B+
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys won the weekend at the trade table. Grade: B+.
by cspete2880 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 17 picks
· 11 steals
· 3 reaches
When the story of this class is written, it opens with Justin Rogers at slot 112, a reach of 45 spots that the board flatly disagrees with. Solid and sensible more than spectacular: a B+.
Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Rice. They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast. For all the activity, tight end went untouched, which is hard to explain.
Job largely done: wide receiver settled and 7 of 8 of the wish list covered.
A competent weekend that does not make headlines and does not need to.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 29 they get protection for the quarterback at a price that makes it sweeter. The biggest hole, addressed.
Xavier Legette is a better player than pick No. 38 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
The board fumbled Jordan Morgan all the way to slot 43, and they scooped it up. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Circle this one: Kalen King at the 64th overall pick is a fall that decides a draft. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A straight-up fair deal on Payton Wilson at the Round 3 slot, value and slot in agreement. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Leonard Taylor III at pick 77 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Spencer Rattler in the Round 3 slot is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A need, and now a little less of one.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Mike Sainristil in pick No. 97. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Somehow Brenden Rice was still sitting there in pick 100, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A quiet steal in No. 105: Bucky Irving for less than the market said. The roster fit checks out.
Justin Rogers at the 112th pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Kris Abrams-Draine at Round 4, Pick 33 is money in the bank, a cornerback taken below his worth. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They paid up for LaDarius Henderson at slot 145 when waiting would have done the job. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A slide stopped in the 169th overall pick, with Edefuan Ulofoshio worth more than the price. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Good price on Frank Gore Jr. in No. 171, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Kitan Oladapo at the Round 5 slot is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. A minor need, but a need all the same.
A wide receiver of that caliber at pick 245 is the definition of value, full stop. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.