Cowboys NFL Mock Draft Round 2: Brugler Pegs Texas A&M Defensive Tackle Madubuike to Dallas

A Dallas Cowboys NFL Mock Draft Takes Us to Round 2, Where Expert Dane Brugler Pegs Texas A&M Defensive Tackle Madubuike to Dallas

FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys face a possible rush to the pay window along the defensive line, with free agency on the horizon. But the NFL Draft is on the horizon beyond that horizon, reason for draftniks to attempt to pair Dallas with D-line standouts.

And maybe that's what our friend Dane Brugler of The Athletic is doing when he matches Dallas, with its second-round pick and selection No. 51 overall in the coming April NFL Draft, with Texas A&M defensive tackle Justin Madubuike, a native of McKinney, Texas.

We've already made the case, with Brugler's help, of a Dallas move in Round 1 toward LSU safety Grant Delpit. And here's more defensive help, with the logic provided by Connor Livesay @ConnorNFLDraft:

With Maliek Collins likely playing his last game in Dallas, and with the question marks surrounding Trysten Hill, 3-technique will yet again be a massive need for the Cowboys heading into the 2020 NFL Draft. Madubuike has a lot of similar traits to Trysten Hill, except he’s much more polished and ready to make an impact in year one. Madubuike showcases an impressive first-step, good hand technique, and consistently shows the ability to live in the backfield at Texas A&M. Madubuike is coming off of back-to-back 5.5 sack seasons, and could be yet another impressive building block for the future of the Cowboys defense.

Livesay makes some assumptions here regarding Collins specifically, but the general point on what free agency might do to Dallas depth chart is accurate.

We still wonder if Dallas' top D-line need is actually at the other tackle, the 1-Tech spot - especially if new coach Mike McCarthy and coordinator Mike Nolan, along with board-building personnel guru Will McClay, increasingly see a need for an old-fashioned "fat guy'' to help stop the run. That wasn't the preference of ex-coordinator Rod Marinelli ...

And it's not what Madubuike is, either, though at 6-3, 305, he looks the part. But no, Madubuike is a guy with 3-Tech "traits,'' the kind of guy who Marinelli surely salivates over ... and who Brugler thinks the new Cowboys regime will like as well.