2020 NFL Draft: Odds are higher for Cowboys to take a defensive player with their first pick

It’s just about time for the 2020 NFL Draft and there is a lot of intrigue surrounding the Dallas Cowboys and what they are going to do with the 17th overall pick. It has been two years since we’ve had a first-round pick to try and figure out for the Cowboys. Dallas sent their 2019 first-rounder to the Raiders in exchange for Amari Cooper, but the first-round pick the year before went very well after they spent it on linebacker Leighton Vander Esch.

For the early part of the last decade, the Cowboys focused on offense with their first-round pick. Dez Bryant, Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick, and Zack Martin were four first-rounders in a five-year stretch. Ever since defense has been the name of the game, with Ezekiel Elliott serving as the lone exception, and many believe that defense is where they’ll go in 2020.

Our friends at BetOnline always have some fun odds for the NFL and they have got a handful of things ready for this week’s draft. According to them, it is far more likely that the Cowboys will take a defensive player with their first pick than an offensive one. That’s -275 odds to +180, by the way.

There are plenty of directions that the Cowboys can go on defense should they choose to do so. Options include cornerback, edge rusher, safety, even linebacker feels like it’s in play right now. Should the Cowboys go offense, the most likely situation feels like a trade back for a potential center, but maybe the Cowboys themselves are proud members of #TeamFortyBurger and want to draft a wide receiver.

Of course so much of what the Cowboys are able to do at 17 depends on how the first 16 picks of the draft go, but defense does feel like the play here. The Cowboys addressed the idea of defense during their annual pre-draft press conference (this one happening virtually) so perhaps they are ready to add to Mike Nolan’s group.