2023 Cowboys Draft: TCU OL Steve Avila says getting drafted by Dallas would be best-case scenario

Mar 28, 2023 - 3:00 PM

The Dallas Cowboys have been quite busy in free agency.

To this point in the offseason we have seen the Cowboys attack, and with great vigor for that matter, areas of weakness on their roster, notably cornerback and wide receiver. It feels like a majority of fans are in agreement that Dallas has done a super job of addressing any potential needs with about a month to go until the 2023 NFL Draft which leaves them in a position to truly draft the best player available when they are finally on the clock.

As true as this is the Cowboys are still in larger need at certain positions. Defensive tackle is a spot that could use some work, but Jerry Jones noted on Monday that the team is in contact with free agent Johnathan Hankins about potentially returning to the team. That would certainly help.

If the Cowboys do shore up DT that would leave one spot, outside of kicker at least, without a true and consensus starter in left guard. For what it’s worth the Cowboys sort of do have an option in Tyler Smith, but that is predicated on Tyron Smith playing left tackle and Terence Steele playing right tackle. This sort of feels like a house of cards situation with regards to injury.

It stands to reason that the Cowboys will address the interior of their offensive line during the draft and there is one player who would seemingly like to hear them call his name.

TCU OL Steve Avila says getting drafted by the Cowboys would be the best-case scenario

A favorite draft target of many Dallas Cowboys fans right now is TCU’s Steve Avila as he represents a potential long-term future at left guard.

Avila has become a well-known name in the draft community and given his proximity to the Cowboys coming from TCU there are a lot of easy dots to connect. Recently Avila sat down with TMZ to talk about the lead-up to the NFL Draft and when asked about the Cowboys noted that landing with them would be a best-case scenario given that they are the hometown team for him.

“It would be honestly the best to stay home. I’ve been home my whole career. So we’ll see if we can keep that streak going.”

Steve Avila went to South Grand Prairie High School and obviously played at TCU so we are talking about total and complete DFW football here in general. The Cowboys would be the cherry on top which is why it makes sense to talk, even in a lighthearted way, about them being the ideal situation for Avila specifically.

Later in this specific interview Steve notes that he has heard his name connected to the second round a lot so he is a potential option for the Cowboys if they (hypothetically, obviously anything can happen) traded down out of the first round. But make no mistake about it, Steve Avila would be a fantastic addition to the Cowboys offensive line.

From his TCU profile on his 2022 season with the Horned Frogs:

TCU’s first consensus All-American since wide receiver Josh Doctson in 2015

Team Captain as he led the Horned Frogs to the College Football Playoff National Championship

Anchor of an offensive line that paved the way for one of the nation’s most prolific attacks

Started all 15 games at left guard

Did not allow a sack for the second straight season

Led all TCU players on offense with 1,044 snaps played

It is not exactly a shock to hear players connect themselves to the Dallas Cowboys and Steve Avila has a geographical reason to do so. Still though, it is nice to see that he would not mind putting a star on his helmet.