In another time and place, this could’ve been so easy. The Dallas Cowboys keep their free agents, as they so often do, and use the NFL Draft not to fill needs, but to simply grab the “best player available.”
But in 2024? The Cowboys have backed themselves into a corner with their free agency plan, and now, multiple starting positions need restocking – beginning with a ravaged offensive line.
And “need” may have to be a driving force.
With Tyron Smith (Jets) and Tyler Biadasz (Commanders) snapped up in free agency, Dallas is now in the position of having to replace starting, Pro Bowl-caliber players with bargain free agents and draft picks.
The Cowboys do have a history of hitting on their draft selections more often than not (last year’s class has work to do), so personnel boss Will McClay and Co. could be successful in getting Dak Prescott some protection.
But suddenly, “could be” doesn’t seem like enough. And the “easy way” – just picking straight off the board built by McClay and staff? It may have just gotten a bit more difficult.
The good news? Maybe “need” and “best” mesh into one guy in Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson.
Dallas has put itself into a tough spot. Now, maybe, the franchise can’t just draft “BAA” (“best available athlete,” as our Mike Fisher likes to call it) but has to draft for position.
There is an issue with the Oregon standout; he and other top-line offensive linemen might be off the board when the Cowboys pick at No. 24? That’s nightmare fuel. … though this is certainly a deep draft when it comes to the guys upfront.
The Cowboys need a lot of help just for the roster to get back to the 2023 baseline, which we remember wasn’t good enough to win a playoff game.
With Powers-Johnson, Dallas gets a likely Day 1 starter. It would be “easy” if things fell that way. But if there is a run on O-linemen before pick No. 24? We might look back and see how “hard” the Cowboys made it on themselves thanks to free agency complacency.
