Grade the Dallas Cowboys Draft

CowboyoWales said:

...isnt that what's supposed to happen? Then when youre in a position of having one or two holes, you spend big in FA or make a big trade?

I'm interested that you've seen tape on Tyler Smith played Guard or are you assuming that the holding at Tackle will follow him to Guard?? If it's the latter then you must be a better talent evaluator and developmental coach than the whole of the Cowboys outfit could employ, maybe drop a CV?

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I say hes wrong assumptions all over the place,,.I say Smith at LG without space will less inclined to hold..also Pro coaching etc he has shot to fix this.. Cwill holding sure didn't hold him back from getting a pretty nice deal to leave here..

many of these critics are trying to lay the blame of years past failures on the new group..lets let them play stop judging them as if they are the same player, they are NOT..

CowboyoWales said:

Was it the coaching or was it injuries and decline in play? Now it may be purely co-incidental, but the decline in the O-LINE seemed to coincide with Tyron's injuries??? Especially damaging as the swing Tackle we drafted was also out injured and we then got confirmation (if it were needed) that Steele's a RT and should/can never venture left.

Connor starts getting penalised for holding (and the word and tape gets out) what realistically can the o-line coach do.... a) scheme around the weakness....what with, Tyron was injured and banged up (he only played 5 of the last 11 games), Biadasz who is still trying to master his own game b) bench Williams, who for McGovern (Really !!!)....the only thing he could of tried (with the players available, would of been to move Smith to LG and McGovern to his more preferred RG.

There isnt a never ending line of excuses, but we've seen the problem and acted accordingly....let the guy have some time to put it right.

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colins got suspended came back out of shape GOT CUT Cwill we let go..he did take step back not sure we can lay that on Philbin but give the staff credit for cutting all these players who were underachieving and over paid

Jarwin
Zurlien
Collins
Cwill
Cooper
Gregory yes they would have kept him with the insurance clause but kudos for putting that in the deal.

A

Absolutely, an A!

CowboyoWales said:

Was it the coaching or was it injuries and decline in play? Now it may be purely co-incidental, but the decline in the O-LINE seemed to coincide with Tyron's injuries??? Especially damaging as the swing Tackle we drafted was also out injured and we then got confirmation (if it were needed) that Steele's a RT and should/can never venture left.

Connor starts getting penalised for holding (and the word and tape gets out) what realistically can the o-line coach do.... a) scheme around the weakness....what with, Tyron was injured and banged up (he only played 5 of the last 11 games), Biadasz who is still trying to master his own game b) bench Williams, who for McGovern (Really !!!)....the only thing he could of tried (with the players available, would of been to move Smith to LG and McGovern to his more preferred RG.

There isnt a never ending line of excuses, but we've seen the problem and acted accordingly....let the guy have some time to put it right.

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CW never had penalties like this before. It's not his 1st year or anything. Phil in has changed some of the ways he asked them to block. Even Martin wasn't playing to his average. Only 1 guy had his best year all others dipped overall. I believe it's more coaching than just the players. We've seen them all perform better through similar injuries.

This is such a tough draft to grade. We may not like the pick of Tyler Smith in the first, but all the best OL were gone before 24. Maybe if Penning or Zion Johnson fell into the 22 range they could have moved up to get one of them but that is not what happened. Green and Johnson went 15 and 17 and Penning went at 19. It would have taken some draft cheddar to move up that far. Maybe they could have taken Jermaine Johnson at 24, and then Goedeke or In the 2nd but I don't think Johnson and Ingram or Goedeke is better than Smith and Williams. I think they had no choice but to take Tyler Smith. I think the Cowboys believed one of Green, Johnson or Penning would be there at 24. but heading into this draft I saw a lot of teams in front of them that needed offensive line. Maybe the better choices would have been Jermain Johnson and Bernard Raimann, but I am sure there would be critics of any choices that were possible.

In the 2nd round they took the guy they wanted and I think he was the best player available for their needs.

Tolbert in the 3rd was the best WR still available I think. Some might say they should have taken Bell, but he ran a 4.65 40 at the combine.

The rest of the draft was just a bunch of guys. I expected this kind of draft because while some were saying this draft was deep, I thought the opposite. There are a lot of guys who are 4th and 5th round picks in this draft. Not many difference makers. Maybe this was the draft to put all you picks on the table and see if you could move up into the top 10 in the first round to get 1 good player.

Last year we were drafting in the 10 slot. This year at 24. Big difference. If the Cowboys were drafting at 10 this year, they could have had Jordan Davis, Kyle Hamilton, Kenyon Green or Zion Johnson. I am sure everyone will say the Giants and Jets had great drafts, but they have much better choices of players to take.

I have the capability of a fruit fly to grade this draft. Thank you for askin'!

Seriously who voted A

I'll give it a B+. The positions drafted were correct. The only pick I with which I took particular exception was Trey Smith because of his penalties, and even that sounds like it might be mitigated by playing him at LG. So, I think a B+ is a fair grade here for now. Check back with me in 3 years.

J12B said:

After learning more about Tyler Smith and how he was already seen as more of a Guard in the NFL, I'm really liking this draft.

Jalen Tolbert is my favorite pick because he fits a huge need and was great value at #88.

First impressions of Sam Williams was that a lot of his sacks were more of a result of good coverage. But then I saw Ole Miss ran a 3-3-5 a lot on defense. So he was getting home on a 3 man rush. Now he'll be going with 4 and Micah blitzing on occasion. He's got huge potential.

Ferguson was a solid pick as well. He'll be able to play behind Schultz for this year and develop. I see him as our starter in 2023.

LB Clark is going to be a huge steal. May need a half a season to get on the field or could red shirt this year. As a 5th round pick, I'm good with that type of risk.

Don't know much about the other selections but from the little I've seen of Bland, I think he could be contributor in a couple of years. Highly doubt he sees a lot of playing time in 2022 given the depth at CB position.

Wish we could have got a RB in at some point.

B+

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DT was a big need last year, remains one this year, and we did next to nothing to change that. I like the NT pick in the 5th, but we needed more.

I'm not liking 3rd and 4th pick going to more receivers. Gallup and CD are signed long term. Didn't like the franchise tag on Schultz. We're spending prime money and picks on our 3rd tier receivers. We got other needs. Like DT.

I'd be happier with a G and 3T in 3 and 4. Needs in the trenches over 3rd and 4th receiving targets.

And no RB with Pollard in his contract year and Zeke *should* be on his last year.

I don't have gripes about the players individually. But looking at the draft as a whole, I see a continued overinvestment in the receiving corps and underinvestment in the trenches.

B-

I gave it a B. Loved Day 3. That saved the day for me.

beware_d-ware said:

I gave it a C-

Tyler Smith was a high-risk reach for need, when we had two great low-risk need guys (Linderbaum and Jermaine Johnson) sitting right there. That pick's simply a miss.

Sam Williams was another high-risk gamble. He has the talent to justify his pick, but I'm just done with the character red flag guys, they bite us every single year. Travis Jones was right there.

Jalen Tolbert was a fine pick. Good measurables, great production.

Day 3 went really well. Jake Ferguson fills a need, Damone Clark is a zero-risk huge-reward gamble, and John Ridgeway will be playing snaps this year.

I'm OK with rounds 3-7, but our first two premium picks were just bad calls.

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I feel the same way as your assessment. Banking on the coaches to get the very best out of these prospects.