Mike Tanier Draft Grades

[JD_KaPow]

https://www.footballoutsiders.com/walkthrough/2022/mike-taniers-2022-draft-not-grades

Dallas Cowboys
Improved Roster: A
Used Resources Well: B
Met Needs: C
FINAL PPA: B

I admire the Cowboys' bourbon-drenched, draft-board-peepshow approach. It's suboptimal and silly, but the Cowboys rarely reach for needs or outsmart themselves into taking bad players.

Tyler Smith is a year away from starting but has Pro Bowl left tackle traits. Second-round pick Sam Williams and fifth-rounder John Ridgeway have exceptional pass-rushing and run-stuffing tools, respectively. Jalen Tolbert is a viable boundary threat to help offset the loss of Amari Cooper, while Wisconsin's Jake Ferguson is more Dalton Schultz.

Needs? Goals? Plans? Jerrah is just draftin' ballplayers, y'all. It ain't fancy rocket science. None of this year's picks will help the Cowboys reach a Super Bowl in 2022, but a few will likely form the core of Jerrah's next batch of almost-contenders.

Giants: A
I am also an extra-huge fan of picking 10 times in the first five rounds when the goal for 2022 isn't to compete to but to rinse as much Gettleman as possible off the soles of the roster.

Eagles: B+
The Eagles four-pronged master plan for 2022: remain playoff competitive; find successors for Fletcher Cox and Jason Kelce; accurately appraise Jalen Hurts; and maintain enough draft capital to either replace or further support Hurts in 2022....a lot can go wrong with a plan that has this many moving parts, and adding $100 million to the payroll while all-but punting on Day 3 comes with its own parcel of risks.

Commanders: C+
Maybe putting Wentz in a room with Sam Howell will be like placing a mirror in a parrot's cage to keep it from dying of loneliness.

 

[Acceptablename]

SURPRISED HE GIVE B+ to EAGLES I think they did damn good

 

[Carson]

Confused. Met needs?

Pre draft we needed

WR — Tolbert
TE — Ferguson
LG — Smith
T — Waletzko

Pass Rusher — Sam Williams
1 Tech — Ridgeway
LB — Clark, Harper
CB — Bland

I feel we filled every need that we could minus Kicker and Punt returner. We landed our kicker in UDFA

 

[JD_KaPow]

SURPRISED HE GIVE B+ to EAGLES I think they did damn good

His full assessment was:

Improved Roster: A
Used Resources Well: B-
Met Needs: A-
FINAL [grade]: B+

The only hint to his resource use comment is the part about paying Brown $100M, but I'll also note that their trade to move a 1st from this year to next year cost them a crazy amount more than the trade chart suggests it should have.

 

[JD_KaPow]

Confused. Met needs?

Pre draft we needed

WR — Tolbert
TE — Ferguson
LG — Smith
T — Waletzko

Pass Rusher — Sam Williams
1 Tech — Ridgeway
LB — Clark, Harper
CB — Bland

I feel we filled every need that we could minus Kicker and Punt returner. We landed our kicker in UDFA

Yeah, not sure, but I suspect he's talking about meeting this year's needs, and how none of these guys (including our 1st- and 2nd-rounders) look quite NFL ready (in his view. and I tend to agree on that).

 

[MoistMayonnaise]

Draft grades mean nothing. I went to ten different sites and the grades ranged from A to C-.

We'll know in three years.

 

[JD_KaPow]

Draft grades mean nothing. I went to ten different sites and the grades ranged from A to C-.

We'll know in three years.

Sure, they're nothing but fun.

 

[ThreeandOut]

If you only get a B for using your resources well (i.e. got good value for your picks) and a C for meeting your needs, how do you wind up with an A for improving your team?

 

[JD_KaPow]

If you only get a B for using your resources well (i.e. got good value for your picks) and a C for meeting your needs, how do you wind up with an A for improving your team?

Well, just as one hypothetical, you could massively overpay for a WR in trade (just picked WR because of all the big WR trades and contracts this offseason). That trade could certainly make your roster better, but if your biggest need was say the OL, it would look bad from using resources and meeting needs, especially if those resources are no longer available to meet your biggest needs.

In this case, when he says "meet needs," I'm pretty sure he's talking about this year's needs, and there's no denying that the Cowboys' draft is slanted on the "project" side of things. I mean, Tyler Smith may end up as a HOF LT, but he's raw enough that he may not provide any improvement over the Connors this year.

Very good talent (A in improves roster), used picks well but top guys taken a little earlier than could have been (B in use of resources), doesn't solve this year's team's problems as well (C in meets needs). That's my interpretation.

 

[ChuckA1]

"I admire the Cowboys' bourbon-drenched, draft-board-peepshow approach. It's suboptimal and silly, but the Cowboys rarely reach for needs or outsmart themselves into taking bad players."

I think you mean scotch

 

[FVSTONE]

SURPRISED HE GIVE B+ to EAGLES I think they did damn good

A lot better than a B+, so don't expect the Boys to run the table in the East this year.............

 

[ThreeandOut]

Well, just as one hypothetical, you could massively overpay for a WR in trade (just picked WR because of all the big WR trades and contracts this offseason). That trade could certainly make your roster better, but if your biggest need was say the OL, it would look bad from using resources and meeting needs, especially if those resources are no longer available to meet your biggest needs.

In this case, when he says "meet needs," I'm pretty sure he's talking about this year's needs, and there's no denying that the Cowboys' draft is slanted on the "project" side of things. I mean, Tyler Smith may end up as a HOF LT, but he's raw enough that he may not provide any improvement over the Connors this year.

Very good talent (A in improves roster), used picks well but top guys taken a little earlier than could have been (B in use of resources), doesn't solve this year's team's problems as well (C in meets needs). That's my interpretation.

Maybe the improves roster category should be taking players with high upside instead. It's kind of hard to say a project player will improve the roster, they only have the upside potential to do so.

 

[Whiskey Cowboy]

Commanders: C+
Maybe putting Wentz in a room with Sam Howell will be like placing a mirror in a parrot's cage to keep it from dying of loneliness.

 

[America's Cowboy]

Yeah, not sure, but I suspect he's talking about meeting this year's needs, and how none of these guys (including our 1st- and 2nd-rounders) look quite NFL ready (in his view. and I tend to agree on that).

So, according to his logic, the Cowboys drafting Micah Parsons in the 1st last year did not mean he looked quite ready and not improve the pass rush and Defense overall last year?

 

[America's Cowboy]

A lot better than a B+, so don't expect the Boys to run the table in the East this year.............

You would love that, wouldn't you?

 

[JD_KaPow]

So, according to his logic, the Cowboys drafting Micah Parsons in the 1st last year did not mean he looked quite ready and not improve the pass rush and Defense overall last year?

Huh? Where did I (or he) suggest anything remotely like that? Nobody thought Micah Parsons was a project last year, did they?

For the record, here's what he said about the Parsons pick:

"Parsons reminds me of Bobby Wagner. He has almost telepathic recognition and reaction skills. He sometimes shoots interior gaps and brings down ball-carriers so quickly that I have a hard time processing what happened when watching film. ("OK, I found Parsons on the screen, it's first-and-10, the offense is in the Pist—oh snap, the play is over.")

"Parsons is also a high-impact blitzer with a spin move and the agility to beat offensive tackles around the corner. He should adjust quickly to NFL coverage responsibilities.

"The Cowboys astutely slid down when the top cornerbacks were off the board and got the sort of player Jerry Jones loves. This is a very "Cowboys" pick. It's also a solid pick."

 

[JD_KaPow]

Maybe the improves roster category should be taking players with high upside instead. It's kind of hard to say a project player will improve the roster, they only have the upside potential to do so.

Well, you could also improve the roster by replacing an okay player with a really good player, which is always a good thing, but if you have gaping black holes at other positions, was that really the best use of your resources? So I think there are multiple ways you could improve the roster without necessarily doing the best thing for your team this year. I think you're right about how he's thinking about the Cowboys' draft though.

 

[America's Cowboy]

Huh? Where did I (or he) suggest anything remotely like that? Nobody thought Micah Parsons was a project last year, did they?

For the record, here's what he said about the Parsons pick:

"Parsons reminds me of Bobby Wagner. He has almost telepathic recognition and reaction skills. He sometimes shoots interior gaps and brings down ball-carriers so quickly that I have a hard time processing what happened when watching film. ("OK, I found Parsons on the screen, it's first-and-10, the offense is in the Pist—oh snap, the play is over.")

"Parsons is also a high-impact blitzer with a spin move and the agility to beat offensive tackles around the corner. He should adjust quickly to NFL coverage responsibilities.

"The Cowboys astutely slid down when the top cornerbacks were off the board and got the sort of player Jerry Jones loves. This is a very "Cowboys" pick. It's also a solid pick."

I was implying towards him, not you.

So, according to him, 2nd round pick Sam Williams is a project? The same Sam Williams who had a 1st round value and who Baldy just stated in his opinion is the best edge rusher in the draft. So this guy knows more than Baldy?

 

[JD_KaPow]

I was implying towards him, not you.

So, according to him, 2nd round pick Sam Williams is a project? The same Sam Williams who had a 1st round value and who Baldy just stated in his opinion is the best edge rusher in the draft. So this guy knows more than Baldy?

Everyone has an opinion. I'm speculating on why he gave us an A on improves roster but a B on use of resources. I mean, a B isn't bad. My speculation was that he's thinking (1) some guys--like Tyler--may not be ready and (2) some guys--like Williams--could have been had at a later pick. But I don't know, I'm speculating. Maybe he doesn't like him as much as Baldy does; is Baldy the be-all and end-all of analysis? Lots of others don't agree that Williams is the best edge rusher in the draft, so whatever.

 

[America's Cowboy]

Everyone has an opinion. I'm speculating on why he gave us an A on improves roster but a B on use of resources. I mean, a B isn't bad. My speculation was that he's thinking (1) guys like Tyler may not be ready and (2) some guys--like Williams--could have been had at a later pick. But I don't know, I'm speculating. Maybe he doesn't like him as much as Baldy does; is Baldy the be-all and end-all of analysis? Lots of others don't agree that Williams is the best edge rusher in the draft, so whatever.

I agree with him if he felt Tyler Smith might not be ready, thus was a reach using a 1st on him, but I now understand why the Cowboys went ahead and used a 1st on him since you can't teach size, strength and aggression. Hoping Joe Philbin can finally do something and help this young man improve his flaws this year.

As for the writer possibly thinking Sam Williams could have been taken later after like in the 3rd round? No way. Cowboys are lucky he fell so much and was still available when the Cowboys 56th pick came around late in the 2nd round. Very lucky.

Cowboys got lucky on several picks still being available when the Cowboys got them, so I believe these players will show up and help this Cowboys team this year instead of later. Time will tell. Glad the Cowboys got who they got, including the ones I feel luckily were still available like Sam Williams and a few others.