Of all the factors that go into an NFL team building its big board leading up to draft weekend, one of the most important- and yet often underrated- is access.
While the Cowboys take meetings at the scouting combine and send coaches to pro days at college campuses across the country, they're often just one of 32 clubs at such events who are vying for a given prospect's attention. What's often far more productive from an evaluation standpoint is getting the player into the facilities, seeing them on a one-on-one basis, and immersing them in the team atmosphere, even if only for a little while.
(It's that immediate access to players that makes hosted events like the Cotton Bowl Classic, the Big 12's collective pro day, and the East-West Shrine Bowl such valuable opportunities for Cowboys coaches and scouts.)
National "30 visits" are great, of course, but- as the name implies- they are finite in number and must therefore be budgeted out carefully.
And then there's "Dallas Day."
'Dallas Day' background
Coming up on Friday, April 4 this year, the annual event allows the Cowboys to bring prospects to The Star in Frisco for private workouts, interviews, and written tests. There is no limit to the number of draft hopefuls the team can host; the only stipulation is that the player must have either grown up in or played their college ball within the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area as defined by the Rand-McNally Road Atlas.
Given the wide geographical spread and the high number of top-tier and often national-powerhouse football programs- both high school and college- within that footprint, it's a staggering pool of raw talent to draw from that few other NFL clubs can match.
Some players are already firmly on the national radar and will be drafted early no matter what; Dallas Day simply provides the Cowboys an exclusive chance at a closer look. For others, however, it's perhaps their best shot at impressing the hometown club and getting the call- either during the draft or just afterward as an undrafted free agent. A Dallas Day invites has previously been key in landing local standouts like Lance Dunbar, Cole Beasley, and Connor Williams.
Technically, the names of Dallas Day attendees are kept secret, but many players take it upon themselves to confirm (or let leak) that they'll be taking part.
Per Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, these players are among those eligible to participate in this year's Dallas Day:
