D+
Dallas Cowboys
Williams should have been long gone. The Cowboys pounced, and earned a D+.
by glennse1 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 19 picks
· 12 steals
· 1 reaches
The trade table was where it all came apart. The Cowboys shipped out far more than they hauled back, and no amount of spin dresses up the bill. A weekend that fought the value and lost, hence the D+.
They will answer for taking edge rusher early while quarterback and tight end went begging. Leaving quarterback unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
Landing Williams that late papers over a lot of smaller sins. The Lovett reach is the anchor dragging on the value grade.
A rough weekend that leaves the roster with more questions than answers.
Pick-by-Pick
They took Marvin Harrison Jr. at par in pick 3, which is nothing to complain about. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
In pick No. 5 they get a long-term starter on the line at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
In the 22nd overall pick they get a quarterback's worst nightmare. Need was not the driver here.
In No. 28 they get an island corner at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
T'Vondre Sweat at the Round 2 slot is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A want over a need in Round 2, Pick 24: Chris Braswell adds an edge rusher while quarterback and tight end keeps waiting.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, DJ James at the Round 3 slot. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Circle this one: Jermaine Burton at slot 87 is a fall that decides a draft. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A tidy bit of business in pick No. 105, where Bucky Irving graded well above the range. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A quiet steal in the 122nd pick: Will Shipley for less than the market said. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Matt Goncalves is a better player than Round 4, Pick 28 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They robbed the room for James Williams here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Steal is underselling it; Trevor Keegan at the 165th overall pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Jalyx Hunt in No. 168. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
Marist Liufau at the 172nd pick is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the linebacker. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They liked Fabien Lovett enough to skip the value, taking him in No. 174. It fills a real need, too.
Isaiah Williams in the 216th overall pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Steele Chambers at pick 233 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A top-tier offensive lineman at a bargain, Garret Greenfield in slot 244, plain and simple. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.