F
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys went off-script early, and it cost them a F.
by jerrysux ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 46 picks
· 2 steals
· 26 reaches
The Cowboys treated their own grade as gospel and everyone else's as noise, spending the Round 7 slot on McCallan Castles a full 105 spots early. There is no dressing it up: a F.
They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down. It is a win-now wager, and the future is the stake.
The veteran additions, Josh Oliver chief among them, give the class a floor the rookies alone would not.
Bottom line, it will take a lot of luck to make this look better later.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 12 they get a blindside protector. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In pick 17 they get a run-stuffing presence up front at fair value. A real need, handled.
In the 18th pick they get an anchor for the offensive line. The biggest hole, addressed.
In pick No. 24 they get a plug-and-play piece up front at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In the Round 1 slot they get a problem off the edge, reach and all. Need was not the driver here.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Zach Frazier this early at slot 33. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Kool-Aid McKinstry in pick 34 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A conviction pick on Xavier Worthy at slot 36 that the board grades a round light. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They paid sticker price for Keon Coleman in the 40th overall pick, and that is fine. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
The board had cheaper options than Xavier Legette at pick No. 41, and it noticed. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
T'Vondre Sweat in No. 48 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. A need, and now a little less of one.
A tidy little value on Chris Braswell in Round 2, Pick 24, a step better than break-even. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
A clean, defensible pick in the Round 3 slot with a little surplus value in Kamari Lassiter. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A market-rate linebacker, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Jeremiah Trotter Jr.. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They paid a round early for Jonah Elliss in slot 78, more than the board wanted. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Dominick Puni at pick 87 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Mohamed Kamara in the 90th pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
No drama and no debate, Ben Sinnott went about where he belonged in the Round 3 slot. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Cedric Gray at the 101st overall pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They talked themselves into Audric Estime at Round 4, Pick 4, and the board did not agree. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They reached into another round for Tyrone Tracy Jr., and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Jordan Travis. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They reached a country mile for Joe Milton III at the 140th pick, and the board is aghast. It fills a real need, too.
A real head-scratcher, McKinnley Jackson in pick 141 is miles ahead of his ranking. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They paid up for Khristian Boyd at No. 176 when waiting would have done the job. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
A quiet steal in the Round 6 slot: Tip Reiman for less than the market said. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Decamerion Richardson is a better player than slot 186 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Tyrice Knight in Round 6, Pick 13, miles early. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A big swing on Jaylan Ford at pick No. 189, well ahead of any board in the building. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
By-the-book stuff, Nathan Thomas at the 193rd overall pick squarely in line with his ranking. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
KT Leveston at Round 6, Pick 19 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They took Nathaniel Watson at par in the Round 6 slot, which is nothing to complain about. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They jumped the gun on Jalen Coker, taking him earlier than his grade liked. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Kimani Vidal at pick No. 214 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Good price on Cody Schrader in slot 216, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Tyler Owens at pick 222 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Aaron Casey in the 224th overall pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Value said wait; McCallan Castles in the 225th pick says they were not listening. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint in the Round 7 slot is fair value, right on his grade. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Jordan Whittington at the 233rd overall pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They went early on Trente Jones in pick 234, and the value did not follow. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Trajan Jeffcoat at pick No. 237 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
A reach on Michael Barrett in slot 242; the board had better options right there. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A wild overpay on Zakhari Franklin in the 252nd pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A straight-up fair deal on Matthew Jones at No. 254, value and slot in agreement. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Richard Jibunor well ahead of where he belonged. A pick in search of a role on this roster.