D-
Dallas Cowboys
Maye is the plan now, and the Cowboys grade out a D-.
by Hauk2004 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 3 steals
· 5 reaches
There was a run on nobody at that position, and the Cowboys started one anyway for Cedric Gray, 37 picks ahead of schedule. The board pushed back all weekend, and the D- is the result.
Drake Maye is the bet, and the class will be judged on how it pays off. Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere.
The cornerback spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. The Cowboys indulged a want in Jenkins while a need in cornerback, tight end and other spots stayed open.
The Jenkins pick alone nudges the whole weekend up a notch.
It is a steep hill from here, and the grade knows it.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get the face of the franchise. A real need, handled.
In Round 1, Pick 5 they get a disruptor off the edge at fair value. Need was not the driver here.
In slot 32 they get a No. 1 receiver at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Jonathon Brooks in pick 34 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. The roster fit checks out.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Jordan Morgan. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They took Kamren Kinchens at par in the 56th pick, which is nothing to complain about. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
They bypassed pressing needs at cornerback, tight end and other spots to take Kris Jenkins, an edge rusher that was not the priority.
Zach Frazier slipping to slot 69 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Cedric Gray. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They reached a country mile for Jaylan Ford at Round 5, Pick 36, and the board is aghast. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Jase McClellan at pick 173 is a conviction pick that outran the value. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
No drama and no debate, Garret Greenfield went about where he belonged in the 213th overall pick. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Matthew Jones well ahead of where he belonged. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Tayvion Robinson at the Round 7 slot is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.