NFL Draft Combine testing will officially begin on Thursday as 329 collegiate athletes look to improve their stock before the 2025 NFL Draft.
Combine testing begins with defensive linemen and linebackers, followed by defensive backs and tight ends on Friday, quarterback, wide receiver, and running backs on Saturday, and offensive linemen on Sunday.
The 329 players invited to the 2025 NFL Draft Combine are a slight increase from the 321 players invited in 2024 and the most participants since 337 players were invited in 2020, reported USA Today.
Players will undergo a series of tests, including the 40-yard dash, bench press, vertical jump, broad jump, individual positional drills, and many others, to help NFL teams determine the best athletes in the draft class.
Those invited to the NFL Combine will also have the opportunity to answer media questions while privately meeting with various teams across the league.
Although the full list of interviews has not been released, the Cowboys have already met with multiple players at the NFL Combine who the team could draft with one of their early selections.
Every team is allowed to conduct 45 formal interviews with players throughout the draft process, and the Cowboys completed almost 20 of these interviews before the NFL Combine officially began.
After finishing the 2024 season with a record of just 7-10, the Cowboys secured the 12th overall selection and are expected to have 10 total selections in the draft due to compensatory picks awarded to the franchise for players that signed with other teams.
Dallas is unlikely to consider each player interviewed with the 12th overall selection in the draft but will use these interviews to help determine which players could be selected in the first few rounds.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the Cowboys must focus on a few positions during the draft to compete at a high level in 2025.
America’s team will likely focus on improving the defensive line to help control the game while adding multiple skill-position players on the offensive side of the ball, with the potential for either a wide receiver or running back to be selected in the first round.