If Dallas Cowboys don’t draft a receiver in the first round, who is in play?
The NFL Draft is just days away, and buzz is beginning to heat up around what direction the Dallas Cowboys could go in the first round with the No. 12 overall selection.
For most of the draft process, the Cowboys have been linked to a pair of receivers with their first-round selection: Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan and Texas’ Matthew Golden.
As the draft approaches, McMillan is now expected to go in the top 10 and be off the board when Dallas makes its selection. If he remains available at No. 12, it’s hard to imagine a reality where Dallas goes in a different direction. But if expectation holds, Golden would be the next intriguing option at the receiver position that would provide a boost to Dallas’ offense, but it’s not as sure of a thing that the Cowboys turn in his card over other available prospects.
If Dallas decides to go in a different direction than wide receiver at No. 12, here are five names to monitor.
Texas A&M DE Shemar Stewart
Aside from Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer, defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton and vice president of player personnel Will McClay meeting with Stewart at his Pro Day event last month, Dallas has shown a good amount of interest in the Texas A&M product during the draft process.
Also one of the team’s 30 allocated facility visits, the Cowboys have done a lot of homework on what they would potentially be getting with one of the more athletic defensive ends in the draft. A league source told the Star-Telegram late last week that Stewart is expected to go in the top 15 and that Dallas is a legitimate contender to select his services.
Georgia DE Mykel Williams
Coming out of the NFL Scouting Combine in late February, Williams found his name attached to the Cowboys quite a bit following a formal meeting in Indianapolis that drew rave reviews from both sides. Like Stewart, Williams was also brought back in for a facility visit in early April and continues to see his stock hover around the top 20 range.
While there are injury concerns stemming from a senior season that saw him admittedly play below 100-percent health, the idea on Williams is that an entirely more productive player could emerge when he is allowed time to get healthy.
Michigan CB Will Johnson
Another player that has battled injury concerns during the draft process, the Cowboys met with Johnson at the NFL Scouting Combine and were in attendance at his individual Pro Day event last Monday that saw him test his injured hamstring for scouts.
The Cowboys have a big need at cornerback and will need to spend a premium pick on the position, and getting it done in the first round would certainly check a box. The hope would be that Dallas gets the 2023 version of Johnson that helped lead Michigan to the national championship and not the 2024 version that struggled to stay on the field with his hamstring issue.
Texas OL Kelvin Banks Jr.
While the Cowboys have added three veteran bodies on the offensive line in free agency, they have still dedicated draft resources to looking at some of the top options in the draft such as hosting Banks on a facility visit earlier this month.
Banks brings positional versatility having played left tackle at Texas but with the potential to slide inside to guard at the NFL level. When thinking about players that are wired the right way to fit in a Schottenheimer type of culture, Banks immediately jumps to mind.
Ohio State OL Josh Simmons
While Simmons is coming off a non-contact knee injury from his senior season at Ohio State, he is a player that the Cowboys have become enamored with during the draft process. His physicality and athleticism at the tackle spot would provide immediate competition or alleviation in the event Tyler Guyton isn’t prepared to make a jump in his second season.
Would Dallas be willing to pick a left tackle in the first round of back-to-back drafts? It might be tough to stomach, but it would provide a lot more comfort to a position that still has a question mark going into the season.
This story was originally published April 21, 2025 at 3:04 PM.
