Every so often the board makes a mistake, and the Cowboys were there to profit. Kyle Williams, the No. 196 name on the board, should have been long gone before slot 238.
The tight end spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. The roster is better shaped than it was, with wide receiver chief among the fixes. Almost all the early capital went to that side of the ball.
Good work on the whole, with tight end the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.30
· Pick 30
· Luther Burden III
· WR
· rank 14
In the Round 1 slot they get a go-to option on the outside, and a steal at that. The biggest hole, addressed.
R2.24
· Pick 56
· TreVeyon Henderson
· RB
· rank 55
No drama and no debate, TreVeyon Henderson went about where he belonged in Round 2, Pick 24. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
R2.26
· Pick 58
· Alfred Collins
· DT
· rank 56
Alfred Collins at slot 58 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
R3.12
· Pick 76
· Darien Porter
· CB
· rank 76
They paid sticker price for Darien Porter in the 76th overall pick, and that is fine. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
R3.20
· Pick 84
· Donovan Jackson
· OT
· rank 82
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Donovan Jackson. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
R3.22
· Pick 86
· Dylan Sampson
· RB
· rank 61
You do not let a running back like Dylan Sampson reach No. 86 and blink. They did not. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
R4.7
· Pick 108
· Ozzy Trapilo
· OT
· rank 85
Ozzy Trapilo at pick 108 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
R4.13
· Pick 114
· Riley Leonard
· QB
· rank 101
They read the board right and Riley Leonard was the payoff at pick No. 114. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
R4.26
· Pick 127
· Jared Wilson
· C
· rank 106
They robbed the room for Jared Wilson here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
R5.11
· Pick 150
· Darius Alexander
· DT
· rank 126
Darius Alexander at the 150th overall pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
R5.19
· Pick 158
· Cody Simon
· LB
· rank 129
They barely believed it either: Cody Simon still on the board at Round 5, Pick 19. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
R6.12
· Pick 190
· Ollie Gordon II
· RB
· rank 164
Circle this one: Ollie Gordon II at pick 190 is a fall that decides a draft. The roster fit checks out.
R6.28
· Pick 206
· Jay Higgins
· LB
· rank 182
Jay Higgins in No. 206 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
R7.20
· Pick 238
· Kyle Williams
· WR
· rank 196
They will replay Kyle Williams at slot 238 for years; that is how good the value is. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
R7.31
· Pick 249
· Clay Webb
· OG
· rank 245
Clay Webb at the 249th pick is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.