Cowboys Day 1 2023 NFL Draft picks: Grading Dallas’ moves for Mazi Smith and co.

The Dallas Cowboys entered the night picking 26th thanks to their NFC Divisional Round appearance. After a light free agency in which they really only made two major deals in the trades for Brandin Cooks and Stephon Gilmore, tonight's draft was the first opportunity to add a player to the roster with no strings attached.

With only a few holes on the roster, the Cowboys came in linked heavily to star running back prospect Bijan Robinson and to tight end prospects Michael Mayer and Dalton Kincaid.

The Cowboys were already one of the NFL's most complete rosters. They didn't have all that any positions of need and that freed Jerry Jones and Mike McCarthy up to look at this draft with a wider perspective.

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How the Dallas Cowboys approached the NFL Draft

A prospect that likely would have been a dream come true was Bijan Robinson. The star running back was long linked to Dallas and would've made an excellent duo with Tony Pollard or replacement if he doesn't re-sign after his franchise tag year. Unfortunately, he was off the board well before (18 picks before) the team got on the clock.

They also were linked to Dalton Kincaid, a top tight end prospect. Unfortunately, the Buffalo Bills traded up to the pick before Dallas got on the clock to select him, so he was gone, too.

They opted to go defense and select Mazi Smith out of Michigan. The defensive tackle is an interesting pick since many outlets didn't even have him as a first-round prospect. ESPN had him as the fifth-best DT in this draft and the 38th overall prospect.

Smith fits where the Cowboys have a need, but it's a serious reach. If he's who they wanted, they should have traded down. Additionally, players like Nolan Smith, Michael Mayer and Joey Porter Jr. were still available.

Grade: C-

Dallas only had the lone first-round selection and did not trade back up into the final few picks of the first round, so they had no other opportunity to redeem themselves this round.