D
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys finally solved quarterback, and it carried them to a D.
by Grumpy ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 29 picks
· 11 steals
· 11 reaches
The Cowboys treated their own grade as gospel and everyone else's as noise, spending slot 237 on Aaron Lewis a full 51 spots early. The board pushed back all weekend, and the D is the result.
Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere. So much rides on Jayden Daniels that the rest of the class almost grades on a curve behind him.
Landing Tampa that late papers over a lot of smaller sins.
In short, the board sent warnings, and they will be hoping it was wrong.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 9 they get a passer to set the clock by. A real need, handled.
In the 29th pick they get a matchup problem out wide at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
They reached a country mile for T'Vondre Sweat at slot 36, and the board is aghast. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Somehow Amarius Mims was still sitting there in No. 40, and they pounced on premier offensive lineman value. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Edgerrin Cooper in the Round 2 slot is fair value, right on his grade. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A big swing on Sedrick Van Pran at the 67th overall pick, well ahead of any board in the building. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A reach for Christian Mahogany in the 68th pick; a little patience would have been rewarded. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
By-the-book stuff, Junior Colson at slot 71 squarely in line with his ranking. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
T.J. Tampa in No. 75 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Trey Benson at pick 79 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Steal is underselling it; Xavier Worthy at Round 3, Pick 16 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They let Blake Corum come to them and pounced at the Round 3 slot. It fills a real need, too.
They jumped the gun on Dominick Puni, taking him earlier than his grade liked. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They took Tykee Smith at par in the 91st overall pick, which is nothing to complain about. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
They will replay Roman Wilson at pick No. 102 for years; that is how good the value is. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A top-tier cornerback at a bargain, Mike Sainristil in pick 104, plain and simple. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Ben Sinnott in the Round 4 slot is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Justin Rogers at the 122nd pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Kris Abrams-Draine at No. 133 is the proof. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Christian Jones at the 174th overall pick is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Josh Proctor is a better player than Round 6, Pick 21 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
They reached into another round for Nathaniel Watson, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Matthew Jones this early at the 212th pick. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They paid up for Maurice Smith at slot 223 when waiting would have done the job. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Jase McClellan in pick 225 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Isaiah Neyor at Round 7, Pick 7 is money in the bank, a wide receiver taken below his worth. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Aaron Lewis in the 237th overall pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It adds depth where they could use a little.
The board fumbled Kenny Logan Jr. all the way to No. 238, and they scooped it up. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
A market-rate cornerback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Dwight McGlothern. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.