D-
Dallas Cowboys
A passer of the future in Maye, and a D-, for the Cowboys.
by Rockkicker ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 5 steals
· 0 reaches
You can lose a draft before you make a pick. The Cowboys did it at the trade table, overpaying to chase players the board did not price nearly as high. It grades a D-, and the process earned it.
Whatever Drake Maye becomes, the front office has tied its fortunes to the answer. The tight end spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. If one pick saves this weekend, it is Dixon.
It is a win-now wager, and the future is the stake.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get their guy under center for the next decade. A real need, handled.
In the 24th pick they get a problem off the edge at a price that makes it sweeter. More want than need.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Amarius Mims at pick No. 34. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A market-rate wide receiver, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Xavier Worthy. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A straight-up fair deal on Trey Benson at pick 87, value and slot in agreement. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Layden Robinson at No. 174 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
You do not let a cornerback like Johnny Dixon reach slot 216 and blink. They did not. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They read the board right and JD Bertrand was the payoff at Round 7, Pick 13. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Michael Barrett in slot 244. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.