My Grade for the Cowboys draft

[Randy White]

I want to preface by saying that this grade is based solely on the execution of the talent procurement. It has absolutely nothing to do with predicting how any of these particular players is going to turn out, or what record the Cowboys are going to end up with because of their contribution, or lack of.

The grade I'm going to give them is: B-/C+

Here's how I break it down.

1st rnd: I give them an A+ for moving up to get CB Morris Claiborne. I do not penalize them for using a 2nd round pick to move up because in my opinion Claiborne is worth more than which ever 2 players the Cowboys could have drafted at #14 and #45, taking into consideration how the draft turned out.

3rd rnd: I give them a B+ for drafting DE Tyrone Crawford. His value is higher than the pick ( 81st overall ) they invested in him.

4th rnd: I give them a C+ for drafting OLB Kyle Wilber. This might be a slight reach, but it's a reasonable one and if Rob Ryan is convinced about his skills, then by all means, taking him at this spot was the right thing to do.

4th rnd ( comp ): I give them an F for S Matt Johnson. This was a HUGE reach. It doesn't mean a thing about how the kid is going to turn out ( I actually like him after watching his highlight film ), but they probably could have picked him in the 6th rnd, maybe even 7th rnd.

5th rnd: I give them a C for drafting Danny Coale. This wasn't a huge reach either since Coale's type of talent is usally drafted around this area. Although they did pass on much higher available talent, I definitely see the reason for this pick: slot receiver/punt returner.

6th rnd: I give them a C for drafting TE James Hanna. Folks, lets be real, at this stage of the draft all they're looking for long shots. Much like Coale, Hanna's type of talent is drafted around this area ( the current back up TE for the Cowboys was a 6th round pick himself, if I remember correctly ) and, again, although they did passed on better talent, I see the reasoning behind this pick.

7th rnd: I give them a D- for drafting OLB/FB Caleb McSurdy. This was also a big reach, although not as big as Matt Johnson. This guy is an undrafted free agent talent. If the Cowboys wanted him so badly, they should have put on the same recruiting show they did to sign Tony Romo. Again, this is not an indication on how the kid is going to turn out, but there was so much better talent available that was passed on that I cannot, in good conscience, give them a pass on this one. They usually disappoint me with the 7th round too, because instead of taking chances on big time talent that usually fall for some reason or another ( or even draft the best QB available in some years ) they usually get this type player: LB/FB/TE/DB that should have been UFA.

As I said in another thread, this wasn't exactly a " looking for the big hollywood show " draft, like those idiots at the Ticket kept criticizing them all weekend long for. On the contrary, if anything, on the surface, it looks like a blue collar, get your hands dirty type of draft.

We'll see how it turns out in a couple of years.

[CowboysLaw87]

It would seem to me that you should give some "weighted averages" to the picks. For instance, if the first pick is an A+, that should keep us in the A-range even in the face of some lower scored picks.

I don't want to play the grades game, but I liked this draft quite a bit.

[SDogo]

Originally Posted by Randy White

4th rnd ( comp ): I give them an F for S Matt Johnson. This was a HUGE reach. It doesn't mean a thing about how the kid is going to turn out ( I actually like him after watching his highlight film ), but they probably could have picked him in the 6th rnd, maybe even 7th rnd.

Matt Johnson gave a interview after his pick. He received calls from both the Bears and the Eagles expressing interest in his services towards the end of round 3. The Eagles actually called him a second time before Dallas chose him and said they were still interested. Now they did not say if they would take him in the 4th, 5th, 6th or 7th but calling him towards the end of Round 3 really does imply he likely would of never made it to the 6th or 7th round.

[speedkilz88]

What if the Cowboys scouted other teams and knew they were going to take Matt Johnson in the 5th before their pick?

[basstapp]

Someone said on ESPN that coale was the steal of the draft.

[TheDallasDon]

Originally Posted by speedkilz88

What if the Cowboys scouted other teams and knew they were going to take Matt Johnson in the 5th before their pick?

This.....take that F away baby!

[Randy White]

Originally Posted by SDogo

Matt Johnson gave a interview after his pick. He received calls from both the Bears and the Eagles expressing interest in his services towards the end of round 3. The Eagles actually called him a second time before Dallas chose him and said they were still interested. Now they did not say if they would take him in the 4th, 5th, 6th or 7th but calling him towards the end of Round 3 really does imply he likely would of never made it to the 6th or 7th round.

That was probably the case, but as you well know, teams and agents play those types of games every year during the draft, particularly agents. That's where discipline and preparedness comes into play. Mind you, I'm not saying the Cowboys weren't prepared or were having a party when they made this pick, but, imo, I think they fell too much in love with this kid and didn't want to lose him.

They might turn out to be right in the end ( I hope so ), but I'm a stickler when it comes to draft value. I don't mind reaching a few slots, or even a round ( within the proper context ), but I'm not a fan of overreaching.

I'd rather risk losing a player I like as oppossed to overpay for him ( severely ). Most of the time you end up with him anyways if you don't panic.

[big dog cowboy]

Originally Posted by Randy White

4th rnd ( comp ): I give them an F for S Matt Johnson. This was a HUGE reach. It doesn't mean a thing about how the kid is going to turn out ( I actually like him after watching his highlight film ), but they probably could have picked him in the 6th rnd, maybe even 7th rnd.

Originally Posted by SDogo

Matt Johnson gave a interview after his pick. He received calls from both the Bears and the Eagles expressing interest in his services towards the end of round 3. The Eagles actually called him a second time before Dallas chose him and said they were still interested. Now they did not say if they would take him in the 4th, 5th, 6th or 7th but calling him towards the end of Round 3 really does imply he likely would of never made it to the 6th or 7th round.

So much for the HUGE reach.

[gimmesix]

Originally Posted by SDogo

Matt Johnson gave a interview after his pick. He received calls from both the Bears and the Eagles expressing interest in his services towards the end of round 3. The Eagles actually called him a second time before Dallas chose him and said they were still interested. Now they did not say if they would take him in the 4th, 5th, 6th or 7th but calling him towards the end of Round 3 really does imply he likely would of never made it to the 6th or 7th round.

That's what I hate about people saying we could have picked up so-and-so later. We have no idea if that's true.

[a_minimalist]

I agree with SDogo and Gimmiesix, I give it an A-/B+. Maybe non NFL team scouts value players differently than NFL team scouts do. There will always be slight variations and players who fall through the cracks. It can't be all numbers and film. They meet with a lot of players and see and hear what a lot of us and scouts like Mel Kiper don't see. And that's not a knock on Mel Kiper, I like Mel Kiper a lot.

[Biggems]

Originally Posted by Randy White

I want to preface by saying that this grade is based solely on the execution of the talent procurement. It has absolutely nothing to do with predicting how any of these particular players is going to turn out, or what record the Cowboys are going to end up with because of their contribution, or lack of.

The grade I'm going to give them is: B-/C+

Here's how I break it down.

1st rnd: I give them an A+ for moving up to get CB Morris Claiborne. I do not penalize them for using a 2nd round pick to move up because in my opinion Claiborne is worth more than which ever 2 players the Cowboys could have drafted at #14 and #45, taking into consideration how the draft turned out.

3rd rnd: I give them a B+ for drafting DE Tyrone Crawford. His value is higher than the pick ( 81st overall ) they invested in him.

[View Full Quote]4th rnd: I give them a C+ for drafting OLB Kyle Wilber. This might be a slight reach, but it's a reasonable one and if Rob Ryan is convinced about his skills, then by all means, taking him at this spot was the right thing to do.

4th rnd ( comp ): I give them an F for S Matt Johnson. This was a HUGE reach. It doesn't mean a thing about how the kid is going to turn out ( I actually like him after watching his highlight film ), but they probably could have picked him in the 6th rnd, maybe even 7th rnd.

5th rnd: I give them a C for drafting Danny Coale. This wasn't a huge reach either since Coale's type of talent is usally drafted around this area. Although they did pass on much higher available talent, I definitely see the reason for this pick: slot receiver/punt returner.

6th rnd: I give them a C for drafting TE James Hanna. Folks, lets be real, at this stage of the draft all they're looking for long shots. Much like Coale, Hanna's type of talent is drafted around this area ( the current back up TE for the Cowboys was a 6th round pick himself, if I remember correctly ) and, again, although they did passed on better talent, I see the reasoning behind this pick.

7th rnd: I give them a D- for drafting OLB/FB Caleb McSurdy. This was also a big reach, although not as big as Matt Johnson. This guy is an undrafted free agent talent. If the Cowboys wanted him so badly, they should have put on the same recruiting show they did to sign Tony Romo. Again, this is not an indication on how the kid is going to turn out, but there was so much better talent available that was passed on that I cannot, in good conscience, give them a pass on this one. They usually disappoint me with the 7th round too, because instead of taking chances on big time talent that usually fall for some reason or another ( or even draft the best QB available in some years ) they usually get this type player: LB/FB/TE/DB that should have been UFA.

As I said in another thread, this wasn't exactly a " looking for the big hollywood show " draft, like those idiots at the Ticket kept criticizing them all weekend long for. On the contrary, if anything, on the surface, it looks like a blue collar, get your hands dirty type of draft.

We'll see how it turns out in a couple of years.

for you he is a huge reach, for many fans, and for some teams....however, for other teams and scouts, including ours he was picked where he was.

Maybe this is where Dallas had him on their board and if so, he wasnt a reach. Also, if they had wind that another team was going to be taking him soon, then that would cause them to pounce.

McSurdy is the only pick I really do not like. There were so many other quality prospects......especially SS Kelcie McCray and NT Fangupo

[morasp]

It's really hard for an oustsider to say we should have taken so and so or we took him too soon. So many variables. Character issues we don't konw about. Health conditions that haven't been disclosed. Other teams interest in a player. Bottom line if you like a player and his character/skill set match the round it was a good pick.

[AMERICAS_FAN]

Let me get this straight. The Cowboys got arguably the best player in the draft and at a position of great need, and under unrealistic circumstances that happened because they prepared for every scenario - even the rarest of ones like this one that they pulled off - and here we have proposed grades less than A?

Sorry to say but that deserves a double-dog

[kmd24]

Originally Posted by Randy White

4th rnd ( comp ): I give them an F for S Matt Johnson. This was a HUGE reach. It doesn't mean a thing about how the kid is going to turn out ( I actually like him after watching his highlight film ), but they probably could have picked him in the 6th rnd, maybe even 7th rnd.

When I first saw the pick, I thought Johnson was a reach too, but it's really hard to say unless you see other teams' draft boards.

Anyway, a pick that's essentially the top of the fifth round can't be much of a reach no matter what.

[Randy White]

Originally Posted by AMERICAS_FAN

Let me get this straight. The Cowboys got arguably the best player in the draft and at a position of great need, and under unrealistic circumstances that happened because they prepared for every scenario - even the rarest of ones like this one that they pulled off - and here we have proposed grades less than A?

Sorry to say but that deserves a double-dog

I gave them an A+ for that move, unlike most " experts ". However, that move alone, again, in terms of draft pick value only, does not make up for an entire draft.

As for Matt Johnson, some of you are confusing one thing with another. I specifically wrote twice that the grade I gave the choice(s) does NOT reflect how good he is or he could be. I don't know the player and if you're not lying to yourselves, the first time y'all saw him was at the same time I did: in the youtube clips I dugged up yesterday. And, again, after watching the highlights, I actually like him.

To say that " other teams might have had him in their boards ", that might have been the case but 2 things:

a) Even if teams had him on their boards ( something that we don't know for sure ), it does not say WHICH or IF they were goin to spend a pick on him

b)there must not have been many teams who did ( if any, other than Dallas ) or he was the best kept secret in the NFL.

This is a very similar scenario that happen with the Raiders when they drafted Michael Mitchell out of Ohio in the 2nd round back in '09. Very few people knew who he was, almost the entire world of draftnicks and " experts " surely didn't, the pick was criticized because of it and the Raiders' response was to say that the " Bears called him and were actually thinking of drafting him in the 3rd round ". The kid look the part on film ( great hitter ) which made it understandable to spend a pick on him, but not that high of a pick. Obviously they fell in love with him and didn't want to risk losing him, which, imo, it's probably what happened in this case with the Cowboys.