D
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys bet the future on McCarthy. The board says D.
by grmjr ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 17 picks
· 3 steals
· 7 reaches
It is the swing that defines the weekend: Mason Fairchild in pick 245, a good 45 spots before the room expected him.
They handed away value on the phones that the picks cannot earn back. J.J. McCarthy gives the offense a face and a plan, and the grade leans heavily on whether he hits. Jones at that cost is the sort of edge that compounds over a roster.
Wide receiver is handled and the depth chart looks a good deal healthier for it.
In short, the board sent warnings, and they will be hoping it was wrong.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 23 they get a blindside protector. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In the 24th overall pick they get their quarterback of the future, though the board says they badly overpaid. A real need, handled.
The board had cheaper options than Mekhi Wingo at Round 2, Pick 24, and it noticed. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Payton Wilson at the Round 3 slot is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the linebacker. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Bucky Irving at the 87th pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They took Zak Zinter at par in slot 90, which is nothing to complain about. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A slide stopped in the Round 4 slot, with Tykee Smith worth more than the price. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
A market-rate wide receiver, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Ainias Smith. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Beaux Limmer at slot 110 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
No edge and no loss on Javon Foster in No. 124; it is a wash and a sensible one. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint at pick No. 127 is a conviction pick that outran the value. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Kris Abrams-Draine in the 128th overall pick is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They paid sticker price for Will Shipley in pick 129, and that is fine. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Jaylan Ford in Round 5, Pick 8, miles early. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A conviction pick on Christian Jones at the 174th pick that the board grades a round light. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Myles Jones at slot 230 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They reached a country mile for Mason Fairchild at the Round 7 slot, and the board is aghast. It patches a soft spot without any drama.