Now how prospects pan out is to be determined. However, the DT class was pretty strong this year on paper.
Dallas decided to pass on those top guys.
My point of view was let's say we assigned grades to players and their performance, take a "neutral" site such as PFF.
Brock Hoffman was rated as a 66.3 overall, or 44th for guards.
64 starting guards in the NFL.
Not a stud, but still rated fine.
Mazi Smith PFF grade was 38.4, or 207 out of 219 for DTs
Say Booker comes in and he posts a 77(top 10 PFF score from 2024)
10 overall points better. Maybe he's a better mauler, grader etc..
We got improvement, but by 10 points.
Say someone like Nolen or Grant post a 70 overall score. Not as high as Booker and his 77 score, but he would pretty much double the overall output by Mazi.
To me, the DT was a bigger need and there was talent there that would of been fine taking at 12. Wasn't like T Hill was the best D available at #12.
Booker may be an all pro and Nolen a bust. Or vice versa. I'm not claiming a winner or loser on the 25th. However, I just feel like Dallas once again took the "safe" pick with not as much upside to actually improving the team over last year.