The Dallas Cowboys welcomed a number of NFL draft prospects this week, as the team has transitioned into the official

phase of the pre-draft journey.

As was discussed last week

, other teams choose to keep things closer to the vest while the Cowboys tend to use their 30 national visits on players they have

interest in, which is why DeMarcus Ware and Morris Claiborne are their only first-round picks since 2004 who weren't pre-draft visitors.

With that in mind, let's dive right in and grade our next crop of Cowboys pre-draft visitors, including a talented modern safety, an electric slot receiver and a well-rounded running back.

Note: These grades are the individual evaluations of the author and not meant to predict the Cowboys' grade, or where the player may be drafted. Here's the link to the grading scale being used. Additionally, here's the source of the pre-draft visits.

-- More breakdowns on pre-draft visitors -- Vol. 1 | Vol. 2 | Vol. 3 | Vol. 4 | Vol. 5 | Vol. 6 | Vol. 7

Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, S, Florida

In a league where defending the passing game is becoming more and more important, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson is a modern safety who is well-equipped to hang with the high-flying offenses proliferating in the NFL.

Measuring 5-foot-11, 210 pounds, Gardner-Johnson has experience at numerous spots in the secondary, showing impressive coverage ability at each. In 2017, he saw a lot of time as a deep safety. In 2018, Gardner-Johnson played mostly in the slot. He showcased admirable traits at both positions, and the experience at each will make him more valuable to NFL teams.

I love the idea of Chauncey Gardner-Johnson in DAL. He's outstanding in shallow zone coverage and has man coverage ability from the slot. I think he and Xavier Woods would be a fun safety combo. pic.twitter.com/CNgg8mW9ol — John Owning (@JohnOwning) April 3, 2019

From the slot, Gardner-Johnson was incredibly effective and productive in 2018, accumulating 71 tackles, nine for loss, three sacks, four interceptions and two passes

in a role that forced him to provide man coverage on slot receivers, defend shallow zones, defend the run and blitz.

Gardner-Johnson displays outstanding awareness and an impressive understanding

coverage spacing in

. He displays impressive anticipation ability from short-to-intermediate zones, enabling him to leverage his quickness and acceleration to get to and make plays at the catch point.

On top of his coverage ability from the slot and in shallow zones, Gardner-Johnson is also a potent

, displaying impressive timing, speed and physicality when asked to penetrate the backfield.

In a deep safety role, Gardner-Johnson displays excellent range, showing the ability to align in the deep middle and affect targets near the sideline. His ability to identify, recognize and anticipate route combinations enables him to take away and minimize throwing windows to the deep portions of the field.

Against the run, Gardner-Johnson is an outstanding backside pursuit defender, showing enough quickness and acceleration to chase down ball carriers from behind. Furthermore, he's capable of taking on and discarding blocks by tight ends and wide receivers to bring down ball carriers against the run.

Though he showed significant improvement from his sophomore to junior seasons, Gardner-Johnson's aggression at the tackle point can still lead to a number of fly-by missed tackles -- he had 32 missed tackles combined in 2017-18, according to Pro Football Focus.

Gardner-Johnson's aggression makes sense, however, as he is mostly a momentum tackler at this point in his career. That means he needs to be aided by momentum when striking a ball carrier to make a notable impact at the tackle point. When Gardner-Johnson isn't aided by momentum, he often cedes ground or gets jarred backward.

Ultimately, Gardner-Johnson is another outstanding safety who the Cowboys would be lucky to see available when they go on the clock in the late second round. His skill set complements Xavier Woods' extremely well and would enable Dallas to be more flexible with their safety alignments and responsibilities, making it easier to disguise coverages.

GRADE : 7.65 (Round 2)

Mecole Hardman, WR, Georgia

The Cowboys may have signed Randall Cobb in free agency, but that won't stop them from checking out the notable slot receivers available in the draft.

Measuring 5-10, 187 pounds, Mecole Hardman is one of the most exciting slot options in the class. If the Cowboys are looking to add speed to their offense, there are not many better options that Hardman, who ran a 4.33 40-yard dash at the scouting combine.

Hardman's speed enables him to stretch the field and attack vertically from the slot, something Dallas hasn't had in recent years with Cole Beasley manning the slot. Against off coverage, his ability to accelerate off the line of scrimmage allows him to consistently eat up and blow by a defensive back's cushion.

Unfortunately, Hardman is still raw in terms of his route-running ability, which makes sense given that Coleman only has two years as a full-time receiver under his belt.

This raw route-running ability shows up when Hardman is forced to deal with press or tight coverage, as he lacks the nuanced releases and stems to create separation against tight, physical coverage. On top of that, he also tends to break his routes off short, which can mess up the timing with the quarterback on a given play.

#UGA WRs Mecole Hardman and Terry Godwin II in agility drills. pic.twitter.com/6xJhVg7AO3 — D. Orlando Ledbetter (@DOrlandoAJC) March 20, 2019

Luckily, Hardman possesses all the traits necessary to become an excellent route runner in the NFL. The Georgia product displays outstanding change-of-direction ability, possessing rare agility and explosiveness in and out of his breaks.

Hardman has the speed and fluidity to create separation on vertical cuts (post/corner routes) along with the lower-body flexibility and body control to gear down into and accelerate out of hard-angle cuts (comeback/hitch routes).

Despite his lack of experience, Hardman displays natural ball skills, showing the ability to catch with his hands in and outside of his frame. He tracks the ball well in the air, making the necessary adjustments to bring in the pass. Unfortunately, Hardman's lack of size limits his catch radius, which hurts him in contested-catch situations.

Would love to add MeCole Hardman's speed to the DAL offense. pic.twitter.com/DruqS6Nagh — John Owning (@JohnOwning) April 4, 2019

At this point in his career, Hardman is most comfortable with the ball in his hands, as he is one of the most electric receivers in this class after the catch. His quickness and change-of-direction ability allow him to elude defenders in the open field while his considerable deep speed enables him to outrun pursuit angles, making him a scoring threat from anywhere on the field.

Mecole Hardman with the 70 yard punt return TD #GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/mFHZoKIBb6 — WeRunThisState (@garunsthisstate) September 15, 2018

Hardman's talent as a ball carrier enables him to be a potent option on wide receiver screen passes, jet sweeps and as a returner (averaged 20.1 yards per punt return and 25.2 yards per kick return in 2018). Put the ball in his hands and good things tend to happen.

All in all, Hardman would be a superb slot option for the Cowboys in the middle rounds. Cobb's presence would allow Dallas to bring on Hardman slowly, giving wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal time to improve his route-running ability. In the meantime, Hardman can be an effective return man who is used in a gadget role on offense.

Once Cobb's one-year deal is up, Hardman will be able to slide right into the starting slot receiver position, allowing the Cowboys to potentially gain a compensatory pick if Cobb signs a notable deal with another team.

GRADE : 7.32 (Round 3)

Damien Harris, RB, Alabama

In the Cowboys' quest to find Ezekiel Elliott's backup, they bring in Alabama's Damien Harris -- one of the most talented options in the draft.

Instead of being the type of backup running back whose skill set complements Elliott's, Harris is the type of backup whose skill set mirrors Dallas' starter.

Measuring in at 5-10, 216 pounds, Harris possesses a well-rounded skill set that would enable him to be effective on every down. Though he's not a special athlete, Harris is a smooth mover who changes direction well and has notable burst.

Imagine not talking about how good a runner Damien Harris is all season because he doesn't get a million carries. Not once did he get 20 carries. 8 times he failed to accrue 10 in a game. Let's start talking about him more. pic.twitter.com/MQVb5xlDr8 — Dalton Miller (@DaltonBMiller) December 7, 2018

Harris is a talented ball carrier showing the vision to identify open running lanes and the patience to allow his blocks to develop. Harris manipulates second-level defenders well using press-and-cut principles on zone runs and displays enough elusiveness to make defenders miss in the hole on gap runs.

He doesn't possess the deep speed (4.57 40-yard dash) to be a consistent home-run threat, but he does possess enough burst to quickly attack the second level of the defense when free of contact at the first. Furthermore, Harris has enough burst to bounce the ball outside when gaps are plugged between the tackles.

Though he wasn't a bruiser in college, Harris does possess enough power to consistently fall forward at the tackle point. He also displays notable contact balance, absorbing contact and continuing to move forward if a defender doesn't properly wrap up.

His well-rounded skill set extends to the passing game as well, as the Alabama product has proven to be a capable blocker and receiver out of the backfield.

This is why you should like Alabama RB Damien Harris...... pic.twitter.com/POkSz9M4RS — Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) November 14, 2017

In pass protection, Harris displays great awareness, routinely shows good eye discipline to identify the most dangerous threat. He could still use some refinement in his blocking technique, but he displays enough physicality, want-to and intelligence to make teams feel comfortable trusting him.

As a receiver out of the backfield, Harris doesn't run a wide variety of routes and lacks the ability to get open against tight coverage. However, he has proven to be an effective check-down option on swing routes out of the backfield. Harris has proven capable on screen passes as well. He possesses soft hands, showing the ability to adjust and catch inaccurate passes on occasion.

Altogether, Harris would provide the Cowboys with an outstanding backup running back who can admirably fill in for Elliott when needed. He provides the Cowboys with a starting-caliber backup, effectively protecting the Cowboys in case Elliott is ever forced to miss significant time.

Unfortunately for Dallas, Harris' well-rounded skill set means the team would likely have to pull the trigger on him in Round 3, which is a slot better used on more important positions such as interior defensive line or safety.

GRADE : 7.36 (Round 3)

MORE INSTALLMENTS

Vol. 1: S Taylor Rapp, S Johnathan Abram, EDGE Jaylon Ferguson

Vol. 2: DT Gerald Willis, WR Deebo Samuel, RB Mike Weber

Vol. 3: S Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, WR Mecole Hardman, RB Damien Harris

Vol. 4: S Juan Thornhill, DT Kingsley Keke, WR Jon'Vea Johnson

Vol. 5: S Khari Willis, CB Chris Westry, LB Dre Greenlaw

Vol. 6: EDGE Christian Miller, DT Trysten Hill, RB/WR Tony Pollard

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Vol. 7: WR Emanuel Hall, WR Jalen Hurd, TE Jace Sternberger

More film studies: How free-agent additions could help Dallas in 2019

Twitter: @JohnOwning