F
Dallas Cowboys
A weekend the Cowboys spent ahead of the board, for worse: F.
by jerrysux ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 38 picks
· 9 steals
· 20 reaches
The move everyone will second-guess came early. The Cowboys reached some 63 spots for Josiah Ezirim, and value like that does not grow back. There is no dressing it up: a F.
The trades bled value they could not afford to lose. If one pick saves this weekend, it is Goncalves.
The bill for those future picks comes due whether the class hits or not.
The verdict is harsh because the weekend was, and there is little to argue.
Pick-by-Pick
Good price on JC Latham in Round 1, Pick 18, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
In slot 19 they get an anchor for the offensive line. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In No. 23 they get a run-stuffing presence up front, and a steal at that. A real need, handled.
In the 24th overall pick they get a quarterback's worst nightmare, reach and all. Need was not the driver here.
In pick No. 25 they get a plug-and-play piece up front at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
They jumped the gun on Xavier Worthy, taking him earlier than his grade liked. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A conviction pick on Keon Coleman at the 34th overall pick that the board grades a round light. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A quarterback of that caliber at slot 36 is the definition of value, full stop. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A clean, defensible pick in the Round 2 slot with a little surplus value in Troy Franklin. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Xavier Legette in pick No. 40 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Junior Colson at the 41st pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They talked themselves into T'Vondre Sweat at No. 42, and the board did not agree. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Nothing to complain about; Payton Wilson went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They paid up for Cooper Beebe at Round 2, Pick 17 when waiting would have done the job. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Kiran Amegadjie in pick 67 lands just on the right side of the ledger. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They paid a round early for Ben Sinnott in the Round 3 slot, more than the board wanted. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
No edge and no loss on Mekhi Wingo in pick No. 94; it is a wash and a sensible one. It fills a real need, too.
A quiet steal in the 106th overall pick: Kris Abrams-Draine for less than the market said. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They let DJ James come to them and pounced at No. 108. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
No drama and no debate, Mohamed Kamara went about where he belonged in slot 114. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
A premium they did not need to pay, Brennan Jackson a notch or two before his time. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Tyler Davis in the 116th pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A wild overpay on Isaiah Davis in No. 123, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A need, and now a little less of one.
A real head-scratcher, McKinnley Jackson in the Round 4 slot is miles ahead of his ranking. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They went early on Jared Wiley in pick 127, and the value did not follow. The roster fit checks out.
Tip Reiman in the 128th pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Taking Brandon Coleman in slot 129 is close to grand larceny; an offensive lineman that good had no business lasting this long. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Mason McCormick well ahead of where he belonged. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Matt Goncalves at Round 5, Pick 12 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They reached a country mile for Nathaniel Watson at the 176th overall pick, and the board is aghast. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They left a pile of value on the table to take KT Leveston this early at No. 180. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Dwight McGlothern at the Round 6 slot is the proof. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
JD Bertrand at pick No. 194 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Michael Barrett at pick 215 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Matthew Jones at the 227th overall pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Josiah Ezirim at slot 228 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They barely believed it either: Jalen Coker still on the board at Round 7, Pick 13. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Cody Schrader at the 239th pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.