D
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys answered their biggest question with Penix Jr.. Grade: D.
by Boke ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 3 steals
· 6 reaches
You can hear the double-takes from here. The Cowboys took Zion Logue at the Round 6 slot, roughly 70 spots before his name belonged. A D that will need time and luck to look better.
They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down. They have staked the next five years on Michael Penix Jr., which is the only story that really matters here. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped running back, which is a strange place to end up.
Getting Penix Jr. where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even, and running back is still a hole.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 24th overall pick they get the face of the franchise, outstanding value to boot. A real need, handled.
A quiet steal in No. 36: Brian Thomas Jr. for less than the market said. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
T'Vondre Sweat at pick 40 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Payton Wilson in pick No. 66 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Christian Haynes in slot 67 is fair value, right on his grade. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They went early on Jonah Elliss in the 78th pick, and the value did not follow. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Khyree Jackson in the Round 3 slot is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A straight-up fair deal on Jalen McMillan at pick 100, value and slot in agreement. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Matt Goncalves at the 104th pick is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Hunter Nourzad at No. 138 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They reached a country mile for Jaylan Ford at pick No. 174, and the board is aghast. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They talked themselves into Zion Logue at slot 216, and the board did not agree. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.