B+
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys worked the phones like thieves and earned a B+.
by Tonywalthall ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 19 picks
· 10 steals
· 5 reaches
You can hear the double-takes from here. The Cowboys took Braiden McGregor at slot 90, roughly 80 spots before his name belonged.
That Tampa pick is the receipt they will wave around later. They robbed the room blind at the table, and it lifts the grade on its own. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped quarterback, which is a strange place to end up.
Not a headline-grabber, but a perfectly good weekend's work.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 27 they get a blindside protector. The biggest hole, addressed.
They let Amarius Mims come to them and pounced at the Round 2 slot. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Payton Wilson in slot 42 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Jaylen Wright in the 56th overall pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Value with a capital V on Roman Wilson in pick No. 59, a genuine coup. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
McKinnley Jackson at the 87th pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Braiden McGregor in pick No. 90 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
A top-tier cornerback at a bargain, T.J. Tampa in the Round 3 slot, plain and simple. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
The board had Cole Bishop higher than Round 4, Pick 6, and the safety fell to them anyway. A minor itch, scratched.
A wild overpay on Tommy Eichenberg in the 123rd pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They reached into another round for Marist Liufau, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Taking Matt Goncalves in pick 128 is close to grand larceny; an offensive lineman that good had no business lasting this long. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Steal is underselling it; Braelon Allen at slot 131 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
No drama and no debate, Ainias Smith went about where he belonged in the 133rd overall pick. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Cam Hart at the Round 5 slot is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They read the board right and Jordan Magee was the payoff at Round 5, Pick 38. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Nathaniel Watson is a better player than the 216th pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
JD Bertrand at pick 233 is money in the bank, a linebacker taken below his worth. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Frank Crum at No. 244 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.