D
Dallas Cowboys
A costly weekend of dealing drags the Cowboys to a D.
by Grumpy ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 18 picks
· 3 steals
· 8 reaches
When the story of this class is written, it opens with Bryan Hudson at No. 243, a reach of 141 spots that the board flatly disagrees with. Hard to defend, and the D reflects that.
Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere. Spending an early pick on DT-EDGE with quarterback open is the decision the grade keeps circling back to. They will regret leaving quarterback for another day if the season turns on it.
Landing Allen that late papers over a lot of smaller sins.
Add it up and it is a weekend the front office will hope everyone forgets, quarterback very much included.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a wrecking ball inside. A clean fit for the roster.
Jordan Morgan in pick 35 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They took Jeremiah Trotter Jr. at par in pick No. 56, which is nothing to complain about. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Junior Colson at slot 57 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A reach for Cooper Beebe in the 66th pick; a little patience would have been rewarded. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Trey Benson in Round 3, Pick 7 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
The needs board was loud and they turned it down, spending the 80th overall pick on Maason Smith with quarterback unsolved.
Malachi Corley slid further than he should have, and the 87th pick is lovely value for the wide receiver. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They reached into another round for Darius Robinson, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
A wild overpay on Leonard Taylor III in the Round 3 slot, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Dominick Puni. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Kris Abrams-Draine in No. 125 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Braelon Allen at slot 173 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A need, and now a little less of one.
No drama and no debate, AJ Barner went about where he belonged in Round 6, Pick 13. The roster fit checks out.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Marcus Harris this early at the 213th pick. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Nathaniel Watson well ahead of where he belonged. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A reach on Dwight McGlothern in the Round 7 slot; the board had better options right there. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Bryan Hudson in the 243rd overall pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.