The board owed the Cowboys one, and it paid up: Upton Stout, the No. 180 name on the board, sitting there at Round 7, Pick 31 like a gift left on the doorstep. A mixed bag that lands at C.
If Martin pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about. The trade table is where this weekend went wrong. The tight end hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
They trusted the board more than the depth chart.
Call it incomplete, and check back in a couple of seasons.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.17
· Pick 17
· Mason Graham
· DT
· rank 4
In pick No. 17 they get an anchor for the defensive front, and a steal at that. A real need, handled.
R2.6
· Pick 38
· Omarion Hampton
· RB
· rank 31
Fair-plus on Omarion Hampton, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. A need, and now a little less of one.
R2.12
· Pick 44
· Tre Harris
· WR
· rank 49
They took Tre Harris at par in slot 44, which is nothing to complain about. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
R2.17
· Pick 49
· Benjamin Morrison
· CB
· rank 45
A reasonable price with a little left over, Benjamin Morrison in pick 49. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
R4.17
· Pick 118
· Elijah Roberts
· DE-EDGE
· rank 174
Elijah Roberts at pick No. 118 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
R5.11
· Pick 150
· Jeffrey Bassa
· LB
· rank 130
A top-tier linebacker at a bargain, Jeffrey Bassa in the 150th pick, plain and simple. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
R5.31
· Pick 170
· Bhayshul Tuten
· RB
· rank 154
Bhayshul Tuten in No. 170 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
R5.33
· Pick 172
· Tyler Shough
· QB
· rank 142
They barely believed it either: Tyler Shough still on the board at the Round 5 slot. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
R5.35
· Pick 174
· Logan Brown
· OT
· rank 149
Steal is underselling it; Logan Brown at Round 5, Pick 35 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
R6.12
· Pick 190
· Nick Martin
· LB
· rank 261
A wild overpay on Nick Martin in the 190th overall pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
R6.33
· Pick 211
· Dont'e Thornton Jr.
· WR
· rank 176
Circle this one: Dont'e Thornton Jr. at pick No. 211 is a fall that decides a draft. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
R7.31
· Pick 249
· Upton Stout
· S
· rank 180
You do not let a safety like Upton Stout reach Round 7, Pick 31 and blink. They did not. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.