D
Dallas Cowboys
Quarterback settled, Daniels in the fold, and a D for the Cowboys.
by Grumpy ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 29 picks
· 8 steals
· 14 reaches
If confidence were a draft strategy, the Cowboys would have aced it. Marcus Harris at pick No. 181 is 56 spots clear of where he belonged.
They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down. They have staked the next five years on Jayden Daniels, which is the only story that really matters here. That is an offensive lineman worth more than the slot they spent on him, plainly.
The verdict is not kind, and fairly so; this class has a hill to climb.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 9 they get the arm they will build around at fair value. A real need, handled.
They read the board right and Kool-Aid McKinstry was the payoff at the 28th pick. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Jordan Morgan in the 36th overall pick. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Chop Robinson at the Round 2 slot is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the edge rusher. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
They talked themselves into Cooper Beebe at pick No. 56, and the board did not agree. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
No drama and no debate, Zach Frazier went about where he belonged in Round 3, Pick 2. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They paid sticker price for Payton Wilson in the Round 3 slot, and that is fine. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Graham Barton in No. 75 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A straight-up fair deal on Marist Liufau at pick No. 87, value and slot in agreement. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Tyler Davis in slot 90 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A wild overpay on Ben Sinnott in the 99th overall pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
The board had cheaper options than Ainias Smith at pick 100, and it noticed. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Nice patience on Bucky Irving, who had no business lasting to the 102nd pick. The roster fit checks out.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Tykee Smith at Round 4, Pick 5. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Value with a capital V on Zak Zinter in Round 4, Pick 10, a genuine coup. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They took Tommy Eichenberg at par in pick No. 122, which is nothing to complain about. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A reach on Jordan Travis in the 124th pick; the board had better options right there. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Jaylen Wright at slot 141 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Javon Foster slipping to pick 142 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A tidy bit of business in No. 174, where Kitan Oladapo graded well above the range. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Marcus Harris in the Round 6 slot is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Jase McClellan this early at the 183rd overall pick. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Isaiah Neyor at the 188th pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They reached a country mile for Joshua Cephus at slot 212, and the board is aghast. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Value said wait; Maurice Smith in the Round 7 slot says they were not listening. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They went early on Nathaniel Watson in Round 7, Pick 5, and the value did not follow. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They reached into another round for Dwight McGlothern, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A reach for Matthew Jones in pick No. 227; a little patience would have been rewarded. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Mason Fairchild in pick 245 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It fills a real need, too.