The Dallas Cowboys have a reputation for swinging big in the NFL Draft, selecting players with huge upsides rather than addressing needs the team may have.
On Day 1 of the 2022 NFL Draft, Dallas selected one of the top O-Line prospects, filling an important need rather than going for a splashy player.
On Day 2, the Cowboys had two opportunities and chose to select an elite pass rusher with off-field question marks and a wide receiver from a college, the University of Southern Alabama, that has only seen four previous players invited to the annual scouting combine.
The Cowboys selected Ole Miss outside linebacker Sam Williams as their second draft pick for 2022. Williams will fill a hole left after the departure of Randy Gregory this off-season, and will further advance a pass rush that has the potential to devastate opponents’ offenses.
Williams has a checkered past, having been expelled in high school with several other students for playing with a knife and suspended from Ole Miss in July 2020. Williams was charged with sexual battery; however, charges were later dropped, and the entire matter has been kept under wraps.
According to scouting reports on NFL.com, Williams’ skill lacks when it comes to performance against the run, where he gets pushed around by lesser talent. Scouts say his hand and footwork on pass rushes are elite, but he will need to work on his “strength and grit” against the run to be an effective early-down linebacker.
Williams has drawn comparisons to Shaun Philips, a 2004 fourth-round selection by the San Diego Chargers who became one of the NFL’s elite pass rushers.
In the Third Round, Dallas began to address the receiving corps thinned out by the trade of Amari Cooper for salary cap reasons and Cedrick Williams, who departed for Miami.
The Cowboys’ next pick was Jalen Tolbert, a wide receiver from the University of Southern Alabama. Given the proper situation, Tolbert brings high-level pass-catching and route-running skills and is viewed by scouts as a possible WR2. Prepping the Sun Belt standout falls to newly hired receivers coach, Robert Prince.
Tolbert was named Player of the Year in 2021 after deciding to forego eligibility in the 2020 NFL draft to finish his college education. In doing so, he raised his draft stock and came into the 2022 Draft as an expected second or third-round pick.
NFL scouts say he is “a silky-smooth receiver” whose best performances came against the most talented teams he faced in college. Scouts believe that what Tolbert needs to take his game to the next level is “fire in his belly” to bring out his competitiveness.
The Cowboys will have one pick in Round Four before getting four choices in Round Five. One of those picks comes from Cleveland in exchange for taking on Cooper’s contract, while two others are compensatory picks awarded by the NFL. This year, Dallas will have one remaining pick in Round Six but will not have a Round Seven pick.
