The 2019 NFL Draft is just around the corner. This year’s draft looks to be a very deep class, but Dallas has plenty of needs that they’ll have to fill early on in this process with their three picks. Here’s how I think things could shake out for them at number 26 overall.
Even though they haven’t won the Lombardi Trophy since the mid-’90s, the Dallas Cowboys are still America’s Team. That means that when Jerry Jones and his son Stephen make the organization’s choices in the forthcoming 2022 NFL Draft, all eyes will be on TV screens throughout the nation. Here is the three-round Dallas Cowboys mock draft 2.0, with the draft only a week away.
Mock Draft 1.0 for the Dallas Cowboys
Joe Murphy/Getty Images; Tom Pennington/Getty Images; Scott Taetsch/Getty Images | Calvin Austin II, Jerry Jones, and Arnold Ebiketie (L-R) | Joe Murphy/Getty Images; Tom Pennington/Getty Images; Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
Jerry Jones and company stabilized the offensive line, picked a wide receiver to help replace Amari Cooper, and selected an edge-rusher to fill the vacuum created by Randy Gregory’s departure in the most recent Sportscasting.com three-round Dallas Cowboys mock draft. This is what the mock draft looked like:
- Round 1, No. 24 overall: Kenyon Green, G, Texas A&M
- John Metchie III, WR, Alabama (Round 2, No. 56 overall)
- Myjai Sanders, EDGE, Cincinnati, 3rd round, No. 88 overall
Nothing about the Cowboys’ needs changes as the draft approaches and final selection boards begin to take shape. However, since players have moved up and down selection boards, the Joneses will choose the same places in this Dallas Cowboys mock draft 2.0, although with new players in a different sequence.
Zion Johnson, G, Boston College, 1st round, No. 24 overall
I want to go on record that I think Kenyon Green from Texas A&M (who I had here in the last Dallas Cowboys mock draft) is the best pick for the ‘Boys. However, predictions are all over the place as to where Green will go. He could come off the board inside the top 20 or early in Round 2. I don’t think he makes it that far, though, because Jerry Jones will stop his fall here if he’s available.
All things considered, if Green falls to the Los Angeles Chargers at No. 17 or the New England Patriots at No. 21, Boston College’s Zion Johnson is a great consolation prize. The 6-foot-3, 312-pound guard isn’t very athletic, but he plays with a tenacity that could help Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard immediately as a run blocker.
More interesting choices for Jones and his club may be seen in several Dallas Cowboys mock drafts. Depending on where you look, there are pass rushers, linebackers, and wide receivers. The point is, Jones has made it clear that he’s targeting offensive linemen in this draft, and he’s chosen a lot of lineman in the first round in the past. As a result, you have the option of booking Green or Johnson at this location.
Arnold Ebiketie, EDGE, Penn State, Round 2, No. 56 overall
This Dallas Cowboys mock draft may now become a little more exciting! The excitement begins with Penn State edge-rusher Arnold Ebiketie, one of the late risers in the selection process, dropping to Jerry Jones and No. 56.
The 6-foot-2, 250-pound pass rusher from Cameroon didn’t start playing football until he was in 10th grade when he moved to the United States, so he’s still in his infancy. But he had a good three years at Temple before going to Penn State in 2021 and dominating. Last season, he has 9.5 sacks, 18 tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles.
If Ebiketie makes it this far, he’d be a great fit for the Cowboys as a ready-to-play Randy Gregory replacement. And, despite the fact that they’ve never played together, Ebiketie and fellow Nittany Lion Micah Parson seem to have a good chemistry.
Calvin Austin II, WR, Memphis, 3rd round, No. 88 overall
Amari Cooper has signed a contract with the Cleveland Browns. Michael Gallup had a major knee injury and will be sidelined for an unknown period of time. Aside from that, Dak Prescott and Mike McCarthy are just looking at CeeDee Lamb to start the season (with all due respect to Simi Fehoko, Noah Brown, and James Washington).
Jerry Jones selects Memphis wideout Calvin Austin II in the third round of this Dallas Cowboys mock draft because he needs a receiver next week. Austin, who is 5-foot-8 and weighs 170-pounds, ran a 4.32 40-yard sprint at the combine.
Austin is little, and he may remind Cowboys fans of another small, speedy WR who was also called Austin and was a draft flop. Calvin Austin II has a fearlessness that most pass-catchers his size lack. Tavon Austin had two somewhat fruitless seasons in Dallas in the midst of his career, but Calvin Austin II has a fearlessness that most pass-catchers his size lack.
Calvin Austin II, at the very least, should be a solid return guy for Dallas right away. He has the potential to be a one-of-a-kind, game-changing weapon. Also, won’t the team’s selection of a wide receiver at No. 88 give Cowboys supporters a positive vibe?
Sports Reference provided all stats.
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