In Mike McCarthy’s first NFL draft as head coach of America’s Team, the Dallas Cowboys unquestionably hit a home run.

The Cowboys’ draft got off to a hot start when Oklahoma WR CeeDee Lamb fell to the 17th overall pick. There was some speculation that the Cowboys may target a different position in the first round, but Lamb was just too good to pass up, as the team secured an alpha receiver who should carve out a notable role sooner rather than later (for more on Lamb, check out this breakdown of the pick).

The Cowboys followed up by selecting Alabama CB Trevon Diggs in the second round. Diggs is a long and physical corner who provides the Cowboys with a true boundary corner to help replace Byron Jones in the secondary (for more on Diggs, check out this breakdown).

Now, it’s time we turn our attention toward the Cowboys’ work in Rounds 3-7 by breaking down Dallas’ final five picks in the draft.

Round 3, Pick 82: Neville Gallimore, DT, Oklahoma

Oklahoma’s Neville Gallimore is a high-effort, explosive and disruptive defensive tackle who is oozing with potential and projects favorably as a three-technique defensive tackle in the Cowboys’ defense.

THE Gallimore rep. Shows off hair-trigger get-off to put immediate pressure on the C. Quick stutter to set up a jab-club-arm over but clunky footwork causes him to trip and lose balance. But Gallimore still clubs the RB out of the way & chases down QB from behind to force fumble. pic.twitter.com/0tNIzY3XYS — John Owning (@JohnOwning) April 25, 2020

Standing at 6-2 and 304 pounds with 32 3/4-inch hands, Gallimore possesses NFL-caliber size and strength for the position. Gallimore boasts freakish speed, an outstanding get-off and impressive lateral quickness - evidenced by his freakish 1.69 10-yard split and 4.79 40-yard dash times while weighing over 300 pounds - however, he is quite stiff and really struggles to change direction, testing below the 10th percentile in both the three-cone and short shuttle drills, and it shows on tape.

In fact, despite being one of the most disruptive interior defensive linemen in college football, Gallimore only posted modest production, accumulating just four sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss as a senior. The disconnect between Gallimore’s disruption and production stems from stiff hips and a lack of body control, balance and an inability to change direction that makes him an inconsistent finisher in the backfield. He struggles mightily to redirect and pursue the ball carrier once piercing the backfield.

Oklahoma’s defensive scheme didn’t do Gallimore many favors either, as the 23-year-old DT was forced to deal with a lot of head-up alignments and double teams from opposing offenses. Moreover, Oklahoma stemmed and slanted their front so much that it limited his exposure to one-on-one blocks. Many of Gallimore’s best pass rushes were stymied because, after beating his initial block, another blocker was waiting to pick him up.

Nevertheless, Gallimore’s exciting upside stems from his pass-rush potential, as his tremendous first step, upfield burst and heavy hands enabled him to generate 32 pressures while accumulating a 12.2% adjusted overall win rate (sixth-best among DTs in this class) in 2019.

Plays like these are what make Gallimore so intriguing. 3T with a 1v1 vs the LG. Explodes vertically out of his stance then executes and outside jab into a heavy club arm-over to win quick and pressure the QB. #Cowboys pic.twitter.com/TJ5UOntVZw — John Owning (@JohnOwning) April 25, 2020

Gallimore displays a potent jab-club-arm over move to defeat blocks and pierce the pocket as a pass-rusher. He uses the jab step to get the blocker to stop their feet or lean to one side, which he then takes advantage of with a heavy club to knock the blocker off balance while the arm-over enables him to clear the hips and attack the pocket. Gallimore also flashes an effective spin move to take advantage of offensive linemen who overset to defend his upfield burst.

Gallimore pad level swells too much on the club-rip, which dampens the power and quickness. Sloppy spin, but shows off his motor and burst to chase down the QB from behind. #Cowboys pic.twitter.com/FlaAtLdBQ0 — John Owning (@JohnOwning) April 25, 2020

Unfortunately, Gallimore’s stiff hips often cause him to rush with a high pad level, which not only drains his power but also provides the opposing blocker with a ton of blockable surface area. Despite possessing ample power in his hands, Gallimore’s high pad level causes his power rushes to stall after initially creating knockback on contact, causing his bull rush to stall despite notable power on contact.

Gallimore will need to improve his pad level and work on pass-rush counters to truly maximize his tantalizing pass rush traits. Moreover, Gallimore’s clunky footwork often inhibits his balance, making it easier for blockers to knock him off his line to the QB.

Gallimore doesn't get a ton of traditional reps where he can stack and shed blocks at the LOS so it was nice to see a dominant rep like this.



Initiates contact with inside hands, peaks outside and uses a powerful shot put to shed and tackle the RB in the hole. One powerful dude. pic.twitter.com/FqtYWmGQjH — John Owning (@JohnOwning) April 25, 2020

Against the run, Gallimore’s initial quickness enables him to penetrate and make plays behind the line of scrimmage. He has the lateral quickness to cross face and he possesses ample power in his hands to reset the line of scrimmage when asked to take on blocks in the run game. When he plays with the proper pad level, Gallimore is extremely tough to handle one-on-one because of his power and quickness at the point of attack.

When you see DAL's coaching staff talk about Gallimore's range upfront. Plays like this are the reason why. Impressive job to pursue down the LOS and track down the jet sweep. #Cowboys pic.twitter.com/Yp9SyTNtmL — John Owning (@JohnOwning) April 25, 2020

While most defensive tackles are beholden to staying between the B-gaps, Gallimore’s speed and effort allow him to make plays up and down the line of scrimmage, as his range as a run defender is among the best in this year’s DT class.

Gallimore tends to struggle when taking on vertical double teams, which is why Gallimore makes much more sense as a three-technique in the NFL rather than the nose tackle position he often played in college - just shade Gallimore over a guard and let him prosper against one-on-one blocks.

In fact, there’s a good shot Gallimore beats out Trysten Hill - who, interestingly enough, is still one year younger than his Oklahoma counterpart - for the backup three-technique defensive tackle spot behind Gerald McCoy, as his effort level and 1-on-1 pass-rush ability should endear him to the coaching staff quickly. It’s still too early to label Hill a bust, but it does raise some eyebrows that the Cowboys spent another top-100 pick on someone who plays the same position as Hill.

While his stiff hips, pad level and technical inefficiencies give him a relatively low floor, Gallimore’s explosiveness, power, effort and one-on-one pass-rush ability give him one of the highest ceilings in the class, as well. Nevertheless, taking a chance on a high-upside DL who plays with a non-stop motor and potent pass-rush traits is a risk worth betting on. Gallimore provided Dallas with ample value in the third round.

Round 4, Pick 123: Reggie Robinson, CB, Tulsa

Listed at 6-1, 205 pounds with 31 1/2-inch arms, Robinson has prototypical size to go with a bully mindset at the line of scrimmage. He is an explosive player with impressive straight-line speed for his size but does struggle some when it comes to change of direction because he tends to get too high during transitional movement, which affects his balance and ability to quickly accelerate.

One of Robinson’s most impressive performances last season came against Oklahoma State, when he matched up primarily against stud receiver Tylan Wallace, who led the nation in 20-plus-yard catches and should be a relatively high draft pick himself whenever he declares.

At 6-1, 205 with 31.5-inch arms, #Cowboys CB Reggie Robinson had 14 forced incompletions and 4 INTs in 2019.



If you want to be sold on Robinson, watch his performance against Oklahoma State's Tylan Wallace. pic.twitter.com/PfMZ3gkYs5 — John Owning (@JohnOwning) April 25, 2020

Robinson did an excellent job of disrupting Wallace’s routes at the line of scrimmage with effective jams that enabled him to squeeze Wallace’s outside releases to the sideline, giving the quarterback minuscule throwing windows down the sideline. On one snap, Robinson was even able to run Wallace out of bounds, which is a great illustration of his dominance at the line of scrimmage.

Altogether, he gave up just two catches (on four targets) for 16 yards against Oklahoma State, who was one of Tulsa’s two opponents from a Power 5 conference in 2019. His other game against Power 5 competition came against Michigan State, when he allowed just two catches (on five targets) for 10 yards. In all, Robinson allowed just four catches (on nine targets) for 26 yards against the highest caliber of competition his season had to offer.

Incredibly impressive INT from Robinson here. Reads the QB's eyes, sinks and attacks the ball at its highest point. Nice little tip drill before securing the INT. pic.twitter.com/RF5cwJZsJc — John Owning (@JohnOwning) April 25, 2020

Outside of his ability to play press and jam receivers at the line of scrimmage, Robinson displays adequate zone awareness to go with promising ball skills, finishing 2019 with three interceptions and 13 pass breakups. He uses his size and 36-inch vertical to contest plays above the rim, as he does a nice job of meeting the ball at its highest catch point to either intercept or deflect it.

Here you see some of the stiffness to Robinson's game. Really slow to transition from his backpedal to plant and drive on this comeback route from off coverage. #Cowboys pic.twitter.com/Lo0OFndWOY — John Owning (@JohnOwning) April 25, 2020

Unfortunately, Robinson does appear to be tight in the hips, which is why he struggled with the agility drills at the combine. This makes him very susceptible to hard angles (comeback, curl) and speed cuts (out, dig), when he has to throw on the brakes, drop his hips and explode to contest a pass. Robinson also tends to give up too much cushion from off coverage. While it does make him tough to beat deep, it also causes him to give up a lot of cheap stuff on stop and quick-breaking routes.

Robinson’s physicality in coverage could lead to a lot of holding or defensive pass interference penalties in the NFL. College football is much more lax when it comes to the contact defensive backs are allowed to make on receivers, and Robinson was still called for eight penalties in 2019, which won’t fly in the NFL. This is worrisome for a player who relies so much on physicality to stay in-phase with receivers in coverage.

BIG TIME BLOCK.



Reggie Robinson II will roll into the end zone with a bunch of his Tulsa teammates. pic.twitter.com/m8nf4SgYw8 — CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) November 17, 2018

The cherry on top to Robinson’s skill set is his willingness and productivity on special teams. Robinson spent time on punt, punt return, kickoff, and kickoff returns at Tulsa and finished with four blocked punts and kicks.

While everyone knew the Cowboys aimed to get bigger at defensive tackle, it became evident after selecting two cornerbacks who measured in at 6-1 and 205 pounds that the Cowboys also wanted to get bigger on the boundaries. While Robinson and Diggs are different players, they both have the size and length to dominate at the line of scrimmage and contest at the catch point with plus ball skills to boot.

Moreover, Dallas’ double-dip at CB protects the team in case Chidobe Awuzie and/or Jourdan Lewis sign with another team after becoming free agents next year.

Initially, Robinson projects as a reserve boundary cornerback and core special teamer. The hope is that Robinson can clean up his transitions and overall technique to the point where he can be a spot starter in Year 2 or 3.

Round 4, Pick 146: Tyler Biadasz, C, Wisconsin

It’s really unfair to compare Tyler Biadasz to Travis Frederick, as the recent retiree was one of the best centers in football for most of his career. Having said that, it’s honestly difficult to not compare the Wisconsin alumni as Frederick departs the team right before Biadasz arrives. Believe it or not, Biadasz actually had the more accomplished college career of the two. Frederick was only named first-team All-Big Ten once while Biadasz did it twice. Both were first-team All-Americans once but Biadasz was a unanimous selection while also winning a Rimington Trophy (best center in college football) in 2019.

Still, expecting Biadasz to be the next Frederick for the Cowboys’ offensive line is foolish and will likely lead to heartbreak. Nonetheless, if evaluating Biadasz on his own merits, it makes sense why the Cowboys were so aggressive in trying to trade up for the 22-year-old center.

Despite the accolades as a redshirt junior, Biadasz was actually more dominant in 2018. Former Cowboys coach Paul Alexander stated that Biadasz played hurt for much of 2019, which could explain the slight reduction in effectiveness when compared with his redshirt sophomore season.

He had offseason hip surgery in 2019 and an AC scope on his right shoulder in February, which is probably a big reason why he fell all the way to the fourth round after being slotted as a potential first-rounder after his redshirt sophomore season. The Cowboys are obviously fine with Biadasz’s medical history, or they wouldn’t have traded up for him in the fourth round. Nonetheless, it’s worth monitoring through the Wisconsin product’s career.

Listed at 6-4 and 315 pounds, Biadasz has the kind of size that translates well to the NFL. On top of his size, Biadasz displays impressive football intelligence. He had a ton of pre-snap responsibility at Wisconsin, as he was tasked with identifying and communicating the protection calls upfront. On almost every snap you’ll see Biadasz directing and communicating with his linemates.

Given Wisconsin’s historic success on the ground, it shouldn’t surprise that Biadasz is most effective as a run blocker. He’s extremely quick out of his stance, which allows him to gain leverage and the proper angles to his target in the run game. Biadasz is especially effective on double teams, as a puller and when climbing to the second level. He takes sound angles while showing an innate ability to adjust his angle on the fly, which is a crucial but often overlooked detail for NFL OL.

ooooohhhweeeeeee. Big-time block from Biadasz on the 3T. Latches with inside hands, torques his elbows, run his feet and drives 95 to the turf. Biadasz is a finisher.



🥞 pic.twitter.com/rDeKBLPN9g — John Owning (@JohnOwning) April 26, 2020

Biadasz excels as a finisher in the run game, as he routinely latches with strong hands, runs his feet and drives defenders into the turf to finish plays. Biadasz doesn’t generate a ton of power on contact, but he makes up for by driving his feet and staying latched on. He has some nastiness to his game, and it shows with the urgency with which he looks to bury his foe.

Despite giving up little pressure throughout his career, Biadasz is less refined in pass protection. He’s an effective help blocker, as he does an excellent job looking for work when uncovered. Yet, Biadasz has a bad tendency of lunging on contact, which inhibits his balance and ability to recover, making Biadasz a potential liability in pass protection early on in his career.

On top of that, Biadasz’s anchor needs improvement, as he can have trouble setting the depth of the pocket against power rushers one-on-one. A lot of Biadasz’s issues anchoring come from deficiencies in play strength, which could certainly be due to an offseason spent rehabbing from hip surgery instead of getting stronger.

Davon Hamilton just completely powers through Biadasz's anchor here. Biadasz's right elbow gets a little a wide, which hurt his ability to keep his elbows and hips connected to anchor and strain through the block. pic.twitter.com/DgLGwo1GS2 — John Owning (@JohnOwning) April 26, 2020

The main reason Biadasz doesn’t give up much pressure is that he didn’t have to deal with many effective pass-rushers one-on-one. When he does, Biadasz struggles, which became evident in his matchup against Ohio State in 2019.

Having said that, Biadasz’s experience, football intelligence and run blocking ability make him a nice value for the Cowboys in the fourth round. While it’s not inconceivable that Biadasz could contend for the starting center gig immediately, especially given Biadasz’s smarts, it’s more likely that his deficiencies in play strength and issues in pass protection force him to take on a reserve role as a rookie.

If Joe Looney, who is scheduled to become a free agent again next year, wins the center competition this season, then Biadasz has a good shot to win the starting gig in 2021 with a year of refinement under his belt.

Round 5, Pick 179: Bradlee Anae, DE, Utah

From a size and frame perspective, Bradlee Anae has undrafted free agent traits. He has adequate size, having measured in at 6-3, 257 pounds at the Senior Bowl, but also has tiny T-Rex arms. Anae’s 32 1/8-inch arms would have placed him in the fifth percentile among edge defenders in last year’s draft.

Anae isn’t the type of elite athlete who gives the general audience confidence that he can overcome his lack of length, testing into the 11.2 percentile athletically among NFL edge defenders, which is probably why he fell all the way to the late fifth round. However, Anae’s technique, footwork and pass-rush intelligence are too much to pass on at a position of need this late in the draft.

While he doesn’t have quality size or athleticism by NFL standards, Anae does check the production box on his scouting report, posting 13 sacks and 14 tackles for loss in 2019, making it three straight seasons with at least seven sacks and double-digit tackles for loss. Going up against NFL caliber offensive tackles in the Pac-12, Anae has been consistently productive since becoming the starter as a sophomore.

Love this rush from Anae. He initiates with a long arm stab and feints the inside move to get 73 to lean inside.



Anae takes advantage with a powerful chop to knock down 73's outside hand before cornering and penetrating the pocket, resulting in a sack. pic.twitter.com/664Hlp1nq8 — John Owning (@JohnOwning) February 26, 2020

Anae doesn’t have the speed to stress sets or the lower-body flexibility to effectively corner at high speeds, but he does have some of the most developed pass-rush hand technique and footwork in this class. He is equally capable of winning with his first or second move, as Anae seamlessly sequences his hand technique and footwork in an effort to clear the blocker’s hands and hips, showing off NFL-caliber coordination between his hands and feet.

He has a plethora of moves he uses to clear contact and create soft edges, including a stab-chop, side scissor, rip-swipe, cross-chop club and an assortment of snatches. Anae also has one of the best chop-spin moves to counter back inside in this class.

If a player lacks athleticism as a pass-rusher in the NFL, it’s paramount that he has the hand technique, footwork and knowledge of rush angles to compensate, which Anae has in full.

Love the initial footwork from Bradlee Anae to maintain his gap integrity, which prevents him from being hooked by 73. This enables him to penetrate the backside B-gap behind the pulling LG and help finish the tackle behind the LOS.



Also, Fotu 👀 pic.twitter.com/25DQ1KsMrw — John Owning (@JohnOwning) February 24, 2020

His technical savvy carries over to defending the run, where he displays outstanding initial footwork, a great feel for leverage and heavy hands at the point of contact. Anae is an extremely disciplined run defender who does well to maintain gap integrity on a consistent basis.

Unfortunately, despite his technical savvy, Anae can get overwhelmed by double teams and more powerful run blockers, as his lack of length can be evident in his inability to play with enough extension to get bigger blockers off his frame. Given his lack of length, Anae will need to add some bulk and play strength to compensate.

Moreover, Anae’s lack of athleticism really hurts him when teams are able to isolate him in space, and NFL teams will likely look to take advantage of that with zone reads aimed at isolating Anae in space. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT play Anae in space consistently, as NFL-caliber athletes will take advantage of him with regularity.

While some may be afraid to draft a player who would need to be an outlier from an athleticism perspective to be a distinguished contributor at the next level, Anae’s dominance at the Senior Bowl gives more confidence that he could be the exception to the rule.

Tough to overstate how effective Utah's Bradlee Anae was as a pass-rusher during the Senior Bowl. Manipulative footwork on top of violent, accurate and timely hands. pic.twitter.com/lUkg22VIb3 — John Owning (@JohnOwning) April 12, 2020

On just 16 pass-rush snaps, he generated five pressures and three sacks, meaning he created pressure on half of his attempts against the best senior talent this draft class has to offer. In those snaps, Anae displayed how well-rounded he is as a pass-rusher, winning inside and outside with nuanced footwork and hand technique.

Anae’s flexibility to be effective from three- (defensive end) and two-point (outside linebacker) stances should give the Cowboys some options on how to deploy Anae in their defense. Long term, Anae projects best as a traditional defensive end in Dallas’ even (4-3) front, but his comfort rushing from a two-point stance could enable Anae to earn a role as a pass-rush specialist from the SAM LB/Designated Pass-Rusher position the Cowboys have alluded to recently.

Athleticism matters, especially at the defensive end spot. However, the fifth round is the ideal point to take a chance on Anae, as he can provide value as a quality depth contributor on Dallas’ defense.

Round 7, Pick 231: Ben DiNucci, QB, James Madison

While there was a lot of speculation that the Cowboys would target at QB at some point, no one predicted that it’d be James Madison’s Ben DiNucci in the seventh round.

Measuring in at 6-1 and 216 pounds, DiNucci, a Pitt transfer, was excellent against FCS competition, throwing for 3,441 yards (9.1 yards per attempt), 29 touchdowns and just six interceptions while completing 70.9% of his passes in 2019. As a redshirt senior, DeNucci led James Madison to a 14-2 record and a national title appearance. James Madison’s two losses were to West Virginia and North Dakota State (in the national championship) by a total of 14 points.

HIGHLIGHT



80-yard play is longest career pass for DiNucci & longest catch for Polk for an early 7-0 JMU lead!#GoDukes pic.twitter.com/a9EgmgKwQe — JMU Football (@JMUFootball) November 16, 2019

DiNucci displays more accuracy and touch than you’d expect for a late-rounder, and he has the arm talent to make any throw to any part of the field. He posted the seventh-best adjusted completion percentage (77.8%) in this year’s class, per PFF, and was particularly productive with the deep ball.

On throws 20+ yards downfield, DiNucci accumulated 771 yards, eights TDs, one INT and a 125.9 passer rating (fifth-best in this class), per PFF.

TOUCHDOWN



DiNucci bulldozes his way to the end zone for his 4th rushing score of the season! 38-6 JMU (1:44 | 3Q)#GoDukes pic.twitter.com/GueNBW4Fpk — JMU Football (@JMUFootball) November 16, 2019

DiNucci also has the ability to make plays with his feet, posting 1,002 rushing yards 16 TDs in his two seasons at James Madison. While he didn’t get to participate in a pro day, DiNucci was estimated to run a ~4.8 40-yard dash, which is similar to the 4.79 40-yard dash Dak Prescott ran at the NFL combine. DiNucci’s ability to scramble and make plays enables him to work outside the structure of the offense.

oooohh weee. DiNucci avoids the free rusher, keeps his eyes downfield and adjusts his arm angle to fit a pass around a defender in his face, but the pass is dropped.



Remind you of anyone?? pic.twitter.com/20gnZN5Jxt — John Owning (@JohnOwning) April 26, 2020

DiNucci does have some Tony Romo to his game, as his mobility enables him to elude pressure and make plays outside the structure of the offense. He’s extremely slippery in the pocket, as he finds Houdini-esque ways to elude pressure and keep the play alive.

DiNucci isn’t afraid of pressure, which is evidenced by the fact that he does well to keep his eyes downfield when eluding pass rushers. Moreover, he shows the ability to remain accurate when adjusting his arm angles to fit throws around pursuing defenders.

Despite playing against small-school competition, DiNucci displays NFL-caliber traits. His deep ball accuracy and touch are impressive, and after reviewing his film, it’s worthwhile to question why he didn’t receive more buzz throughout the process because his film appears better than some of the QBs drafted before him.

Maybe the unique nature of this year’s pre-draft process caused a potential diamond in the rough to slip through the cracks? Whatever the case may be, DiNucci certainly has enough traits worth developing, and it isn’t hard to see why McCarthy wants to mold and develop the 23-year-old QB moving forward.

The jump in competition will be steep, but the hope is that with some seasoning DiNucci can develop into a backup-caliber QB or potentially even trade bait in the future if he performs well enough in the preseason. If DiNucci’s transition to the NFL goes smoothly, he could force the Cowboys to keep a third QB on the regular season roster, though it’s much more likely he spends his rookie campaign on the practice squad.

Find more Cowboys stories from The Dallas Morning News here.