Draft season is a time of year on the football calendar when seemingly every prospect available has unlimited upside. Social media feeds are inundated with highlights that show off the best every potential draft pick has to offer, making everyone seem like a can't-miss player. It's important to remember that is not the case when considering what the draft holds in store for the Dallas Cowboys. Here are three prospects that the Cowboys should stay away from if they want to maximize their picks this year.

Brian Branch: S, Alabama

This is much less about Brian Branch and much more about the fit for the Cowboys. Branch is probably the best safety in the class and should be able to help an NFL defense right away. The Cowboys just happen to have a trio of the league's best safeties already under contract. Between Jayron Kearse, Malik Hooker, and Donovan Wilson, the back end of Dallas' secondary is well looked after for the next year, at least.

So why even bring up Branch, then? Because he should get picked up right around the end of the first round or the beginning of the second in this year's draft. The Cowboys are a team known to target the best player available in the draft. The idea of taking a player many consider to be the best in the draft at his particular position with the 26th overall pick may be enticing to a front office with a track record for taking the top player available regardless of position.

It will be crucial for the Cowboys to resist that urge with Branch likely available at 26 and for the front office to draft based on need rather than prospect value in 2023. There will be other players available that better fit the Cowboys' needs that should be targeted first.

Jahmyr Gibbs: RB, Alabama

Another fit/scheme issue here for another great player out of Alabama. When the Cowboys signed Tony Pollard to the franchise tag earlier this offseason, they committed to making him the primary running back for at least the upcoming season. There is only one running back in this year's draft that the Cowboys should be willing to divert from that plan for – and it isn't Jahmyr Gibbs.

Bijan Robinson is the kind of generational talent that can entice any front office to use their first round pick on a running back. Gibbs is a fantastic player and will provide first-round value for whichever team nabs him, but the Cowboys should be focused on finding a backup running back on day three of the draft this year unless Robinson is involved. Gibbs is a player that has been mocked in the first round fairly regularly as the runner-up to Robinson at running back in this year's draft. He's a great player with a bright future in the NFL, but he isn't right for the Cowboys.

O'Cyrus Torrence: OL, Florida

O'Cyrus Torrence is one of those players that might have tested himself out of the first round at this year's combine. Torrence's 40-yard dash, 10-yard split, vertical jump, broad jump, and 20-yard shuttle were all among the worst at this year's combine for offensive lineman. Testing certainly isn't everything and there will be plenty of teams willing to take a talented guard like Torrence in the first two days of the draft, but he may not be the best value at his position in the first round for the Cowboys.

If he's available for Dallas in the second round – he won't be – the Cowboys could get incredible value by taking him, but even then they would be signing up for a player that may take some time to be productive at the NFL level. Torrence is sluggish for an NFL guard. It will take time for him to adapt to the speed of the game at it's highest level. Dallas should be looking at offensive linemen that can step in right away and help the team now.