2023 Draft Class Re-Grade Three Years Later

[big dog cowboy]

Exactly how was Fehoko's pedigree Vita Vea. There weren't comparable in any possible way

Blood

 

[Fmart322]

Probably our worst draft in a long time

 

[BoyzBlaster]

You didn't need to wait 3 years to call this draft a bust.

 

[kskboys]

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 think D- is too high.

 

[kskboys]

You didn't need to wait 3 years to call this draft a bust.

Many of us here on the site were calling it that immediately.

 

[kskboys]

The idea to pick Olinemen and Dlinemen every year is sound, sometimes you just get the wrong guy

Especially when your GM is the worst judge of personnel the NFL has ever seen.

 

[Hardline]

Yep. Teams have bad drafts all the time…..those same teams fix holes via trade and free agency….

And fire their GMs

 

[plasticman]

Here is a "revised " draft of the players that were still available when the Cowboys made their choices:

Round 1: TE Sam La Porta
Round 2: LB Byron Young
Round 3: LB Demarvion Overshown
Round 4 WR Puka Nacua

 

[DandyDon52]

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.

Wow it does look like an F and total bust for that draft !

neither Overshown or schoon has contributed much, and up till now could be considered mostly a bust.
Overshown if he doesnt get injured again, might do something in 26, but is just a maybe.
Schoon must do something on special teams.

 

[GMO415]

A microcosm of why DAL hasn't been to an NFC Championship game in over 30 years. If you only build through the draft then DAL is below average at best.

 

[Ring Leader]

They said someone was on the table asking them to get mazi Smith, I know that table is gone forever!! Yuck lol

Michael wanted Mazi bad but didn't hit the table (training) until a couple of years later.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

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.

This is why you have to supplement through free agency. When you rely so much on the draft class and it wiffs you really hurts the class.

Oddly enough a really good draft class helps the team in the short term but then you have to pay up for it later and it hurts your cap.

Remember when the Cowboys would go crazy in free agency each year. I mean even the players agents knew the cowboys would pay top dollar and I believe that some faked other teams interest to get Jerry to pay more. But at the same time there were drafts where they either just wanted backup players, were hurting at a position and over drafted players ( three gloves draft) and how can we ever forget the draft where they kept trading down and later it was called the special teams draft.


It has been a long time since this team has done well in both the draft and FA. I think they were forced to do more in FA this time and even then it was not a huge FA by any means. One could argue that trading picks for players was more substantial by a mile.

 

[75boyz]

You didn't need to wait 3 years to call this draft a bust.

Exactly.
And this same principle should continue with all drafts following each year end performance evaluation.

It does NOT take 3 years to evaluate some busts.
And I'm as big a Landry and Parcells supporter as you'll find.
It's more common to be a sooner than 3 year bust than for that pick to be a slow developer after 3 years of waiting time.

 

[hsfolk]

Bryan Bresee would've been a better choice than Mazi

 

[Kwyn]

Here is a "revised " draft of the players that were still available when the Cowboys made their choices:

Round 1: TE Sam La Porta
Round 2: LB Byron Young
Round 3: LB Demarvion Overshown
Round 4 WR Puka Nacua

These are fun. Here’s another redraft

26 - Sam Laporta (TE)
58 - O’cyrus Torrance (G)
90 - Byron Young (EDGE)
129 - Dawand Jones (OT)
169 - Puka (WR)
178 - Davon Achane (WR)

Offensive heavy but whoah!

 

[McKDaddy]

Many of us here on the site were calling it that immediately.

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.

 

[DallasEast]

This is the type of draft that should get many fired. We all know that is not happening.

^ 100% valid criticism. The NFL has conducted nearly 90 drafts in its history, so all teams have experienced poor drafts over time.

However, very few franchises have retained their general managers after they have overseen a perceived number of drafts that were average or worse. It is one of the main reasons, along with postseason success, that GMs in general usually have short tenures with their teams.

2023 is not the first Cowboys draft that can be arguably judged as poor since March 1994. It is 2026. The same general manager has overseen more poor drafts than those hired to do the same job.

 

[McKDaddy]

These are fun. Here’s another redraft

26 - Sam Laporta (TE)
58 - O’cyrus Torrance (G)
90 - Byron Young (EDGE)
129 - Dawand Jones (OT)
169 - Puka (WR)
178 - Davon Achane (WR)

Offensive heavy but whoah!

That's the kind of draft that completely changes a team!! Honestly you could pick any three of those and still change the team.

I don't think I was aware or only mildly aware of Puka at that time. Amazing the "experts" had him ranked so low.

 

[Rockport]

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.

Not surprising you pick on one of the bad drafting years for the Cowboys who overall have been one of the better drafting teams in the NFL. But you focus on one of the outliers. The will love this thread.

 

[Kwyn]

That's the kind of draft that completely changes a team!! Honestly you could pick any three of those and still change the team.

I don't think I was aware or only mildly aware of Puka at that time. Amazing the "experts" had him ranked so low.

There’s really no explaining it. He had some injuries but the entire league just whiffed on it and how he’s probably the best in the league