D-
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys let Devonshire fall and pounced. Final grade: D-.
by Joshes with the tele ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 19 picks
· 4 steals
· 2 reaches
The trade table was where it all came apart. The Cowboys shipped out far more than they hauled back, and no amount of spin dresses up the bill. It grades a D-, and the process earned it.
That quarterback hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. The cost of the Jacobs reach is exactly the players who went right after him.
Devonshire at that cost is the sort of edge that compounds over a roster.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 27 they get a plug-and-play piece up front. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In the Round 1 slot they get a cornerstone up front at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Darius Robinson at No. 35 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
No edge and no loss on Payton Wilson in pick 56; it is a wash and a sensible one. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Xavier Worthy at the 66th pick is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Michael Hall Jr. in the 73rd overall pick is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. It fills a real need, too.
Nothing to complain about; Blake Corum went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A straight-up fair deal on Khyree Jackson at slot 90, value and slot in agreement. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Christian Mahogany. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Maason Smith in the Round 4 slot is exactly on the number, no argument either way. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Jamari Thrash at the 138th overall pick is money in the bank, a wide receiver taken below his worth. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
By-the-book stuff, Tykee Smith at Round 5, Pick 26 squarely in line with his ranking. A minor itch, scratched.
Dylan Laube in No. 164 lands just on the right side of the ledger. A need, and now a little less of one.
A quiet steal in pick 174: Walter Rouse for less than the market said. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They went early on Curtis Jacobs in No. 186, and the value did not follow. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They barely believed it either: M.J. Devonshire still on the board at slot 216. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Fair-plus on Jordan Magee, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They paid sticker price for Tayvion Robinson in the 233rd pick, and that is fine. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Good price on Donovan Jennings in pick 244, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.