D
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys bet the future on Penix Jr.. The board says D.
by Nitebar ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 15 picks
· 5 steals
· 8 reaches
The war room fell hard for McCallan Castles, and it showed at slot 233: 109 picks ahead of a board that had other ideas. It grades a D, and the process earned it.
Everything downstream of Michael Penix Jr. depends on Michael Penix Jr., and the building knows it. Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere.
The Williams pick is the one they will point to when this weekend is judged.
In short, the board sent warnings, and they will be hoping it was wrong.
Pick-by-Pick
A market-rate wide receiver, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Rome Odunze. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A reach for Jackson Powers-Johnson in Round 1, Pick 23; a little patience would have been rewarded. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
In the 24th overall pick they get a franchise quarterback, outstanding value to boot. A real need, handled.
They read the board right and Jonathon Brooks was the payoff at slot 56. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They paid a round early for Khyree Jackson in pick 87, more than the board wanted. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
The board had cheaper options than Johnny Wilson at the 108th pick, and it noticed. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Javon Foster is a better player than No. 132 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Fabien Lovett in the 157th pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. The roster fit checks out.
Steal is underselling it; James Williams at Round 5, Pick 23 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Braiden McGregor at pick 173 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Isaiah Davis in the Round 5 slot should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They reached into another round for Ryan Watts, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for J.J. Weaver. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
McCallan Castles at slot 233 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A wild overpay on Zion Logue in Round 7, Pick 24, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. It fills a real need, too.