F
Dallas Cowboys
A weekend the Cowboys spent ahead of the board, for worse: F.
by jerrysux ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 43 picks
· 2 steals
· 24 reaches
The Cowboys treated their own grade as gospel and everyone else's as noise, spending the Round 6 slot on McCallan Castles a full 119 spots early. The board sounded every alarm, and the F is the fallout.
The trade table is where this weekend went wrong. The Simpson steal is the beam this whole class leans on. Spend now, pay later; the math only works if this class delivers.
There is no spinning it; the board won this weekend going away.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a No. 1 receiver. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In No. 6 they get a matchup weapon at tight end at fair value. A clean fit for the roster.
In Round 1, Pick 24 they get an anchor for the offensive line at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
In slot 27 they get a premier pass rusher, reach and all. More want than need.
Value said wait; Zach Frazier in the 28th pick says they were not listening. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Keon Coleman at pick 35 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Xavier Worthy in the 40th overall pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A reach on T'Vondre Sweat in slot 47; the board had better options right there. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They went early on Cooper Beebe in pick No. 56, and the value did not follow. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Nothing to complain about; Chris Braswell went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
A straight-up fair deal on Jaylen Wright at the 60th pick, value and slot in agreement. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Kamari Lassiter in Round 3, Pick 2 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
By-the-book stuff, Renardo Green at No. 67 squarely in line with his ranking. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
They took Blake Fisher at par in the Round 3 slot, which is nothing to complain about. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They paid sticker price for Michael Hall Jr. in the 74th pick, and that is fine. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A conviction pick on Jonah Elliss at the Round 3 slot that the board grades a round light. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
They reached into another round for Spencer Rattler, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Patrick Paul in pick No. 88 lands just on the right side of the ledger. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They paid up for Maason Smith at the 89th overall pick when waiting would have done the job. It fills a real need, too.
A big swing on Mohamed Kamara at Round 3, Pick 29, well ahead of any board in the building. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Ben Sinnott in No. 104 is fair value, right on his grade. The roster fit checks out.
Audric Estime in slot 105 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A reach for Isaac Guerendo in Round 4, Pick 22; a little patience would have been rewarded. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They liked Christian Jones enough to skip the value, taking him in pick 124. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Mason McCormick this early at slot 125. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Cedric Gray at pick No. 126 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A wild overpay on Jordan Travis in the Round 5 slot, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A need, and now a little less of one.
Joe Milton III at No. 141 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
McKinnley Jackson at the 142nd overall pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Elijah Jones at the 145th pick is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A quiet steal in No. 147: Javon Foster for less than the market said. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Jordan Jefferson well ahead of where he belonged. The roster fit checks out.
Tyrice Knight at Round 5, Pick 26 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. 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 Jaylan Ford. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Somehow Jaylin Simpson was still sitting there in the 181st pick, and they pounced on premier cornerback value. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Ryan Flournoy at slot 188 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
KT Leveston in pick 189 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
This one needs a full-page explanation: McCallan Castles in pick No. 211, miles early. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Jalen Coker in the 216th overall pick. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They reached a country mile for Kendall Milton at Round 7, Pick 5, and the board is aghast. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Aaron Casey at the 233rd pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Josiah Ezirim in pick 240 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Michael Barrett at No. 244 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.