college football season, he was an All-American linebacker in 2019 (109 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 5 pass breakups). He is capable to make a play every time that he is on the field.
Parsons will start right away at one of the linebacker spots. Parsons could have been drafted even higher, but he likes to beat up his teammates. As long as he stops hazing people and looks to stop re-enacting scenes from 'School Daze,' then he will have a productive NFL career.
Round 2, Pick 12: Kelvin Joseph - CB - Kentucky (5'11 1/2", 197 lbs). Joseph had a strong 2020 season with 4 interceptions. He possibly could have went higher in the draft if he was not kicked off of the team and LSU forcing him to transfer to Kentucky. Joseph will definitely see some time in the secondary off of the bench.
Round 3, Pick 11: Osa Odighizuwa - DT - UCLA (6'2", 280 lbs). Odighizuwa creates pressure on the inside (six tackles for loss, 4 sacks). He dropped in the Draft because pro scouts look for defensive tackles to be in the 300 pound range. Nevertheless, Odighizuwa should see some time in nickel defensive sets in the middle of the defensive line.
Round 3, Pick 21: Chauncey Golston - DE - Iowa (6'5", 269 lbs). Golston brings pressure from the edge with 8.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. Adding Golston to the defensive end rotation will make the Cowboys pass rush even stronger this season.
Round 3, Pick 36: Nahshon Wright - CB - Oregon State (6'4", 183 lbs). Wright has the height to break up passes in red zone situations (2 interceptions, 6 pass breakups). Wright will end up being used in the red zone to challenge receivers on 50/50 balls in order to prevent touchdowns.
Round 4, Pick 10: Jabril Cox - LB - LSU (6'3", 232 lbs). Cox did not experience any drop-off in production after transferring from North Dakota State to LSU (6.5 tackles, 5 pass breakups). He has the speed to make tackles from sideline to sideline and to cover receivers out of the backfield. He dropped a few spots in the Draft because he suffered an ACL injury in high school, but he played four seasons in college with no injury issues. Cox has the potential to see plenty of playing time in the linebacking corps.
Round 4, Pick 33: Josh Ball - OT - Marshall (6'7", 308 lbs). Ball has the prototypical size to add depth to the offensive tackle position. He dropped a couple of rounds in this Draft because he was kicked off of the Florida State football team for beating up his ex-girlfriend. He is fortunate that he was not sentenced with jail time because he violated Title IX rules in college. If this man is not able to handle a personal relationship correctly, then he may not be able to handle the pressure of playing in the National Football League.
Round 5, Pick 35: Simi Fehoko - WR - Stanford (6'4", 222 lbs). In a shortened season of six games, Fehoko amassed 574 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns. The height advantage will give Fehoko the chance to catch plenty of touchdowns in the red zone.
Round 6, Pick 8: Quinton Bohanna - DT - Kentucky (6'4", 327 lbs). Bohanna could possibly see some time as a run-stuffer in the defensive line rotation.
Round 6, Pick 43: Israel Mukuamu - CB - South Carolina (6'4", 212 lbs). Mukuamu intercepted two passes and played at cornerback and at safety last season. His height and his versatility should allow for Mukuamu to grab some minutes in the defensive backfield.
Round 7, Pick 10: Matt Farniok - G - Nebraska (6'5", 311 lbs). Farniok started at guard and at center last season, but has played at tackle in the past. His versatility gives him a good chance to make this team as a backup.
Grade: You can tell that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had a major influence into who was picked because there are too many players selected that have character issues. Signing players with character issues have never been a problem for Jones, who capitalized on the Texas Deep Freeze last winter when Texans were freezing to death.
The Cowboys organization proved that these character flaws were egregious because Cox was picked after Parsons, Wright and Mukuamu were picked after Joseph, and Farniok was picked after Ball. Adding so many players that can fly off of the handle at any moment will be detrimental to team chemistry. Due to this issue, I give the Cowboys a D+. "How 'bout them Cowboys?"
All stats are from NFL.com.