D+
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys let Tampa fall into their laps, and walked away with a D+.
by glennse1 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 17 picks
· 9 steals
· 1 reaches
Every swap seemed to tilt away from the Cowboys, and the value they bled adds up to real damage.
They will need McGregor to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it. That quarterback hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. Tampa at that cost is the sort of edge that compounds over a roster.
In short, the board sent warnings, and they will be hoping it was wrong.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 12th pick they get a building block for the line, outstanding value to boot. The biggest hole, addressed.
In No. 24 they get a lockdown presence outside. Exactly the need they had to hit.
No drama and no debate, Edgerrin Cooper went about where he belonged in pick No. 43. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They did well to land Jermaine Burton in Round 2, Pick 24, just ahead of his grade. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Braden Fiske is a better player than the 68th overall pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A linebacker of that caliber at slot 78 is the definition of value, full stop. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A top-tier cornerback at a bargain, T.J. Tampa in the 87th overall pick, plain and simple. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A clean, defensible pick in Round 4, Pick 9 with a little surplus value in DeWayne Carter. It fills a real need, too.
A tidy little value on Ray Davis in pick 110, a step better than break-even. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Zak Zinter slipping to the Round 4 slot is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A tidy bit of business in the 123rd pick, where Will Shipley graded well above the range. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Matt Goncalves at No. 139 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A market-rate edge rusher, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Nelson Ceaser. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
A wild overpay on Braiden McGregor in slot 149, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
Dwight McGlothern at pick 213 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A straight-up fair deal on Trevin Wallace at pick No. 231, value and slot in agreement. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Steal is underselling it; Myles Murphy at the Round 7 slot is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A need, and now a little less of one.