NFL mock draft 2023: Cowboys 7-round projection after Brandin Cooks trade
Pick Analysis. DL. Adetomiwa Adebawore. Scouting Report. Northwestern. 2. player. 123
Adetomiwa Adebawore is all potential that the Cowboys should bank on
In some order, it feels almost like a foregone conclusion that the first two rounds of the draft are going to feature the Cowboys taking a tight end and a defensive lineman. And while players like Mazi Smith and Calijah Kancey could be there with the 26th overall pick, I much prefer the second-round defensive line talent to the second-round tight ends in this draft class.
So after taking Kincaid, the simulation that was run still had Northwestern defensive lineman Adetomiwa Adebawore on the board. After Indianapolis and his showing at the NFL Combine, that was something that just couldn’t be passed up.
Measuring in at 6-foot-2, 282 pounds, Adebawore was bigger than he was listed in college, though still undersized for a traditional tackle role and perhaps oversized to play on the edge. What was also oversized was his athleticism in the drills. The Northwestern product tore up the track with a 4.49-second 40 at that size, one of the fastest ever for a defensive lineman, while also posting a 37.5-inch vertical, more than a 10-foot broad jump and still banging out 27 reps on bench press.
Production in college and size are going to be knocks against him in the draft process but that type of explosiveness at the size he does possess is rare. Putting him in a Dan Quinn defense feels like an idea spot for him to move around the line and thrive. Meanwhile, the Cowboys can get a chess piece on the defensive front to help penetrate that they’ve been longing for.