The Dallas Cowboys have become very lucky in the past two NFL Drafts. Landing players like WR CeeDee Lamb and being able to trade back and still select a rising defensive superstar in LB Micah Parsons are the two biggest examples.

Considering where they were supposedly aiming before their selections, they've lucked out.

In 2020, the reported targets for the No. 17 overall pick were a quartet of defensive players. A twist of fate handed them a Pro Bowl WR in Lamb.

My current top 4 likeliest players for Dallas' first pick (no order):

Kenneth Murray
Patrick Queen
K'Lavon Chaisson
AJ Terrell

— Bobby Belt (@BobbyBeltTX) April 17, 2020

In 2021, all the signs and reports linked the Cowboys to either CBs Jaycee Horn or Patrick Surtain II. After they were ironically taken with back-to-back picks right before Dallas, the Cowboys were still able to land their premier defensive 'War Daddy'.

The Dallas Cowboys are doing a good job of keeping their lips sealed. Despite the signs pointing to the likely prospects of who to watch on the first night, it's largely speculation.

Or is it?

Anything can happen on draft night, but people who're in the know can usually be counted on. Especially people who know the job and know the Dallas Cowboys.

Bryan Broaddus is a former NFL Scout and long-time analyst for DallasCowboys.com, now the co-host of the G-BAG Nation on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, TX. Recently he was asked if he thinks there will be a point in the process where we find out who the pick is before the draft. After explaining how it was revealed in 2018 that Leighton Vander Esch would be the pick, and that the Cowboys have become more closed off, he added which players he thinks are the most likely to be the pick.

"I think it is gonna come down to either the guard or wide receiver. I think it's gonna be either Johnson or Green, and then with Burks, it would probably be the guy would be my guess… If one of those guys is available at spot, I think the Cowboys, they could very well take this in another direction." 

See the whole video here:

Click here to accept Marketing cookies and load this content

Even though Broaddus no longer works for the Cowboys, he's still highly connected. Connected to personnel within the organization and others who cover the team. He's often been spot-on with his draft projections, including lesser known players who have big impacts. His opinion is as valid as anyone's.

His film analyses and sources from all around give him more than enough credence. If these are the names we should be expecting the most in the first round, it's not smoke and mirrors.

Things can change. Players can be taken higher than expected, or the Cowboys could trade out of 24. In either case, go ahead and keep Zion Johnson, Kenyon Green and Treylon Burks as the favorites.

For now.