We're inching closer and closer to the NFL Draft and what the Dallas Cowboys plan to do with the 24th overall pick. Or how they plan to use their other eight picks.

The Cowboys have major needs in key areas, like depth at positions such as linebacker. Aside from Micah Parsons, it's all a big question mark. Leighton Vander Esch is coming off an up-and-down season, Jabril Cox is rehabbing a torn ACL and Luke Gifford is primarily a special teams player.

Positions that need immediate attention after being largely ignored in free agency are what the Cowboys need most.

Will McClay and the scouting department have earned trust in fans by following their draft board. They don't reach for players, and only go as far as the selections take them.

In any case, the positions that need the most help need to be filled to avoid the gapping holes remaining on the roster.

These are the five areas the Cowboys MUST address in the draft.

5) Tight End

Players on the roster:

• Dalton Schultz
• Sean McKeon
• Jeremy Sprinkle
• Ian Bunting

Losing Blake Jarwin takes away the ability to stretch the defense at the position. In 2021, the Dallas Cowboys ran 12-personnel (1 RB, 2 TEs) 24% of the time, as well as being QB Dak Prescott's second-most effective passing situation with a 110.4 passer rating.

The return of Schultz helps. He had the second-highest reception percentage (75%) among qualifying players, after being targeted 104 times. Outside of him, the position lacks snaps.

Jeremy Sprinkle is primarily a special teams player, used almost entirely as a blocker on offense. Sean McKeon has battled injuries and Ian Bunting has been a frequent practice squad player in his career, only playing in one regular season game.

The Cowboys need a player who can step into the second TE spot and compete for snaps. They're doing their due diligence on the position, visiting with a number of potential prospects to fill the role.

4) Wide Receiver

Players on the roster:

• CeeDee Lamb
• Michael Gallup
• James Washington
• Noah Brown
• Simi Fehoko
• Brandon Smith
• TJ Vasher

This is an obvious point. Lamb is the new no. 1, Gallup is recovering from a torn ACL and Amari Cooper is no longer on the team. The addition of Washington helps as he could start on opening day, but the depth is largely underwhelming.

Brown is the only non-starting receiver to play any quality offensive snaps, but has only ever been a primary special teams player, rotating on offense as the WR4/5.

Fehoko will get a chance to see an uptick in snaps this season but has shown nothing on the field yet to indicate he's ready to take over more offensive snaps.

Receiver can easily be one of the first three positions picked, even in the first round.. The Cowboys put themselves in a position to need quality play-makers. Luckily, this year's crop is deep at the position for Dallas to find a year-one contributor.

3) Defensive Tackle

Players on the roster:

• Carlos Watkins
• Osa Odighizuwa
• Neville Gallimore
• Quinton Bohanna
• Trysten Hill
• Austin Faoliu

The hope here is that Odighizuwa and Gallimore can be the guys to man the middle but haven't consistently been threats in the middle of the field. Both the best players on the interior, have plenty of potential to be the force inside.

Even with the return of Watkins after a career year, the position doesn't have a dominant force. Hill, a former second-round pick, has become known more for battling injuries and getting penalized for late hits, as opposed to good, consistent play.

Young players like Faoliu and Bohanna add depth, but that's it as it stands. The Cowboys lack a premiere pass rush or run stopping tackle they can depend on, and could possibly in play for one of Dallas' first few picks.

2) Edge Rusher

Players on the roster:

• DeMarcus Lawrence
• Dorance Armstrong
• Chauncey Golston
• Dante Fowler
• Tarell Basham

The loss of Randy Gregory hurt this defense as a whole. Gregory generated the second-most pressures behind Micah Parsons. This means DeMarcus Lawrence is once again the premiere edge rusher of the defense, but has battled injuries and is getting up there in age. It can't all fall on him.

Players like Armstrong and Fowler are both coming off good seasons, and could theoretically re-create Randy Gregory, without fully replacing him (i.e. Moneyball). They both are the likely co-starting right edge rushers, since it will have to take both of them to fill the void, combining for 9.5 sacks and 39 pressures in 2021.

Basham and Golston are good rotational players, both primarily used as run-stop edges. Golston is also quality rotational piece on both edges and the inside 3-technique.

Aside from Parsons, there lacks a presence to get to the QB often. The position has depth, but as the defense is much better when they apply consistent pressure.

1) Interior Offensive Line

Players on the roster:

• Zack Martin
• Tyler Biadasz
• Connor McGovern
• Matt Farniok
• Braylon Jones

Zack Martin and Tyler Biadasz are the returning starters on here, so there is some continuity. However, Biadasz played inconsistently in 2021, leaving his position all but secure. The Dallas Cowboys experimented with Connor Williams at center last off-season but that turned out to be a disaster.

With Williams gone, there's a gaping hole at left guard. A spot that McGovern wasn't able to replicate the same success he saw as a right guard, playing four games and allowing pressure from the inside. Farniok and Jones are both project players, neither of which are ready to start up front, leaving the starting job and depth lacking inside.

There's a reason the Dallas Cowboys are likely to take an offensive lineman with their first pick. Not only is it their biggest need, but the depth behind Zack Martin leaves very little confidence in who'll be starting, and if someone else should need to step in.