Thirty-one other rooms let Darius Alexander slide, and the Cowboys were the ones holding the card at the 172nd overall pick. Highway robbery. A dependable weekend that grades out a B.
The cost of the Barrow Jr. reach is exactly the players who went right after him. For all the activity, tight end went untouched, which is hard to explain.
Wide receiver was the priority and it is no longer a question, which is most of the job. The skill positions did well by the weekend.
Good work on the whole, with tight end the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.12
· Pick 12
· Emeka Egbuka
· WR
· rank 21
In the Round 1 slot they get a No. 1 receiver, reach and all. The biggest hole, addressed.
R2.25
· Pick 57
· TreVeyon Henderson
· RB
· rank 55
TreVeyon Henderson in the 57th overall pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
R3.10
· Pick 74
· Marcus Mbow
· OT
· rank 51
You do not let an offensive lineman like Marcus Mbow reach pick No. 74 and blink. They did not. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
R3.12
· Pick 76
· Donovan Jackson
· OT
· rank 86
The board had cheaper options than Donovan Jackson at slot 76, and it noticed. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
R5.11
· Pick 150
· Simeon Barrow Jr.
· DL
· rank 180
Simeon Barrow Jr. at Round 5, Pick 11 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
R5.31
· Pick 170
· Jay Higgins
· LB
· rank 137
They will replay Jay Higgins at the 170th pick for years; that is how good the value is. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
R5.33
· Pick 172
· Darius Alexander
· DT
· rank 131
Steal is underselling it; Darius Alexander at No. 172 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
R5.35
· Pick 174
· Mello Dotson
· CB
· rank 140
Mello Dotson at pick 174 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
R6.12
· Pick 190
· Karene Reid
· LB
· rank 194
No drama and no debate, Karene Reid went about where he belonged in the Round 6 slot. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
R6.33
· Pick 211
· Ollie Gordon II
· RB
· rank 175
A running back of that caliber at the 211th overall pick is the definition of value, full stop. It fills a real need, too.
R7.31
· Pick 249
· Donovan Smith
· QB
· rank 247
Donovan Smith at pick No. 249 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A need, and now a little less of one.