F
Dallas Cowboys
The board had answers; the Cowboys had Hutchings. Grade: F.
by NotJerryJ ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 44 picks
· 9 steals
· 25 reaches
You can fall in love with a player. You are not supposed to marry him in the wrong round. The Cowboys did exactly that with Jaylon Hutchings in the 257th pick. A weekend to file away and forget, and an F to match.
The trades bled value they could not afford to lose. On value alone, Jones makes the weekend a net positive. The bill for those future picks comes due whether the class hits or not.
In short, a weekend the front office will want to forget in a hurry.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 26 they get a double-digit-sack hope at fair value. Need was not the driver here.
In the 27th pick they get a sticky cover corner. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In Round 1, Pick 31 they get a blindside protector at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In No. 32 they get protection for the quarterback, reach and all. The biggest hole, addressed.
They liked T'Vondre Sweat enough to skip the value, taking him in the Round 2 slot. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They went early on Kiran Amegadjie in slot 56, and the value did not follow. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A reach for Sedrick Van Pran in the Round 2 slot; a little patience would have been rewarded. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A tidy little value on Jermaine Burton in No. 61, a step better than break-even. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Steal is underselling it; Chris Braswell at the 62nd pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
Ja'Tavion Sanders in the 64th overall pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
By-the-book stuff, Jaylen Wright at pick 66 squarely in line with his ranking. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
No edge and no loss on Austin Booker in pick No. 73; it is a wash and a sensible one. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
A cornerback of that caliber at Round 3, Pick 12 is the definition of value, full stop. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. in slot 87 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
No drama and no debate, Brenden Rice went about where he belonged in slot 90. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They talked themselves into Johnny Wilson at Round 3, Pick 30, and the board did not agree. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Jared Wiley at the Round 3 slot is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A need, and now a little less of one.
Gabriel Murphy in the 95th overall pick lands just on the right side of the ledger. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Taking Renardo Green in the 104th pick is close to grand larceny; a safety that good had no business lasting this long. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Somehow Dadrion Taylor-Demerson was still sitting there in No. 106, and they pounced on premier safety value. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
Tyler Davis at pick No. 108 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Mohamed Kamara this early at pick 110. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
Isaac Guerendo at the 113th pick is a conviction pick that outran the value. It fills a real need, too.
Justin Eboigbe in slot 125 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
A wild overpay on Isaiah Davis in the Round 4 slot, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A real head-scratcher, Jalyx Hunt in pick 131 is miles ahead of his ranking. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
Mason McCormick in No. 132 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They reached into another round for Marcus Harris, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
Xavier Thomas at pick No. 138 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
They reached a country mile for Delmar Glaze at the 139th overall pick, and the board is aghast. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Khristian Boyd. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
A big swing on Grayson Murphy at Round 5, Pick 10, well ahead of any board in the building. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Fabien Lovett in pick 152, miles early. The roster fit checks out.
Nice patience on Ainias Smith, who had no business lasting to the Round 5 slot. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Value said wait; Javontae Jean-Baptiste in the 155th pick says they were not listening. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
Kitan Oladapo at slot 157 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the safety. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
They robbed the room for Jaylin Simpson here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Nathaniel Watson in No. 167 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Jordan Travis in the 174th overall pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Matthew Jones well ahead of where he belonged. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Josiah Ezirim at the 233rd pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A top-tier offensive lineman at a bargain, Trente Jones in pick No. 244, plain and simple. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Mason Fairchild at slot 256 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Jaylon Hutchings at No. 257 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.