The Dallas Cowboys play in a division featuring explosive running backs and mobile quarterbacks.
And their run defense struggled last season.
So, the Cowboys used their first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft on one of the best run defenders available. Dallas selected Michigan defensive tackle Mazi Smith with the No. 26 pick, opting to fortify the defensive line rather than select arguably the draft's top tight end prospect in Notre Dame's Michael Mayer.
The 6-foot-3, 323-pound Smith will clog the middle of the field and be an anchor against the run. Smith had 48 tackles last season for Michigan, where he served as a team captain and was a consensus first-team All Big-Ten player.
The Cowboys kept everyone guessing as they used every last second while they were on the clock before submitting the pick. Many expected the team to take a tight end having lost Dalton Schultz to the Houston Texans in free agency.
The Buffalo Bills moved one spot ahead of the Cowboys at No. 25 after a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars to draft Utah's Dalton Kincaid, the top-ranked tight end in the draft. Even with top prospects at the position like Mayer and Oregon State's Luke Musgrave still on the board, the Cowboys elected to fill a need with Smith, who was projected as a late-first round to early-second round pick.
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With the Philadelphia Eagles having reached an extension with Jalen Hurts and the New York Giants locking up Daniel Jones this offseason, Smith could play a key role in containing the NFC East's dual-threat quarterbacks up the middle. Stopping the run last season was the weakness of the Cowboys' otherwise solid defensive unit, which allowed 129.3 rushing yards per game in 2022, 11th most in the NFL.
Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons approved of the pick, having told defensive coordinator Dan Quinn earlier in the day to select Smith.
Smith is the first defensive tackle taken by the Cowboys in the first round since 1991 when they selected Russell Maryland first overall.
The Cowboys next pick is No. 58 overall in the second round on Friday.
