D
Dallas Cowboys
A costly weekend of dealing drags the Cowboys to a D.
by Grmjr ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 18 picks
· 3 steals
· 10 reaches
The move everyone will second-guess came early. The Cowboys reached some 68 spots for Mason Fairchild, and value like that does not grow back.
They handed away value on the phones that the picks cannot earn back. That Barrett pick is the receipt they will wave around later.
It is a steep hill from here, and the grade knows it.
Pick-by-Pick
A clean, defensible pick in pick 28 with a little surplus value in Jordan Morgan. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Jackson Powers-Johnson at Round 2, Pick 1 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
No drama and no debate, Edgerrin Cooper went about where he belonged in the Round 2 slot. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Ruke Orhorhoro at the 65th overall pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
The board had cheaper options than Maason Smith at pick No. 69, and it noticed. Hard to map this one onto the depth chart at all.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Junior Colson at slot 87. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Christian Haynes is a better player than pick 88 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They liked Leonard Taylor III enough to skip the value, taking him in the 101st pick. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Value said wait; Darius Robinson in Round 4, Pick 2 says they were not listening. A minor itch, scratched.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Jordan Travis. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Christian Jones this early at No. 173. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Jaylan Ford in pick No. 181 is fair value, right on his grade. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
The board fumbled Michael Barrett all the way to the 213th overall pick, and they scooped it up. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A premium they did not need to pay, Jase McClellan a notch or two before his time. A need, and now a little less of one.
By-the-book stuff, Ryan Watts at pick No. 223 squarely in line with his ranking. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They went early on Joshua Cephus in No. 242, and the value did not follow. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Dwight McGlothern in the 246th pick, miles early. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A big swing on Mason Fairchild at the Round 7 slot, well ahead of any board in the building. It patches a soft spot without any drama.