D
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys lost the trade table, and the D tells the story.
by nitebar ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 19 picks
· 2 steals
· 11 reaches
They will call it conviction in the building and a reach everywhere else: Tanner Mordecai, 116 picks early at Round 7, Pick 10. A D that will need time and luck to look better.
The Goncalves pick is the one they will point to when this weekend is judged. The trades bled value they could not afford to lose.
They went 8 of 8 on their needs, which is most of what a draft is for. The hoard sets up next April more than it helps this September.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 23 they get a plug-and-play piece up front at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
In the 24th pick they get an anchor for the offensive line. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In slot 27 they get a home-run threat at receiver, though the board says they badly overpaid. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
They went early on Trey Benson in pick 56, and the value did not follow. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They paid up for Khyree Jackson at the 87th overall pick when waiting would have done the job. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Cedric Gray in the Round 3 slot 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: Michael Pratt in Round 3, Pick 27, miles early. The roster fit checks out.
No edge and no loss on Braelon Allen in No. 108; it is a wash and a sensible one. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They reached into another round for Jordan Jefferson, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They let Brennan Jackson come to them and pounced at slot 138. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
They took Marist Liufau at par in the Round 5 slot, which is nothing to complain about. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
You do not let an offensive lineman like Matt Goncalves reach the 159th pick and blink. They did not. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
AJ Barner at pick No. 169 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. A need, and now a little less of one.
Fabien Lovett at pick 174 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. It fills a real need, too.
The board had cheaper options than Bub Means at pick 216, and it noticed. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Ryan Watts in the 226th pick is fair value, right on his grade. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Tanner Mordecai at the 230th overall pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Tyler Owens at the Round 7 slot is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Matthew Jones in Round 7, Pick 24 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.