B-
Dallas Cowboys
A respectable, level-headed haul for the Cowboys: B-.
by hr ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 4 steals
· 2 reaches
There is conviction, and then there is this. The Cowboys took McKinnley Jackson a full 71 picks ahead of where the board had him, an overdraft steep enough that it colors the whole weekend.
Getting Harden where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class. They will regret leaving quarterback for another day if the season turns on it.
They went 6 of 8 on their needs, which is most of what a draft is for. Building through the lines is a philosophy, and they stuck to it.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the quarterback spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 24 they get an anchor for the offensive line. Exactly the need they had to hit.
No drama and no debate, Kingsley Suamataia went about where he belonged in slot 63. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Blake Corum is a better player than Round 3, Pick 24 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A need, and now a little less of one.
McKinnley Jackson at the 94th pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They talked themselves into Nathaniel Watson at pick 174, and the board did not agree. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They barely believed it either: Myles Harden still on the board at the Round 6 slot. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A slide stopped in pick No. 216, with Javontae Jean-Baptiste worth more than the price. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
No edge and no loss on Jordan Whittington in the Round 7 slot; it is a wash and a sensible one. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Julian Pearl at pick 244 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.