Dallas Cowboys: 5 Sleepers to target in 2021 NFL Draft

2. Jaelon Darden, WR, North Texas

Last season, Dallas shocked everyone when they added CeeDee Lamb at pick No. 17. They already had Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup who each topped 1,000-yards in 2019 so it seemed as though they wouldn’t be in the market for another wideout.

Of course, when someone with Lamb’s talent falls to your selection, you have to consider it and since he was the best player on the board, they made the move.

Now heading into 2021, they seem even less likely to add a receiver. But that doesn;t mean they won’t — especially if someone such as Jaelon Darden from North Texas is there in the sixth round or so.

Darden, who is undersized at 5-foot-9 and 170-pounds, had his best season in 2020 with 1,190 yards and 19 touchdowns. He’s likely set to play in the slot at the next level and as Kyle Crabbs of The Draft Network points out, he could really thrive in this role due to his ability to break tackles.

"“Darden’s stature is likely to limit him to more of a complementary role in an offense, but his vertical receiving skills and ability to generate yards after contact with his slipperiness is difficult to overlook. Darden would benefit from playing in a spread offense that spaces the field and minimizes the congestion he’ll have to run through at the NFL level—and teams would be wise to implement him most often on quick “now” screens, bubbles, out breaking patterns, and targets vertically down the field.” — Crabbs, The Draft Network"

From there, Crabbs goes on to talk about Darden’s ability as a return man and while Dallas has players who can fill this role on the roster now, it never hurts to add more competition to every spot. And it’s also always good to have young players who can contribute on special teams.