D+
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys drew a line under the quarterback search with Williams: D+.
by buzzkick14 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 21 picks
· 10 steals
· 5 reaches
The Cowboys did not so much draft Jordan Travis as overpay for him, 39 picks clear of his grade. It sets an uneasy tone for the weekend. Put together, it is a D+.
The trade table is where this weekend went wrong. Caleb Williams gives the offense a face and a plan, and the grade leans heavily on whether he hits.
The Newton pick alone nudges the whole weekend up a notch.
It is a steep hill from here, and the grade knows it.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 1 they get their quarterback of the future at fair value. A real need, handled.
In pick 4 they get a matchup problem out wide. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In slot 12 they get protection for the quarterback. The biggest hole, addressed.
In the 26th overall pick they get a plug-and-play piece up front. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In the 29th pick they get a lockdown presence outside, outstanding value to boot. The biggest hole, addressed.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Jonathon Brooks at the Round 2 slot. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They read the board right and Kingsley Suamataia was the payoff at the 76th pick. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. in the 87th overall pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
No drama and no debate, Malik Washington went about where he belonged in the Round 3 slot. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They robbed the room for Calen Bullock here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A minor need, but a need all the same.
A tidy little value on Mekhi Wingo in slot 109, a step better than break-even. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Jarvis Brownlee Jr. slipping to pick No. 121 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They liked Ainias Smith enough to skip the value, taking him in No. 132. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Value said wait; Jordan Travis in Round 4, Pick 33 says they were not listening. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Somehow Josh Newton was still sitting there in Round 5, Pick 26, and they pounced on premier cornerback value. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Jared Wiley at the 168th overall pick is money in the bank, a tight end taken below his worth. A need, and now a little less of one.
Jordan Jefferson at pick No. 201 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They talked themselves into Myles Murphy at No. 208, and the board did not agree. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Cornelius Johnson at pick 212 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Frank Gore Jr. in slot 216 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A big swing on Solomon Byrd at the Round 7 slot, well ahead of any board in the building. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.