Though the Dallas Cowboys are in the middle of a playoff run, most of the league is already in full offseason mode. With the offseason comes the NFL Draft, and with the NFL Draft comes mock draft season.
No matter what you think of mock drafts, they do provide a decent outline for fans to use when trying to figure out where certain prospects may fall. Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller recently penned his post-regular season mock draft, and slated the Cowboys to pick 32nd overall.
I’ll gladly take that positioning, by the way.
In the first round, Miller penciled in Illinois defensive end Dawuane Smoot to the Cowboys. The selection of Smoot would make sense for the Cowboys, especially considering their depleted defensive line and lack of consistent pass rush.
Recently, I wrote up a scouting report on Smoot for Slant Sports, which can be seen here, detailing how I felt about his game with clips from his college action.
Smoot, who is listed at 6’3″ 255 pounds by ESPN.com, played as a 4-3 defensive end at Illinois. He had a solid senior season, finishing with 5 sacks, 15 tackles for loss, and 56 total tackles in 12 games…Overall, Dawuane Smoot is a very good NFL prospect. Smoot’s combination of powerful hands and good speed is a dangerous one for opposing offensive tackles to deal with. In the right situation, Smoot could be a productive pass rusher for a professional team very quickly.
Smoot is not without his limitations, such as a lack of multiple pass rush moves, but with both time and coaching I believe he can be a productive player for the Cowboys. He would also be a step ahead of other rookies, as Cowboys defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli and Illinois head coach Lovie Smith run similar defensive systems. Smoot seems like a perfect fit for the Cowboys on so many levels.
Despite being 13-3, we all know that Dallas has a ton of areas they must address this offseason, and defensive end is at the top of that list. While Randy Gregory and DeMarcus Lawrence have each shown flashes, you never know what their availability will be week to week. Adding a consistent 4-3 edge rusher like Smoot could be important for the Cowboys in this year’s draft.
It will be interesting to see which position the Cowboys decide to address in the first round this spring. But first, let’s get by these Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
