F
Dallas Cowboys
The Hatten reach set the tone, and the Cowboys never recovered: F.
by jerrysux ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 41 picks
· 9 steals
· 25 reaches
The Cowboys put a flag in the ground for Hayden Hatten, 103 picks before anyone else would have, and the value took the hit.
They handed away value on the phones that the picks cannot earn back. Green falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch.
Spend now, pay later; the math only works if this class delivers.
There is no spinning it; the board won this weekend going away.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 11 they get a mismatch in the passing game. A clean fit for the roster.
In pick No. 17 they get a long-term starter on the line at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In the Round 1 slot they get a wrecking ball inside at a price that makes it sweeter. A real need, handled.
In the 24th overall pick they get a problem off the edge, though they paid up to get him. More want than need.
They paid sticker price for Graham Barton in pick 25, and that is fine. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Chop Robinson slid further than he should have, and the 33rd pick is lovely value for the edge rusher. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
They liked Junior Colson enough to skip the value, taking him in No. 34. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A reach for Chris Braswell in pick 36; a little patience would have been rewarded. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
They reached a country mile for T'Vondre Sweat at Round 2, Pick 8, and the board is aghast. The roster fit checks out.
They jumped the gun on Xavier Legette, taking him earlier than his grade liked. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
No drama and no debate, Kiran Amegadjie went about where he belonged in the 56th overall pick. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Jermaine Burton at slot 65 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Spencer Rattler in the Round 3 slot, miles early. It fills a real need, too.
By-the-book stuff, Brandon Dorlus at the 78th pick squarely in line with his ranking. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
A reach on Mekhi Wingo in pick 87; the board had better options right there. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A premium they did not need to pay, Ben Sinnott a notch or two before his time. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They barely believed it either: Renardo Green still on the board at No. 101. It adds depth where they could use a little.
They let DJ James come to them and pounced at the 105th overall pick. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A conviction pick on Audric Estime at pick No. 106 that the board grades a round light. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Isaac Guerendo. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Tyler Davis at the Round 4 slot is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
The board had cheaper options than Brennan Jackson at the 114th pick, and it noticed. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
A wild overpay on Isaiah Davis in pick 116, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They went early on Javon Foster in Round 4, Pick 18, and the value did not follow. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Mason McCormick in slot 123 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Tommy Eichenberg this early at the Round 4 slot. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Javon Solomon slipping to the 127th overall pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. It fits a board better than it fits this team.
They will replay Brandon Coleman at No. 129 for years; that is how good the value is. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A market-rate tight end, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Jared Wiley. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A top-tier edge rusher at a bargain, Jalyx Hunt in the 149th pick, plain and simple. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
Somehow Kitan Oladapo was still sitting there in the Round 5 slot, and they pounced on premier safety value. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
Good price on Walter Rouse in Round 5, Pick 38, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Javontae Jean-Baptiste well ahead of where he belonged. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
Value said wait; KT Leveston in pick No. 179 says they were not listening. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A real head-scratcher, Nathaniel Watson in the 180th overall pick is miles ahead of his ranking. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Michael Barrett at slot 193 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They reached into another round for Matthew Jones, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Jalen Coker at pick 225 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Hayden Hatten at pick No. 233 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They talked themselves into Josiah Ezirim at the 237th overall pick, and the board did not agree. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A big swing on Richard Jibunor at pick 244, well ahead of any board in the building. A pick in search of a role on this roster.