Cowboys’ Season Decays; Draft Stock Soars

The Dallas Cowboys are in utter shambles, losing quarterback Dak Prescott for the rest of the season and not even playing well when he was healthy.

Cowboys’ Season Decays; Draft Stock Soars

Mike McCarthy and Co. have a 3-6 record, situating them in 13th place inside the NFC’s evolving playoff picture. Put bluntly, Dallas will not reach the postseason, even if it ventures on a sweet win streak. The NFC is too competitive in 2024. The seventh seed at the moment has a 6-3 record, the Green Bay Packers.

So, as this season is irreversibly cooked for the Cowboys, the franchise’s draft stock has soared. If the 2025 NFL Draft occurred tonight, Dallas would pick 11th, which is actually prime territory for a squad with about three needs.

For starters, the Cowboys need more productive offensive linemen. Each starter has a Pro Football Focus grade in the 60s — passable scores but no standout performer(s). Dallas essentially has about five dues on its offensive line who average about 13 points per game, to use an NBA analogy. If the Cowboys opt for a lineman with their soon-to-be high draft pick, men like Will Campbell (OT, LSU), Kelvin Banks Jr. (OT, Texas), and Tyler Booker (iOL, Alabama) will be in the mix.

Otherwise, if the offensive line isn’t sexy enough for Jerry Jones, defensive tackle remains a need. The main man in the middle, Mazi Smith, had played horribly. A pick from the 2023 NFL Draft, Smith hasn’t turned the corner to a long-term starting solution — like at all. In 2024, the guy has represented a total liability. His 30.3 PFF mark ranks 120th of 120 qualifying interior defensive linemen. Not ideal.

So, again, Dallas will have options with its 1st-Round pick. Promising DTs tunneling toward April include Mason Graham (DT, Michigan), Kenneth Grant (DT, Michigan), and Walter Nolen (DT, Ole Miss).

Finally, the most obvious need, on display on Sundays and pushed to the front of the discussion by the media, the Cowboys need a running back. An organization that habitually — almost notoriously or stubbornly — prioritizes halfbacks while the rest of the NFL seems to have a “we’ll figure out something at running back” approach … needs a running back. Rico Dowdle, Ezekiel Elliott, and Dalvin Cook compose the NFL’s worst RB trio, and it isn’t close.

So, yes, you guessed it — the Cowboys will be loudly linked to the Ashton Jeanty. The freak-of-nature running back will be mock-drafted to Dallas ad nauseam, and the Cowboys don’t feel like an organization that will adhere to the “don’t draft an RB early” rule. They could end the rushing madness, draft Jeanty, and call it good.

Of course, Dallas could fill a couple of these needs by trading down, especially if the pick climbs into the Top 10. But on the surface, Dallas needs help at OL, DT, and RB.

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Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the Minnesota Vikings, with 4-7 episodes per week. His NFL obsession dates back to 1989. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL. 

All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.