Cowboys take Georgia DT in recent The Athletic's Mock Draft
Not many Mock Drafts have the Dallas Cowboys taking a defensive player with the 24th overall pick. By now, offensive line and wide receiver lead the consensus on what position the team is going to address with its first-round pick. Diante Lee from The Athletic threw a change-up at Cowboys fans with his latest Mock Draft. […]
Not many Mock Drafts have the Dallas Cowboys taking a defensive player with the 24th overall pick. By now, offensive line and wide receiver lead the consensus on what position the team is going to address with its first-round pick.
Diante Lee from The Athletic threw a change-up at Cowboys fans with his latest Mock Draft. In it, the Cowboys took a Georgia defensive prospect to help out Dan Quinn's front seven. This is not particularly new, as Dallas has been linked to LB Nakobe Dean and DT Jordan Davis for months now.
But Lee actually mocked a different player to the Cowboys. Defensive Tackle Devonte Wyatt. More than a change-up, a curveball would be more accurate. Here's a part of Lee's write-up on the mock selection:
"Wyatt is an underrated pass rusher for his size, too, and Dan Quinn’s blitz schemes generate one-on-ones that Wyatt can win against centers and guards on passing downs. Not to mention he is dominant as a run defender."
Teammate Jordan Davis has become a Cowboys Nation favorite by now, which is why this might come as a surprise to many. While Davis primarily lined up as a nose tackle for the Bulldogs, Wyatt commanded the three-tech spot and was the superior pass rusher of the pair.
Many would prefer the Cowboys to bolster up the run defense by taking Davis, who specializes in that by his ability to occupy space and "create 10-car pile-ups at the
line of scrimmage," as Dane Brugler puts it in his Draft Guide.
But Brugler actually ranks Wyatt one spot above Davis in his Top 100. And you can certainly make the case for the Cowboys to build on their biggest strength on defense rather than trying to "fill a need" in the run game.
The Cowboys finished the 2021 season as one of the league's top pass defenses thanks in big part to their defensive backfield but having a quality pass rush led by Micah Parsons certainly helped.
While Dallas has certain depth at defensive tackle, adding a first-round caliber talent like Wyatt could take the pass rush to another level with his work on the inside.
You can catch the full Jordan Davis – Devonte Wyatt we had on A to Z Sports Dallas Primetime below.
Featured image via Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports
