The 2024 NFL Draft may seem far away, but it will arrive before we know it. When the draft approaches, the Dallas Cowboys will have requirements that we may not fully comprehend right now. Free agency will change the face of this roster, and considering that we don’t know how things will turn out, we could be in for a surprise or two.
However, many requirements are clear and will remain so long after that part of the offseason is over. As is customary, mock drafts are in full swing, with the first from one of the game’s more well-known players having been released.
Mel Kiper has the Dallas Cowboys picking Arizona’s Jordan Morgan.
Last week, NFL Media’s Daniel Jeremiah dropped his first mock draft of the year and in it he had the Cowboys taking Arizona offensive tackle Jordan Morgan at number 24 overall. Obviously the Cowboys have a decision to make at tackle this offseason with Tyron Smith. Will he want to return? Will they want him back? What would that even look like? If he moves on or if the team decides to move on regardless, will Tyler Smith be the plan at left tackle?
All of these are valid questions, which is why ridiculing a Cowboys tackle appears to be fair game. That is exactly what ESPN’s Mel Kiper did in his first mock of the year, likewise siding with Morgan.
24. Dallas Cowboys
Jordan Morgan, OT, Arizona.
The Cowboys, the second NFL franchise in Texas, had the opposite rookie class as the Texans, with very nothing from their first-year players (unless you count first-team All-Pro kicker Brandon Aubrey, who played in the USFL). And, while they’ve been known for their outstanding offensive line play for years, both left tackle Tyron Smith and right guard Zack Martin are 33, with Smith now out of contract. Sure, they appear to have landed on 2022 first-round pick Tyler Smith, who has shined at left guard, but they need to add more quality to their line.
Morgan is my favorite pass protector in this class. I adore the way he uses his feet and performs twists and tricks. He started 35 games at left tackle in college, making him an ideal candidate to replace Tyron Smith.
Morgan was projected to go to the Baltimore Ravens at 32 overall in a recent mock draft by The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, who noted that he has some guard flexibility, so Dallas may use him at guard alongside Tyler Smith at left tackle. All conceivable outcomes remain intriguing.
However, Brugler did send an offensive lineman to the Cowboys, Tyler Guyton from Oklahoma, so the position is often regarded as a team necessity.
How do you feel about Dallas’ addition to the trenches in the first round? Do you think Tyron Smith will return, rendering this concept moot?
