Dallas Cowboys mock draft: Risk vs. reward with David Ojabo in Round 1

The Dallas Cowboys need a new defensive end and they go for David Ojabi, a high reward player with a bit of a risk in this 7-round mock

Once again, the Dallas Cowboys were one of the final teams to go out and sign a free agent from another team. This season, they waited until everyone else had made a move and then brought in receiver James Washington and defensive end Dante Fowler.

Washington will serve as a replacement for Cedrick Wilson, who they lost to Miami, and Fowler will replace Randy Gregory who they upset and watched leave for the Denver Broncos. With those departures, Dallas used free agency to try and return to the status quo, rather than improve their roster.

This means they’re putting more honus on the upcoming draft, expecting to find their difference-maker there. In this latest 7-round mock, they take a calculated risk as they take a player who just suffered an injury at his pro day.

Dallas Cowboys Round 1 Pick: David Ojabo, EDGE, Michigan

During his Michigan pro day, David Ojabo went down in pain and had to limp off the field. Later, it was announced he suffered a torn Achilles, which could hurt his draft stock. If so, the Cowboys could end up making out like bandits.

Here, they use the 24th overall selection for a top-15 player who proved in 2021 that he’s as explosive as anyone on the edge. There’s a chance he could miss the start of the season but with DeMarcus Lawrence, Dorance Armstrong, and Dante Fowler on the roster, they can afford to let Ojabo heal and then could have him at 100 percent for the second half of the season, or earlier.

Dallas has shown in the past they don’t mind swinging for the fences on a player coming off an injury and this one could pay off in a big way.