The NFL Draft is quickly approaching, and The Athletic has predicted Tennessee football running back Jaylen Wright will be drafted by America’s Team. This comes as no surprise, given the Cowboys’ huge need for the running back position.
The Athletic has Wright as the first Vol taken off the board in this year’s draft in the third round with the 87th overall pick. I love this pick and have the Cowboys as the No. 1 team in the league that needs a running back like Wright.
While Tennessee has approached running back with the committee approach, Wright has been the clear No. 1 RB on Rocky Top. He finished his senior season with 1,013 rushing yards and has 2,297 career rushing yards in three seasons at Tennessee.
Dallas will undoubtedly be looking to draft at least one running back, and Wright would be a great fit. Pairing Wright with an experienced quarterback like Dak Prescott and a head coach/play-caller like Mike McCarthy could be the perfect environment for Wright to be successful early in his NFL career.
Cowboys Executive Vice President Stephen Jones has also mentioned that the team will use the NFL Draft to find its future running back or backs as an “efficient way” to address its needs ahead of the 2024 season.
“Unfortunately, we’re at a point where we have to make some decisions in terms of where we allocate dollars,” Jones said. “We feel like there’s going to be ways to address the running back situation in a more efficient way. We’ll see how that works out.”
The 2024 NFL Draft will take place April 25-27 in Detroit, Michigan. All Vols in this year’s draft are projected to be Day 3 picks based on The Athletic’s most recent mock draft, but you never know what could happen when teams are on the clock.
