D
Dallas Cowboys
Daniels is the Cowboys' new face under center. Grade: D.
by Grumpy ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 18 picks
· 4 steals
· 6 reaches
The phones were a trap the Cowboys kept walking into, shipping out surplus on nearly every deal. A D that will need time and luck to look better.
Whatever Jayden Daniels becomes, the front office has tied its fortunes to the answer. For all the activity, tight end went untouched, which is hard to explain.
They will need Smith to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it. Jones falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch.
Add it up and it is a weekend the front office will hope everyone forgets, tight end very much included.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get the face of the franchise. A clean fit for the roster.
They paid sticker price for Dallas Turner in the 12th pick, and that is fine. A minor itch, scratched.
Braden Fiske at Round 2, Pick 24 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Kiran Amegadjie at slot 63 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Payton Wilson at the 66th overall pick is the proof. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
No edge and no loss on Devontez Walker in pick No. 71; it is a wash and a sensible one. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
The board had cheaper options than Dominick Puni at pick 76, and it noticed. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Trey Benson in No. 87 is fair value, right on his grade. A need, and now a little less of one.
Maason Smith at pick No. 90 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They let Cedric Gray come to them and pounced at the 121st pick. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A reach for Tommy Eichenberg in the Round 4 slot; a little patience would have been rewarded. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Tanor Bortolini at No. 174 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Joe Milton III in slot 186 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They read the board right and Kendall Milton was the payoff at Round 6, Pick 36. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Nothing to complain about; Nathaniel Watson went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A reach on Michael Barrett in pick 226; the board had better options right there. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Eric Watts at the 233rd pick is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
A top-tier cornerback at a bargain, Sheridan Jones in Round 7, Pick 24, plain and simple. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.