Cowboys 'bold' draft night prediction brings 987-yard speedster to Dallas

Do the Dallas Cowboys have a surprise in store for the first round of the NFL Draft?

It's a pivotal year for Dallas, coming off a 7-10 season and the firing of head coach Mike McCarthy. The new head coach, Brian Schottenheimer, inherits an expensive roster with a noticeable lack of skill player talent behind top wideout CeeDee Lamb.

It's a deep draft for skill player talent, so Dallas has a chance to make things right either during Thursday's first round or later in the week.

There are plenty of options for the Cowboys to address the wide receiver and running back positions in the early rounds of the draft. But one NFL writer sees Dallas taking a wideout with the number 12 pick who many haven't foreseen going in the top half of the first round.

On Thursday, CBS Sports' Chris Trapasso released a list of "bold predictions" for the draft, including the Cowboys selecting Texas wide receiver Matthew Golden 12th overall.

"Golden may not be huge. But the first round is all about traits and that 40-yard dash time is the ultimate selling point to fans and coaches at the receiver position," Trapasso wrote.

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"Golden didn't have first-round production until late in his final season at Texas but did average over four catches and nearly 82 yards per game in his last eight games for the Longhorns."

Golden racked up 987 receiving yards and nine touchdowns in the Longhorns' 16 games this season. His physical tools are the real draw, though, as exemplified by his blazing 4.29-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine.

There's no reason for the Cowboys to play things safe, but taking a college receiver who didn't have superstar production could certainly backfire in the long run. But the potential rewards Golden offers are also immense.

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