D
Dallas Cowboys
The steal of the weekend belongs to the Cowboys and Phillips: D.
by Greatness ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 17 picks
· 5 steals
· 7 reaches
Somebody took the Cowboys to the cleaners. The deals they made bled real value, and the whole class wears it. Hard to defend, and the D reflects that.
Powers-Johnson has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced. The Phillips pick alone nudges the whole weekend up a notch. With quarterback and tight end unsolved, spending premium capital on DT-EDGE is the choice that costs them.
A whole weekend of picks and quarterback is somehow still a want.
Bottom line, they will be counting on several picks to beat their grades.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 16th overall pick they get a double-digit-sack hope. Need was not the driver here.
In pick 24 they get a blindside protector, a steep price for the projection. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Edgerrin Cooper at the 63rd pick nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They jumped the gun on Cooper Beebe, taking him earlier than his grade liked. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
The eyebrow-raiser of the weekend. They went DT-EDGE with Maason Smith while clear needs at quarterback and tight end sat open.
Nice patience on Junior Colson, who had no business lasting to pick No. 81. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They paid sticker price for Audric Estime in the 90th pick, and that is fine. It fills a real need, too.
Leonard Taylor III in pick No. 98 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Mason McCormick at pick 102 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the offensive lineman. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They bypassed pressing needs at quarterback and tight end to take Justin Eboigbe, an edge rusher that was not the priority.
The board had cheaper options than Michael Barrett at No. 173, and it noticed. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Austin Booker at slot 176. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Isaiah Neyor. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A slide stopped in the 219th overall pick, with JD Bertrand worth more than the price. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Andru Phillips in pick No. 222 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They talked themselves into Trevor Keegan at the 224th overall pick, and the board did not agree. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Jase McClellan is a better player than Round 7, Pick 22 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. The roster fit checks out.