Cowboys Players Who Will Be Most Impacted by 2022 NFL Draft Picks

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After watching several talented players leave in free agency, the Dallas Cowboys will enter a pivotal NFL draft on April 28. 

While there’s a segment of NFL fans who will insist the salary cap doesn’t exist, the Cowboys are proof that sentiment isn’t true. And team owner Jerry Jones and Co. were forced to make several tough decisions this offseason. 

They traded Amari Cooper and watched Randy Gregory, Cedrick Wilson Jr and Connor Williams walk away in free agency. And they were then forced to find cheaper alternatives in free agency. 

The draft provides an opportunity to replenish some talent on the roster and will have an impact on several current players. 

Here’s a look at which Cowboys are going to be following the draft with heavier interest than most. 

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While some of the players on this list could see their roles change depending on the draft, Dak Prescott is going to be impacted in terms of how far he can take the offense. 

With the Cowboys saying goodbye to both Cedrick Wilson Jr. and Amari Cooper, there’s a void of 201 targets, 1,467 yards and 14 touchdowns from last year. 

All of a sudden, the Cowboys quarterback is going from working with a loaded group of wide receivers to depending on James Washington to take over a significant role. 

If the Cowboys are to successfully build around Prescott and his massive contract, they are going to have to find cheap options at receiver. That includes utilizing the draft to get talented pass-catchers on rookie contracts. 

The good news is that the Cowboys should have the opportunity to add a good one. Twelve of the top 64 players on Bleacher Report’s latest big board are wide receivers.

Prescott would likely appreciate it if the Dallas front office was able to acquire one of them. 

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Tyron Smith has been a franchise cornerstone for the Cowboys for more than a decade, but at 31 years old, it’s fair to wonder when the team might start putting together an exit strategy from counting on the left tackle. 

The USC product again put together another Pro Bowl season last year, but he also missed six games with ankle injuries. That’s just one season removed from missing all but two contests in 2020 with a neck injury. 

It’s notable that while the Cowboys did a lot to ensure they were under the cap, they didn’t touch Smith’s contract. Had they restructured his deal, it would have cleared cap space for this year at the cost of essentially rolling guaranteed money into next season. 

They didn’t do that, giving them the flexibility to part ways with Smith and free up $9.6 million in cap space in 2023, per Spotrac. 

If that’s the case, the Cowboys are a sneaky candidate to take a tackle with their first pick. The immediate thought then would be that right tackle Terence Steele’s job is in jeopardy, but it could be Smith who is ultimately getting replaced. 

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Carlos Watkins made a career-high 14 starts for the Cowboys last season and was brought back on a one-year contract, but he’s in danger of losing his starting position in training camp even without the draft. 

That’s largely because Neville Gallimore and Trysten Hill will be back after playing just 11 games between them last season due to injuries. 

But it’s also due to the Cowboys being a prime candidate to take another defensive tackle in the draft. Watkins may have started last season but he was uninspiring as part of the lineup. He ranked 57th among 109 interior defenders with enough snaps to be ranked by Pro Football Focus. 

While the Cowboys’ defense made strides in the first year under Dan Quinn, they were still in the bottom-third of the league in rushing defense. 

Replacing Watkins in the draft is a strong possibility for a Dallas team looking to build on last year’s success.