The Dallas Cowboys have several holes in their roster that were exposed last season that kept them from reaching the postseason, and they're hoping to fill those holes this offseason. However, since Dallas has not signed any free agents yet, it appears they'll be looking to the draft to find players who can fill those holes. Here are all the Cowboys draft rumors you need to know, including the latest on who Dallas is targeting:
Cowboys linked to three WRs
Dallas is evaluating a number of wide receiver prospects this year and, with Dez Bryant no longer playing like a No. 1 receiver, many believe they'll take a wideout with their first-round pick.
In fact, Blogging the Boys looked at 15 different mock drafts and found that the Cowboys were projected to a wide receiver in nine of them, with most predicting that Dallas will take Alabama's Calvin Ridley.
We looked at 15 mock drafts, all done at least two days after the start of free agency. We wanted to try and get a more accurate picture after the big names in free agency, the kind of names that would affect first-round draft strategies, had moved teams. What we found is the Cowboys interest in Sammy Watkins, and the previous talk about uncertainty with Dez Byrant’s future, has vaulted Ridley to the top. He is the pick in six of our 15 mocks. Not only that, two mockers went for Courtland Sutton and one picked DJ Chark, giving WRs 9 out of the 15 slots!
Ridley, 23, caught 63 passes for 967 yards and five touchdowns last season.
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Dallas targeting Iowa LB Josey Jewell?
The Cowboys have a need at linebacker with only two locked-in starters for next season, both of whom have their own problems - Sean Lee is often hurt and Jaylon Smith is still not fully healthy from a knee injury sustained his senior year of college.
As such, DallasCowboys.com discusses Iowa's Josey Jewell as a possible target for the team.
He’s a tackle machine, first and foremost. Jewell’s 11.3 tackles per game as a senior was the fourth-highest average in the country, according to Iowa’s web site. He projects as a middle linebacker in a 4-3 scheme like Dallas’, and the Cowboys need depth there even with Jaylon Smith progressing and veteran Joe Thomas signing as a free agent this week. Given the time Sean Lee missed due to injury last season and the subsequent free-agent departures of Anthony Hitchens and Kyle Wilber, the team seems likely to add more numbers to the linebacker position in the draft.
Jewell, a projected second- or third-round pick, recorded 132 tackles with 13.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks last season. It was his third straight year with at least 124 tackles for the Hawkeyes.
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Mutual interest between Cowboys, UTEP OL
The Cowboys have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, and one top prospect is hoping to join that group in UTEP offensive lineman Will Hernandez. The interest appears to be mutual as well, as he had a meeting with the Cowboys following the Senior Bowl, and they are set to host him on one of their pre-draft visits.
Hernandez has also been hanging out with several Cowboys players in recent months. He was spotted at a movie with both Tyron Smith and La'El Collins in February. Then in March, he was enjoying the city of Dallas with Smith.
Hernandez is 6-foot-3 and 330 pounds and is regarded as the second-best offensive lineman in the draft behind only Notre Dame's Quenton Nelson. If Hernandez is available to the Cowboys in the first round, he may be heading to Dallas.
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