D-
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys robbed the room for Jackson. Final grade: D-.
by phonedoctim ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 20 picks
· 10 steals
· 1 reaches
The trade table was where it all came apart. The Cowboys shipped out far more than they hauled back, and no amount of spin dresses up the bill. A D- that will need time and luck to look better.
Getting Jackson where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through tight end. The Fuaga reach is the anchor dragging on the value grade.
Wide receiver is handled and the depth chart looks a good deal healthier for it.
Bottom line, they will be counting on several picks to beat their grades.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 7 they get a blindside protector, even if it was a touch early. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In Round 1, Pick 13 they get an anchor for the defensive front. A clean fit for the roster.
In slot 24 they get an island corner at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Chop Robinson is a better player than the 38th overall pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
No edge and no loss on Jonathon Brooks in the Round 2 slot; it is a wash and a sensible one. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
By-the-book stuff, Zach Frazier at pick No. 57 squarely in line with his ranking. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. at the 77th pick is money in the bank, a linebacker taken below his worth. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Mike Sainristil at pick 87 is the proof. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Fair-plus on Jalen McMillan, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Cedric Gray at the 112th overall pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A tidy little value on Spencer Rattler in the Round 4 slot, a step better than break-even. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They paid sticker price for Luke McCaffrey in slot 148, and that is fine. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Taking Kitan Oladapo in Round 5, Pick 38 is close to grand larceny; a safety that good had no business lasting this long. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Trente Jones slid further than he should have, and No. 208 is lovely value for the offensive lineman. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Jha'Quan Jackson in the 216th pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They read the board right and Logan Lee was the payoff at pick 223. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Jaylan Ford at the Round 7 slot is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Frank Gore Jr. in No. 233 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Nice patience on Trevin Wallace, who had no business lasting to slot 244. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
You do not let a cornerback like Sheridan Jones reach the 246th overall pick and blink. They did not. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.