Cowboys 2021 Draft: How the picks fit on the roster and players with futures now in question

Every year teams like the Dallas Cowboys make player's dreams come true, and at the same time, push players out the door at the same position. This season is no different and with day two in the books, the Cowboys have brought in new players for their future while leaving certain player's futures with the team a little more cloudy. Let’s take a look at who the Cowboys drafted so far and how they fit on the team, and players who now could be on the roster bubble.

Draft Pick Fit

Micah Parsons - Middle Linebacker

Parsons should be able to come in and immediately have an impact on this defense. He’s been compared to former Dan Quinn linebacker Bobby Wagner which is high praise for the young and talented linebacker. The Cowboys needed a reliable player in the middle of the defense with good instincts, speed, and physicality. They also get a player with the ability to rush the passer and pairing him with either Leighton Vander Esch or Jaylon Smith, you are fielding linebackers that have enough speed to keep things in front of them.

Kelvin Joseph - Cornerback

The Cowboys are getting a tall and long cornerback with the speed they were also looking for in Joseph. His off-the-field issues are one of the main reasons he fell in this draft, but he’s a player who has the first-round talent that the Cowboys can use opposite 2020 second-round pick in Trevon Diggs. Joseph will have to fight for the starting role but he is capable of holding down the position. But if he wants to keep it he will have to leave the issues that he had at LSU and Kentucky behind him.

Osa Odighizuwa - Defensive Tackle/Defensive End

The Cowboys are getting somewhat of a Tyrone Crawford clone in Odighizuwa who has the ability to play the 3-tech defensive tackle and move outside and rush the passer as a defensive end. Odighizuwa has a knack for being one of the most disruptive defensive tackles and ranked fourth in quarterback pressures out of all the defensive tackles in this draft according to PFF. He can come in and give the Cowboys more depth along the defensive line and start if starting defensive tackle Trysten Hill isn’t ready to go.

Chauncey Golston - Defensive End

The Cowboys are getting a physical pass rusher whose main asset is his strength and ability to set an edge in run defense. Golston can create pressure but is likely to shine more as a run defender. He’s going to have to battle when he goes into camp but he should be able to make this team based on his run-stopping ability and ability to beat some tackles with strength and motor. It’s going to be tough for him to become a quality starter but he can be a great role player.

Nahshon Wright - Cornerback

Wright is probably the tallest cornerback in this draft and he has the cover ability and can use his size to press receivers at the line of scrimmage. Wright played a lot of man coverage in college but looks better suited to play in Quinn’s zone scheme where he can use his length to take up passing lanes. Wright is going to have to prove he can play some special teams and should be able to make this team if he can succeed there and fill in as a backup for a starter at either outside corner position.

New Roster Bubble Players

Leighton Vander Esch via Micah Parsons Pick

With the injury issues Vander Esch has had over the last few seasons and the Cowboys still deciding whether they want to pick up his fifth-year option, his future is cloudy. They have until Monday to decide and the Parsons pick makes it easier for the Cowboys to move on from Vander Esch and keep Jaylon Smith. They can pair him with Parsons since Smith has been able to stay on the field for the Cowboys. The Cowboys may have gone another way if LVE were able to stay healthy.

Veteran free-agent cornerback via Kelvin Joseph & Nahshon Wright Picks

The signing of Joseph combined with the Cowboys bringing back free agent Jourdan Lewis, along with holdover Anthony Brown, makes it a bit tougher for the Cowboys to sign a veteran cornerback to come in since such high picks were used on Joseph and Wright in the second and third round. The only way they would sign a veteran would be if he is willing to take the veteran minimum and a short bridge contract.

Carlos Watkins via Osa Odighizuwa Pick

The Cowboys are always signing players to smaller contracts in the offseason for this reason. They were able to find a player that can come in and battle the current backup with the hopes of him beating that player out, and Odighizuwa should be able to do that with Watkins. No matter who the Cowboys brought in there was a hope they would be able to beat out Watkins and right now Odighizuwa will most likely be that guy.

Dorance Armstrong and Ron’Dell Carter via Chauncey Golston Pick

Armstrong is in the final year of his rookie deal, and in the Cowboys eyes hasn’t panned out the way they believed he would. Carter was a player the Cowboys liked and protected last season in an effort to keep him on the team. Now that Golston is here, one of these players will be battling him for a spot on the 53-man roster, and based on what has been done so far in their careers, Armstrong has the upper hand, but with a new coaching staff on defense in house they may not believe that.