The Dallas Cowboys select Mike White with the 171st pick in the 2018 NFL draft

With the 171st pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys selected Mike White, quarterback from Western Kentucky.

NFL.com

White saw major downturns in every important passing category this year, but evaluators will have to balance his inconsistent play against the porous protection he got. White has good size and a live arm which is enough to get him drafted, but if he doesn’t do a better job of recognizing blitzes and making decisions faster, his arm talent won’t matter. White has QB3 potential with a shot to move up the ladder as a backup.

Draft Blaster

A rare blend of arm strength and accuracy, White has the chance to shoot up draft boards this season if he can continue to show consistency in Western Kentucky’s explosive offense. Has good size, and thus far his primary weapon has been his cannon arm that has shown surprising accuracy (57%+ completion rate of passes of 20+ yards). Didn’t start playing serious football until his senior year of high school, where he shined. He began his college career at South Florida, and then transferred to Western Kentucky. White had tremendous success for two years, and then the team took a substantial step back after a coaching change. An under the radar prospect, he could be a later riser on draft boards, as teams will discover that his best tape matches what they are looking for in an NFL QB.

Cowboys Needs:

Wide receiver: The Cowboys receiving corps struggled in 2017, and that was before they released Dez Bryant. Adding Allen Hurns helped, but they could still look for more firepower in a Dak-friendly offense.

Guard/Offensive line: Jonathan Cooper moved on, and the Cowboys didn't get a sure-fire replacement in free agency. There is still a discussion about moving La’el Collins back inside, so they need a guard or right tackle.

Linebacker: Anthony Hitchens was a solid part of the rotation, but he’s gone. Sean Lee is the main man but his injury history is a problem. Jaylon Smith is still tying to regain his form pre-injury. Dallas could use another piece here.

Defensive tackle: The Cowboys had to play Maliek Collins out of position for much of the year, and the run defense suffered for it. Collins was also not as effective as he was in 2016. A big 1-tech with 3-tech traits would be nice.

Tight end: Jason Witten is retiring. Now that we’ve processed that, tight end certainly moves up on the needs chart.

Safety: Safety is not the most pressing need, but we could certainly see Dallas attack it at some point.

Cowboys draft picks:

(Round-pick in the round-overall pick)

1-19-19: Leighton Vander Esch

2-18-50: Connor Williams

3-17-81: Michael Gallup

4-16-116: Dorance Armstrong

4-37-137: Dalton Schultz

5-34-171: Mike White

6-18-192 Dallas

6-34-208 Dallas

7-18-236 Dallas