F
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys bet the future on Daniels. The board says F.
by Al Tha Pal ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 1 steals
· 5 reaches
Call it a hunch or call it a gamble, but the Cowboys spent the 87th overall pick on Isaac Guerendo, a name most had 41 spots down the list.
Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere. Jayden Daniels gives the offense a face and a plan, and the grade leans heavily on whether he hits. The tight end hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
Getting Dixon where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class. Spend now, pay later; the math only works if this class delivers.
There is no soft landing here: they fought the board and left tight end open, and the grade is the bill.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a long-term answer under center. A clean fit for the roster.
In Round 1, Pick 27 they get a plug-and-play piece up front at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
In pick 29 they get a problem off the edge, reach and all. More want than need.
Cooper Beebe at the 43rd pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Payton Wilson at No. 61 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the linebacker. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They reached into another round for Isaac Guerendo, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Fabien Lovett at Round 5, Pick 38 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Johnny Dixon in the Round 6 slot should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Joshua Cephus in the 233rd pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
De'Corian Clark in No. 244 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.