2023 Draft Class Re-Grade Three Years Later

[big dog cowboy]

For a minute there I thought you were Bob!

I'll take that as a compliment.

 

[big dog cowboy]

They were looking for a TE who could consistently catch the seam pass and they are still looking.

That's not why they drafted Schoon.

 

[Coogiguy03]

There is a War Room video of McClay convincing Jerry and Stephen that Mazi is Dat Dude. Easily findable and a little embarrassing.

I hope this never happens again

 

[Kingofholland]

Legendary coaches like Tom Landry and Bill Parcells always preached the same philosophy: give a draft class three full seasons before deciding what you really have. Evaluating a draft immediately after it's announced or the morning after is entertaining, but it's also a fool's errand.

Now that we're in 2026, that three-year evaluation window has officially closed for the Cowboys' 2023 draft class. With three full seasons of evidence, it's time for an honest re-grade. Unfortunately, this one isn't difficult.

In my opinion, the Cowboys' 2023 draft class was a major disappointment.

2023 Draft Class Re-Grades

1st Round – DT Mazi Smith: F- (Bust)

2nd Round – TE Luke Schoonmaker: D (Has looked more like a fifth- or sixth-round pick than a second-round selection.)

3rd Round – LB DeMarvion Overshown: C+ (The lone bright spot. If he continues to develop, this grade could still improve.)

4th Round – DE Viliami Fehoko: F (The pedigree - Vita Vea - didn't translate to NFL production.)

6th Round – CB Eric Scott Jr.: F (Made worse by the fact that the Cowboys traded up to draft him.)

6th Round – RB Deuce Vaughn: F (A great story, but it never translated into sustained NFL)

7th Round – WR Jalen Brooks: F (Another late-round lottery ticket that didn't pan out.)

Seven draft picks and five of them earn an F from me, with only Luke Schoonmaker and "Agent 0" (DeMarvion Overshown) remaining on the roster today.

The consequences of this draft have been significant. Instead of building through young, inexpensive talent, the front office has had to spend premium assets correcting its mistakes. Trading away Micah Parsons along with future draft capital to acquire proven veterans like Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark is a direct reflection of how costly these misses became.

When you largely sit out free agency—aside from bargain shopping for low-cost veterans—and then fail to capitalize on the draft, it's a recipe for falling behind the rest of the league. The draft is supposed to be the foundation of sustained success, and this class clearly failed to provide it.

My Final Grade for the Cowboys' 2023 Draft Class: D-

While Overshown has been a bright spot when on the field and Schoonmaker has at least remained on the roster, that's simply not enough to save a class that produced so little impact. Three years later, this draft stands as one of the Cowboys' biggest missed opportunities in recent memory. It's one thing to miss on a pick. That happens. But to miss on an entire draft is another. And Jerry Jones should be ashamed.

Mazi was far worse than we could have imagined. I didn't think the Cowboys were getting a future superstar but possibly a steady player that could be a starter for 7 years. Wasn't happy with the TE pick, and assumed it was a mistake to draft a TE in rd 2 so can't say I've been surprised he hasn't seen the field.

I would grade Overshown a B. He's been pretty good when available. Besides him this draft was a dud and worst since 2012.

 

[kskboys]

And were told we didn't know what we were talking about & should respect the "experts". LOL

I completely agree that you generally shouldn't judge a pick til year three. However, you need to see at least some glimpses of hope or it's fair to question the pick. I wasn't crazy about the Mazi pick, I had trouble seeing the "high" in his highlight clips. But ok, I could give the benefit of the doubt. The Schoon pick should have been OCT. It was a no brainer. Couldn't believe it when the pick was announced.

I fully get that you are going to miss on a lot of picks .... but I continue to believe you should hit (at least servicable player) on your early picks a large percentage of the time. We waste too many picks when there is lots of talent on the board.

It's that we draft so oddly. Mazi pick was dumb(and I thought so at the time), but the Schooner pick made no sense whatsoever.

 

[StarLord]

This is a perfect example of how flawed Jerry’s team building strategy is.

Too scared to compete for free agents
Too scared cut players at the right time
Notoriously bad at trades

Every draft has to be rock solid

This is absolutely correct. Everything he does is governed by fear. He's terrified he'll sign a bad free agent, and he's terrified of cutting bait and having a the cut player do well somewhere else.

Everything about GM Jerry is so very small.. except the noise.

 

[Manster_Mash]

That draft was another unmitigated disaster.

 

[StarLord]

He picked this draft because it's a 3 year regrade......and this was the draft from 3 years ago lol.

Not everything is a hater driven agenda lol

Rockport is just a hammer, and as such, everything's a nail.

 

[big dog cowboy]

I hope this never happens again

Mazi won't ever be eligible to be in a future draft.

 

[DarkVader33]

It's that we draft so oddly. Mazi pick was dumb(and I thought so at the time), but the Schooner pick made no sense whatsoever.

Actually it did make sense, just not to us. Big Mike wanted to run two TE sets. Not saying I agree with the pick and it didn’t work out but that was their plan.

 

[kskboys]

Rockport is just a hammer, and as such, everything's a nail.

About as bright as a bag of 'em.

 

[kskboys]

Actually it did make sense, just not to us. Big Mike wanted to run two TE sets. Not saying I agree with the pick and it didn’t work out but that was their plan.

Overdrafting a TE who wasn't very good in college makes sense? We are not going to agree on that.

 

[beware_d-ware]

Legendary coaches like Tom Landry and Bill Parcells always preached the same philosophy: give a draft class three full seasons before deciding what you really have. Evaluating a draft immediately after it's announced or the morning after is entertaining, but it's also a fool's errand.

Now that we're in 2026, that three-year evaluation window has officially closed for the Cowboys' 2023 draft class. With three full seasons of evidence, it's time for an honest re-grade. Unfortunately, this one isn't difficult.

In my opinion, the Cowboys' 2023 draft class was a major disappointment.

2023 Draft Class Re-Grades

1st Round – DT Mazi Smith: F- (Bust)

2nd Round – TE Luke Schoonmaker: D (Has looked more like a fifth- or sixth-round pick than a second-round selection.)

3rd Round – LB DeMarvion Overshown: C+ (The lone bright spot. If he continues to develop, this grade could still improve.)

4th Round – DE Viliami Fehoko: F (The pedigree - Vita Vea - didn't translate to NFL production.)

6th Round – CB Eric Scott Jr.: F (Made worse by the fact that the Cowboys traded up to draft him.)

6th Round – RB Deuce Vaughn: F (A great story, but it never translated into sustained NFL)

7th Round – WR Jalen Brooks: F (Another late-round lottery ticket that didn't pan out.)

Seven draft picks and five of them earn an F from me, with only Luke Schoonmaker and "Agent 0" (DeMarvion Overshown) remaining on the roster today.

The consequences of this draft have been significant. Instead of building through young, inexpensive talent, the front office has had to spend premium assets correcting its mistakes. Trading away Micah Parsons along with future draft capital to acquire proven veterans like Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark is a direct reflection of how costly these misses became.

When you largely sit out free agency—aside from bargain shopping for low-cost veterans—and then fail to capitalize on the draft, it's a recipe for falling behind the rest of the league. The draft is supposed to be the foundation of sustained success, and this class clearly failed to provide it.

My Final Grade for the Cowboys' 2023 Draft Class: D-

While Overshown has been a bright spot when on the field and Schoonmaker has at least remained on the roster, that's simply not enough to save a class that produced so little impact. Three years later, this draft stands as one of the Cowboys' biggest missed opportunities in recent memory. It's one thing to miss on a pick. That happens. But to miss on an entire draft is another. And Jerry Jones should be ashamed.

I would agree with all those grades.

DMo can play... you can definitely dispute what his grade should be, based on how much time he's missed, but he's a starting NFL player. Schoon is a TE3 fringe type. No one else is an NFL-caliber player. I'm pretty sure that all the Day 3 guys are out of the league by now, and Mazi would be if he wasn't a first round pick.

 

[SMASHMOUTH9473]

Just a thought....how would we look if this was our 2023 NFL draft class

1. TYLER STEEN OT ALABAMA

2. RILEY MOSS CB IOWA

3. DE'VON ACHANE RB TEXAS A&M

4. NICK HERBIG LB WISCONSIN

5. PUKA NACUA WR BYU

6. DEE WINTERS LB TCU

7. TJ BASS G OREGON

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

Hey buzzkill.

You crabbing at people blaming other things than dak....is hey buzzkill.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

It’s not a stupid excuse, it’s the only draft class you can do a 3 year evaluation on because it’s 3 years after the draft.

You can’t do a 3 year evaluation on a draft from 6 years ago lol, as you have 6 years of data on that draft.

Spoiler alert but next year he’s going to do a 3 year evaluation on the 2024 draft.

This one you just have to bow out of rock….its one thing to go back and forth over opinions, but this is simple 1st grade math.

I think its because it's a typical rookie contract? Im not talking about total bust, project, injury, or super star holdout. Isn't 3 years less than nfl life average? Close to it.

Then you can do six with different set of standards.

Makes good sense.

 

[zrinkill]

Just a misunderstanding I guess.

Bull .... just you being ready to call someone a bad fan like you always do lapdog.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

Bull .... just you being ready to call someone a bad fan like you always do lapdog.

Yep. He might be doing it on purpose...he might be doing Freudian. Either way I recommend we not reply to it anymore.

 

[DarkVader33]

Overdrafting a TE who wasn't very good in college makes sense? We are not going to agree on that.

You missed my point. It made sense getting a TE since they wanted to use two TEs. Wasn’t really commenting about Schoon. However, reaching one round early to get a player you think is going to be good isn’t the most egregious thing the cowboys have done. As I’ve stated in another thread, we have no idea what the actual league thinks of players so we can’t even really say he was over drafted. Obviously hasn’t worked out though.

Also, we as cowboys fans are jaded when it comes to second round TEs. Too many failures there. We wouldn’t be complaining if he has turned into a stud or if we didn’t have a history of second round TE busts.

 

[SportsGuru80]

That was a horrific draft!