F
Dallas Cowboys
Conviction outran the board for the Cowboys, and it cost them: F.
by jerrysux ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 50 picks
· 4 steals
· 31 reaches
The Cowboys bet big and early on Joe Milton III, 94 picks ahead of the board. Bold does not always mean right.
They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down. It is a win-now wager, and the future is the stake.
On value alone, Liufau makes the weekend a net positive.
In short, a weekend the front office will want to forget in a hurry.
Pick-by-Pick
They took JC Latham at par in slot 11, which is nothing to complain about. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
In Round 1, Pick 14 they get a plug-and-play piece up front at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
A straight-up fair deal on Troy Fautanu at the 18th overall pick, value and slot in agreement. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
In the Round 1 slot they get a go-to option on the outside. The biggest hole, addressed.
In pick No. 25 they get a bendy edge with upside, though they paid up to get him. More want than need.
Xavier Worthy at No. 34 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Keon Coleman at the 36th overall pick jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Zach Frazier at Round 2, Pick 8 is a conviction pick that outran the value. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Cooper Beebe at the 41st pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Junior Colson at the Round 2 slot is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A reach for T'Vondre Sweat in slot 56; a little patience would have been rewarded. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A premium they did not need to pay, Jeremiah Trotter Jr. a notch or two before his time. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Jonah Elliss well ahead of where he belonged. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
They went early on Ben Sinnott in pick No. 86, and the value did not follow. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They reached into another round for Mohamed Kamara, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
They paid sticker price for DJ James in pick 94, and that is fine. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Mekhi Wingo at pick No. 105 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A market-rate interior defensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Maason Smith. The roster fit checks out.
They jumped the gun on Brennan Jackson, taking him earlier than his grade liked. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
They liked Audric Estime enough to skip the value, taking him in Round 4, Pick 10. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They reached a country mile for Isaac Guerendo at the 112th pick, and the board is aghast. It fills a real need, too.
By-the-book stuff, Cedric Gray at the 113th overall pick squarely in line with his ranking. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They talked themselves into Joe Milton III at pick No. 122, and the board did not agree. A need, and now a little less of one.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Mason McCormick this early at Round 4, Pick 23. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Tommy Eichenberg at the 124th pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They paid up for Tyler Davis at the Round 4 slot when waiting would have done the job. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Javon Foster at slot 128 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Cam Hart slid further than he should have, and the 129th overall pick is lovely value for the cornerback. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Jarrian Jones slipping to pick 132 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
No edge and no loss on Jared Wiley in No. 133; it is a wash and a sensible one. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Tip Reiman in pick 136, miles early. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Nothing to complain about; Elijah Jones went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Kitan Oladapo at No. 145 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
A wild overpay on Khristian Boyd in the Round 5 slot, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
They paid a round early for McKinnley Jackson in the 149th overall pick, more than the board wanted. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A real head-scratcher, Jordan Jefferson in the 152nd pick is miles ahead of his ranking. A need, and now a little less of one.
A big swing on Ryan Flournoy at slot 154, well ahead of any board in the building. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Jaylin Simpson in Round 5, Pick 19 is fair value, right on his grade. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Tanner McLachlan in the 176th pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Marist Liufau at No. 180 is the proof. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Jaylan Ford in Round 6, Pick 18 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
KT Leveston in slot 209 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Jalen Coker in the 213th overall pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
The board had Nathaniel Watson higher than the Round 6 slot, and the linebacker fell to them anyway. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Michael Barrett at pick No. 233 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Trajan Jeffcoat. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
Value said wait; Richard Jibunor in pick 244 says they were not listening. It fits a board better than it fits this team.
Aaron Casey at Round 7, Pick 32 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They reached a country mile for David Ugwoegbu at pick No. 256, and the board is aghast. The roster reasoning here is anyone's guess.
They reached into another round for Hayden Hatten, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.