Cowboys 7-round 2023 NFL mock draft with trade into Top 20
Scouting Report. 3. player. Sam Laporta. 123. Pick Analysis. TE. Iowa
If Sam Laporta falls to the Cowboys, they’ll do cartwheels in the draft room
The departure of Dalton Schultz this offseason has led to many NFL mock draft projections having Dallas take a tight end in the first round. That’s definitely in play and wouldn’t be a bad solution. However, this is a uniquely deep and talented tight end class, one that could see someone like Iowa’s Sam Laporta potentially fall into their laps.
Laporta isn’t a great blocker but he’s solid in that right. What he is, though, is a sure-handed pass-catcher with the ability to stretch the field up the seam, make defenders miss in space after the catch, and be a high-upside security blanket for Dak Prescott in the same mold as Schultz was.
Now, there’s a chance that Laporta wouldn’t be there at the 80th pick (from the Steelers in the trade), but if that’s the case, an option like South Dakota State’s Tucker Kraft would be just fine too.
CB. Darius Rush. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. South Carolina. 3. player. 123
Darius Rush is the perfect CB option for the Cowboys to target
Put simply, there’s a reason that the Cowboys traded for Stephon Gilmore this offseason. While Trevon Diggs is oft-maligned for his gambling style of coverage and the plays he concedes as a result of that, the truth of the matter is that would look miles better with more help opposite of him in the secondary.
Darius Rush is the type of player who could come in and, frankly, be what Kelvin Joseph and Nahshon Wright haven’t shown they can be.
The South Carolina product has the athleticism and the size both in testing and on tape to be a great cornerback in the NFL, and his technique and ball skills pop off of the film too. Really, his biggest knock is that he’s already 23 years old but, even still, for a readymade starter, Dallas shouldn’t hesitate to snatch him up at the end of Day 2.