Cowboys: 3-round mock draft after embarrassing playoff loss to 49ers

Jan 16, 2022; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) scrambles with the ball against the San Francisco 49ers during the second half of the NFC Wild Card playoff football game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 16, 2022; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) scrambles with the ball against the San Francisco 49ers during the second half of the NFC Wild Card playoff football game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dallas Cowboys, 2022 NFL mock draft
Nakobe Dean, Georgia Bulldogs. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /

The Dallas Cowboys tried to come back but largely laid an egg against the 49ers in the playoffs. Here’s how they can rebuild in this 2022 NFL mock draft.

In typical Dallas Cowboys fashion, the team fell flat in their first playoff game this season against the 49ers, falling behind early at home. As they often due, they tried to storm back but, in the end, added to the lists of postseason follies since 1995 with a quarterback draw that ultimately ended the final possession with no shot at getting the winning touchdown.

For many, the answer to fixing the Cowboys’ woes would probably be to either A. fire Mike McCarthy and find a new head coach who won’t routinely mismanage the game, or B. hope that Jerry Jones gets tired and sells the team. The latter isn’t happening and who knows about the former.

So the most plausible answer is to try and find answers in the offseason to help shore up the already impressive roster even more. That’s the goal as we look towards April in this 2022 NFL mock draft going through the first three rounds’ worth of picks for the Dallas Cowboys.

Cowboys 2022 NFL mock draft to bounce back from playoff loss to 49ers

123. Pick Analysis. LB. Georgia. 1. player. Scouting Report. Nakobe Dean

Nakobe Dean paired with Micah Parsons gives the Cowboys defensive cornerstones

Linebacker might not seem like the most pressing need for the Cowboys but the matchup with the 49ers definitely exposed an issue for the defense that has quietly been there all season.

Another former first-round pick, Leighton Vander Esch, looks like a dinosaur from the 1980s NFL right now with his lack of explosiveness and speed. Yes, Micah Parsons is a stud, but with LVE and potentially Keanu Neal not coming back next season and with the way the defense likes to move Parsons around, the team needs to get a modern linebacker in the fold to patrol the middle of the field.

Nakobe Dean would be perfect for that. Frankly, it would be a blessing if the Georgia product is there in the early 20s but it’s possible given how the linebacker position is often valued. He’s a heat-seeking missile on defense, though, with lightning speed, elite football IQ, and the ability to play ever aspect of the position at an extremely high level.

Though it might not be the most dire need, if Dean is there when the Cowboys come on the clock, there’s no way that they could pass upa player with his talent when they could also certainly use him on that side of the ball.