A-
Dallas Cowboys
A franchise passer in Penix Jr. headlines a A- weekend for the Cowboys.
by Gregory House ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 7 steals
· 0 reaches
When a board-topper like Anthony Gould slides to slot 244, you do not overthink it, and the Cowboys did not.
They have staked the next five years on Michael Penix Jr., which is the only story that really matters here. The trade ledger is the best part of the whole weekend. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through tight end.
In the end it comes back to Michael Penix Jr., and a haul good enough to build on right away.
Pick-by-Pick
They paid sticker price for Michael Penix Jr. in No. 8, and that is fine. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Jackson Powers-Johnson at the 26th overall pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
No edge and no loss on T'Vondre Sweat in pick No. 43; it is a wash and a sensible one. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Value with a capital V on Chris Braswell in slot 56, a genuine coup. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Kiran Amegadjie. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
The board fumbled DJ James all the way to Round 3, Pick 24, and they scooped it up. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. at No. 89 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Brenden Rice in pick 112. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They barely believed it either: James Williams still on the board at the 174th overall pick. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Taking Marcus Harris in the Round 6 slot is close to grand larceny; an edge rusher that good had no business lasting this long. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
Frank Gore Jr. in pick 233 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. The roster fit checks out.
Somehow Anthony Gould was still sitting there in No. 244, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.