B-
Dallas Cowboys
Good, not great, for the Cowboys: B-.
by Tonywalthall ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 1 steals
· 6 reaches
If confidence were a draft strategy, the Cowboys would have aced it. Jowon Briggs at the 174th pick is 94 spots clear of where he belonged. They moved the roster forward and banked a B- for it.
That Bertrand pick is the receipt they will wave around later. The cornerback hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 28 they get a blindside protector at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
A clean, defensible pick in Round 2, Pick 24 with a little surplus value in Edgerrin Cooper. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Braelon Allen at the Round 3 slot is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They went early on Ainias Smith in pick No. 128, and the value did not follow. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They jumped the gun on Trevor Keegan, taking him earlier than his grade liked. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Jowon Briggs. A need, and now a little less of one.
A real head-scratcher, Andrew Raym in the Round 6 slot is miles ahead of his ranking. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Evan Anderson in slot 233 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A top-tier linebacker at a bargain, JD Bertrand in pick 244, plain and simple. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.