3 Dallas Cowboys on the bubble following 2021 NFL Draft

2. Trysten Hill, Defensive Tackle

In 2019, the Dallas Cowboys made one of their more controversial draft selections in recent memory (and they have had their fair share of rough ones). That year, they took Trysten Hill at No. 58 despite there being much better players — such as Juan Thornhill who not only filled their biggest need (safety) but was also a starter in college whereas Hill was riding the bench in 2018.

Hill was apparently a “pet cat” of former defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli’s although he also ironically spent his entire rookie season in Marinelli’s doghouse. He finished with just five tackles and added 11 in year two, but played in only five games before suffering a torn ACL.

The injury was unfortunate because Hill was finally showing signs of improvement — and now, it could cost him since the Cowboys reloaded at the position and he was never able to fully assert himself as a starter before that happened.

As of now, Dallas has Brent Urban, Neville Gallimore, and Carols Watkins as experienced options at defensive tackle, and rookies Osa Odighizuwa and Quinton Bohanna in the mix now as well. Of course, that’s lumping all of the three-technique and one-techniques together, but it just shows that there’s suddenly a lot of talent in the room. And with Hill not being a selection of this current regime, that second-round status doesn’t hold a lot of weight.