D
Dallas Cowboys
Quarterback settled, McCarthy in the fold, and a D for the Cowboys.
by Greatness ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 23 picks
· 3 steals
· 12 reaches
You can hear the double-takes from here. The Cowboys took Joe Milton III at No. 138, roughly 63 spots before his name belonged.
Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere. Whatever J.J. McCarthy becomes, the front office has tied its fortunes to the answer. The cornerback spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at.
The Cowboys indulged a want in Dorlus while a need in cornerback stayed open. That is a safety worth more than the slot they spent on him, plainly.
A rough weekend that leaves the roster with more questions than answers.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get their guy under center for the next decade. A real need, handled.
In pick 24 they get a premier pass rusher at fair value. Need was not the driver here.
In No. 27 they get a long-term starter on the line. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Cooper Beebe in the 35th pick is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Braden Fiske in Round 2, Pick 5, miles early. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A straight-up fair deal on Keon Coleman at slot 38, value and slot in agreement. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A market-rate linebacker, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Payton Wilson. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. in the 64th overall pick is fair value, right on his grade. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A surprising call. With cornerback still to address, they spent pick No. 66 on Brandon Dorlus, an edge rusher they were not short of.
They reached into another round for Leonard Taylor III, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. The roster fit checks out.
Trey Benson in the Round 3 slot is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Value said wait; Maason Smith in No. 87 says they were not listening. It fills a real need, too.
A real head-scratcher, McKinnley Jackson in pick 90 is miles ahead of his ranking. A need, and now a little less of one.
Cedric Gray at the 95th pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Dominick Puni slid further than he should have, and the 96th pick is lovely value for the offensive lineman. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They took Audric Estime at par in the Round 4 slot, which is nothing to complain about. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They read the board right and Brenden Rice was the payoff at pick No. 105. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They went early on Theo Johnson in the 110th overall pick, and the value did not follow. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They reached a country mile for Tommy Eichenberg at No. 116, and the board is aghast. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Joe Milton III at Round 5, Pick 2 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A big swing on Tanor Bortolini at pick 162, well ahead of any board in the building. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Value with a capital V on Tykee Smith in slot 174, a genuine coup. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
A tidy little value on Jalen Sundell in the Round 7 slot, a step better than break-even. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.