The 2023 NFL Draft is in less than three weeks, and the annual pre-draft visits are underway. College prospects from all over are flying in to meet with teams as front offices and scouting departments compile their final draft boards. In the weeks leading up to the draft, teams are allotted 30 visits to use on potential prospects. These “Top 30” visits, as they’re called, often generate some buzz for an NFL community that is starved for news after the initial free agency frenzy. This is especially true for the Dallas Cowboys, as there is often a correlation between their 30 visits and whose name is called on draft night.
Dallas Cowboys Host Players During Their Annual 30 Visits
The visits themselves are nothing to get that excited about. These 30 visits don’t involve any workouts with the Dallas Cowboys—just meetings with staff and coaches. But there’s a reason they are so closely monitored by analysts and fans. Routinely, Dallas’ crop of rookies features players that were Top 30 visitors—often, quite a few. From first round picks to undrafted free agents, connections can be traced to visitors of The Star in Frisco. The Dallas Cowboys aren’t the only team to draft from their 30 visits, but they are one of the more consistent with it. When the names come out, everyone pays attention. If nothing else, it gives us all something to talk about for a few weeks.
The team began bringing in players last week, and almost immediately names began cropping up from insiders, Instagram stories, and folks in the building. A flurry of players have come and gone from many different position groups, making it difficult to pin down any one focus for Dallas. Even so, there are some positions where the Cowboys went surprisingly heavy and unexpectedly light with scheduled visits.
Plenty of Wide Receivers in the 30 Visits
There has been no shortage of pass catchers coming to Dallas as the Cowboys have brought in numerous receivers in on 30 visits. Some top names like Quentin Johnson, Jalin Hyatt, Josh Downs, and Zay Flowers have all been reported visitors. Even Jaxon Smith-Njigba, many scouts’ top receiver, has made his way to the Metroplex. All these receivers are early round prospects—some even projected early in the first. Other names like Jonathan Mingo, Marvin Mims, and Tank Dell have been linked to Dallas, and could be options later in the draft. It is unknown whether the team is doing due diligence in case a player slips or is planning on targeting receiver early, but it’s interesting to consider.
Even with the Brandin Cooks trade, the Cowboys don't appear to be done at WR. They are doing their due diligence a pre-draft visit this week from Jaxon Smith-Ngiba to go along with prior visits: Zay Flowers, Quentin Johnston and Jalin Hyatt. Four of the top 5 WRs in draft
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) April 10, 2023
The Cowboys brought in Brandin Cooks recently to strengthen their receiving corps outside of CeeDee Lamb. The team has hope that Michael Gallup can return to pre-injury form but that’s not guaranteed. Jalen Tolbert was drafted in the third round last year but hardly saw the field. It’s still unclear whether that was due to his needing more development or frustration from the staff. Noah Brown is now playing in Houston. It would make sense for the Cowboys to look at receiver early seeing as today’s NFL requires teams to have 3-to-4 quality receivers. The quantity and caliber of players reported appears to signal that Dallas is taking a wide receiver at some point.
Notable Interior Linemen in the 30 Visits
A name increasingly linked to the Dallas Cowboys is offensive lineman Steve Avila. Playing in the Cowboys’ backyard at TCU, Avila has picked up steam as a potential first round pick this year. Recent reports of his presence at the Star were confirmed through his Instagram story last Tuesday.
From TCU OL Steve Avila’s Instagram story: pic.twitter.com/QKd36lPNZn
— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) April 4, 2023
Avila played all five positions along the offensive line during his career at TCU, and the Cowboys love that type of positional versatility. Interior offensive line is one of the few question mark spots with Connor McGovern’s departure. Assuming the Cowboys plan to keep Tyler Smith at tackle, they will certainly be looking to find a quality player. There is a lot of smoke around Avila as the first pick this year. If he is available, it should be no surprise if the Cowboys make the move.
The Dallas Cowboys have also reportedly brought in Darnell Wright (Tennessee) and Atonio Mafi (UCLA) as 30 visits. Wright is a quality tackle, but the Cowboys have three starter-level tackles already. It’s possible Dallas is eyeing his potential at other spots along the line—his build makes him a candidate to slide inside at the pro level. It’s also possible they are thinking of moving Tyler Smith back inside this season. Considerations like these are what make scouring the visitor reports more of a fun activity than sheer lunacy. No one knows anything for sure before draft night, but it makes for much-needed conversation while everyone waits in anticipation.
A Range of Tight Ends
Dalton Schultz was a steady contributor for the team but has also gone south to Houston this offseason. The Cowboys seem willing to hand the reins over to the exciting young tandem of Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot. However, this draft offers a rare pool of exciting tight end prospects that would be hard to pass up if available. 30 visit or not, there is a good possibility that the Dallas Cowboys select one—especially if there is an early run on wide receivers.
Upper-echelon names like Dalton Kincaid and Michael Mayer have not been reported as top 30 visits for the Dallas Cowboys, but plenty of intriguing tight ends have. Darnell Washington (Georgia) is one of the top prospects this year and was reported at the Star last week. Names with less fanfare like Cameron Latu (Alabama) and Brayden Willis (Oklahoma) have been reported over the week too. It appears the front office is exploring tight end options all over the board. If the team doesn’t get one of the top names with pick 26, they will probably have to sit and watch a run of tight ends taken in the early second round. Having backup contingencies in the later rounds will be important if they take another position early.
Where Are the Running Backs?
The Dallas Cowboys have been linked to running back in the first round in many mock drafts, but the position was noticeably absent on the 30 visit reports. Names like Zach Evans (Ole Miss) and Kendre Miller (TCU) popped up, but top players like Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs did not. Of course, this doesn’t mean Dallas won’t still take one of them if they’re available on draft night. Perhaps the staff saw all they needed to during pro days and the combine, so a visit isn’t necessary.
Or maybe some fans and media members are putting too much stock into Ezekiel Elliott’s departure. Tony Pollard is a game-changing weapon when healthy, and the addition of Ronald Jones shouldn’t be understated. Malik Davis and Rico Dowdle have both flashed and will compete for the number 3 spot. The Cowboys aren’t desperate for a runner by any means.
Now—it would be a marketing dream come true for Robinson to come to Dallas, Texas as a Cowboy. The jersey sales would be outrageous. For the businessman in Jerry Jones, it couldn’t be a more perfect scenario. But from a team-building perspective, is running back really where the team needs to go in the first round (again)? Since Mike McCarthy joined the team, a theme has emerged of old, stagnant habits being broken. Player acquisition, scheme fits, offseason moves—there have been noticeable shifts in all these areas. If Robinson is there and the Cowboys pick someone else, it’ll be another example of things going down a little differently in Dallas nowadays.
Let’s Keep it in Perspective
The offseason can become a slog between the start of free agency and the draft. Parched from the news drought, we wring out these visitor lists searching for any droplets of news so we can try and link players to teams like Charlie looking for Pepe Silvia. So, it’s always important not to get too worked up and keep in mind that these visits don’t guarantee anything. The Dallas Cowboys took Tyler Smith in the first last year and he was not one of the 30 visits. All of the twists and turns on draft night are what make it exciting. Until then, we’ll keep visit-watching and mock-drafting our way to that final weekend in April.
Main Photo: Kirby Lee – USA Today Sports
