Cowboys draft 2023: Dane Brugler full 7-round mock has Notre Dame TE Michael Mayer to Dallas

This time of year is raging with mock drafts. Everywhere you look (including the front page and across all of our other properties here at BTB) there is a mock. Everybody you know has done a mock. By this point mock drafts are eligible for free two-day shipping if you are an Amazon Prime customer.

While there are mock drafts there are mock drafts and then there are mock drafts. To be more specific, there are mocks that tend to carry more weight with football fans and the one of the most load-bearing is any that features Dane Brugler’s name as the byline.

Dallas Cowboys fans know Brugler well from his days at The Draft Show at the mothership, but he is one of the league’s foremost insiders this time of year and what he says matters.

Dane Brugler’s seven-round mock draft has the Dallas Cowboys taking Notre Dame TE Michael Mayer in the first round

If you look at any outlet’s positions of need listing for the Cowboys they all feature tight end in some capacity, some with it at number one. Dallas very consciously addressed all sorts of needs (even future ones) through the early days of free agency, but they very notably did not do anything to replace the void left behind when Dalton Schultz left for the Houston Texans.

There is one line of thought that the Cowboys did not bring in any new tight ends due to a high level of belief in Jake Ferguson and/or Peyton Hendershot. It is also possible that Dallas is banking on landing one of the draft’s top tight ends with their first selection. To be clear both can be true, but this is why tight end is a hot topic.

In his seven-round mock that dropped on Monday, Dane Brugler had Dallas taking Notre Dame TE Michael Mayer and revealed a source saying they could not see Dallas passing on him.

26. Dallas Cowboys: Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame

As one plugged-in league source told me about Mayer and the Cowboys: “I just can’t see Dallas passing.”

The Cowboys are looking for a tight end who can hold his own as a blocker but also move the sticks as a receiving threat. If Mayer makes it this far, it’s a good bet he will have a star on his helmet.

If it is not obvious, Mayer is the top tight end on Brugler’s board specifically. He is the consensus top tight end across all boards.

Given Mayer’s can’t-miss-ability, so to speak, he is a very chalk Dallas Cowboys first-round pick. The Cowboys are very well-known for the high floors that they like to find in the first round and Mayer happens to have that while fitting a need on their roster. It makes sense.

As noted this was a full seven-round mock. Here are all of Dallas’ picks from Brugler.

1. (26): Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame
2. (58): Daiyan Henley, LB, Washington State
3. (90): Anthony Bradford, G, LSU
4. (129): Tyler Lacy, DT, Oklahoma State
5. (169): Jake Moody, K, Michigan
6. (212): Clayton Tune, QB, Houston
7. (244): Durrell Johnson, Edge, Liberty

It takes until the end of Day 2 here for the Cowboys to address the interior of their offensive line, arguably their other biggest position of need. Interestingly Brugler does not have the Cowboys drafting a wide receiver at all and the position is certainly one that many would like to see the team go in, but obviously Mayer is a pass-catcher as well so six in one hand, a half dozen in the other.

You can see that the Cowboys pick (hopefully) their kicker of the future in the fifth round in Jake Moody and a project quarterback in Clayton Tune one round later. All told this checks a lot of boxes and feels very realistic.

What do you think of this mock draft? Head down to the comments and let us know.