It’s coming down to the wire of the NFL offseason, and the Dallas Cowboys haven’t made many moves yet.
However, the NFL Draft is a time of new beginnings — both for teams and the rookies that will enter the doors of the team’s facilities. The Cowboys have a chance to rectify their quiet offseason with strong selections from April 25-27.
Dallas Cowboys News Today
Consensus Mock Draft Has Dallas Selecting a Center
The Cowboys lost left tackle Tyron Smith and center Tyler Biadasz this offseason. Dallas has the chance to rebuild its offensive line, and it all starts with the interior with the No. 24 pick, at least according to Pro Football Network’s Consensus 2024 NFL Mock Draft.
“With two prominent members of their offensive line leaving in free agency, the Dallas Cowboys look set to address the position in the first round of the NFL Draft for the second offensive season,” PFN Staff wrote. “Arguably the best center in the class, Jackson Powers-Johnson propelled the Oregon offensive success from the pivot and should be able to do the same in Dallas.”
Powers-Johnson arguably became Oregon’s best offensive lineman this season. He’s had a whirlwind career where he switched between being a backup offensive lineman and switching to the defensive line for the 2021 Alamo Bowl.
Powers-Johnson played in 12 games in 2022, making just one start. Then, he broke out in 2023 and was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection, a unanimous All-American, and the Rimington Trophy winner — awarded to the best center in college football.
KEEP READING: PFN’s Consensus 7-Round NFL Mock Draft
Odds That Tyler Smith Moves to LT
Tyler Smith looks the part of an NFL left tackle. He’s 6’6″, 332 pounds, and played the position during his rookie season in 2022 as a 21-year-old. He found a new home at left guard with the return of Tyron Smith from injury, playing the position at an All-Pro level.
Cowboys team writer Patrik Walker is questioning whether or not it’d be the most savvy move to make the switch back to left tackle for Tyler Smith after Tyron’s exit to the New York Jets.
“There’s a million-dollar question swirling around the status of Smith for the 2024 season, and that’s if he’ll remain as the team’s starting left guard or if he’ll be moved to left tackle in the wake of Tyron Smith taking his talents to Gang Green,” Walker wrote.
“A large determinant in this decision will be what the Cowboys are able to walk away with in this year’s draft, but head coach Mike McCarthy remains reluctant to move Smith from a position that earned him both Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors in his first full season there — rightfully so.”
RELATED: Top OTs in the 2024 NFL Draft
Writer Believes the Cowboys Are Feeding ESPN Misinformation
Mike Fisher of Sports Illustrated’s Cowboys Country believes that the team could be feeding misinformation to the likes of the “worldwide leader in sports.” He points to several reports, including ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler’s that the team doesn’t “want to keep Dak Prescott beyond 2024” and that Dallas still firmly believes in Prescott.
“This is a red herring,” Fisher wrote.
“Nobody inside The Star has ever said they don’t want Dak long-term. Fowler is shooting down a ‘falsehood’ that isn’t at all part of the conversation.”
Regarding firmly believing in Prescott, Fisher had this to say.
“This might be, we suppose, a matter of semantics,” Fisher wrote. “We’d argue, though, that they clearly are not ‘firm’ on paying Prescott what most would see as ‘market value’ – which as CowboysSI.com has reported we believe Dak’s side to see as $60 million APY.
“If Dallas ‘believed firmly’ in Dak in that way, this deal would already be done.”
Prescott is in the final year of a four-year, $160 million deal. His cap hit is $55.455 million.
CONTINUE READING: Cam Newton Says Jerry Jones Is Holding Prescott Back