Draft: Let's be realistic

[Flamma]

Yeah.. We aren’t competing for anything real this year unless Philly gets decimated with injuries.

We laid a foundation to build off of going forward.

If the Cowboys want to skip the line so to say they have to make trades for legit players or sign legit players in free agency.

Philly could forfeit every game this season and we're still not going to be contenders. But I agree with the rest. If these guys work out, we should be getting somewhere after next year's draft.

 

[deerhunter11]

You might be surprised that there are quite a few of us that actually like the unsexy trenches approach we took this year. Go study the draft profiles. Looks like we are going to be a more physically and mentally tough team than we were during the McCarthy era/

The trenches had to be addressed because of Philadelphia and Washington, these teams are strong on the lines of scrimmage. Looking forward to seeing what Booker can bring to battle in the NFC East.Same goes for Jay Toia the new nose nose tackle .The war starts and ends in the trenches in this division.

 

[Creeper]

So many here saying Cowboys had a bad draft while every media source says it was B+ or better. Obviously media can be wrong too, but all giving the draft a strong grade can’t just be brushed aside as meaningless.

Did Cowboys address every need? No. Were the needs addressed all done so with the ideal player? Again, no.

Is that really the expectation? If so, it’s unrealistic.

Sure some could argue (and did) we needed to draft a RB higher. Or a big DT. Many have specific players they are upset Cowboys passed on. Complaints are all over the board as to what the Cowboys messed up, and all that complain think their take on what was bungled is the right one.

Obviously the myriad of takes on what was messed up can’t all be right, no matter how sure each person is of themselves.

Ultimately we have to be realistic about the draft. It can’t cure all things, it can’t make ever fan happy, and it is not an exact science where the players chosen carry any guarantees, good or bad.

I like some of the players they drafted early, although I am not putting anyone in the pro-bowl just yet.

But keep in mind this team does not sign free agents other than to fill in gaps or add depth. They do not sign top tier players, they sign JAGs. So when there is a talent deficiency, as the Cowboys have had at RB for 2 years, WR since Gallup got hurt, and DT for much longer, the only way to fix that problem is in the draft. If the Cowboys were willing to sign FA players to upgrade talent then it would be a different situation.

We went into this draft with no RBs, and frankly little talent at DT. We have Osa and Mazi, and Mazi has a long way to go to be considered a top talent. Coincidentally, and very fortunately, this draft was loaded at DT and RB. The expectations were they would boost the DT position with at least 1 early DT selection, and maybe a RB too. DT was not a selection until the 7th round and RB not until the 5th. And the RB they took is not an every down RB.

The Cowboys drafted some good talent and got a couple of value picks on day 2. But we are going into the season with high hopes for Mazi and 2 7th round DTs, and I think a big question mark at RB. Add to that the fact they did not draft a WR and are hoping Tolbert or Mingo can emerge as a WR2, and the result is some hesitation to label this draft a success.

For another team, this draft would be an easy A. For the Cowboys who build through the draft, this was a miss in my opinion.

 

[Hardline]

It must suck following something and being so negative about it.
What's that like?

Tell me where I'm wrong.

 

[jterrell]

This was a good draft IMO. It just isn't a great team.

Dallas was in a tough spot at 12 because you simply trade down to 25 there You need a R1 graded guy, and they stuck and took 1 even if it wasn't an ideal position or there first option.

I am not a Stephen fan but what he said about Booker makes a ton of sense. 6 games versus really good DTs and those teams can no longer dodge Tyler Smith.
I think Dallas did the best they could there.

 

[OmerV]

If it is a typical draft, we'll get two starters out of it, maybe three; get two or three other contributors and have a few who do nothing and end up cut at some point.

My bets would be starters (Booker, Ezeiruaku, Revel-eventually), contributors (Blue, Toia, Mafah) and nothings (James, Cornelius, Akingbesote). And that might be generous.

Not counting last year because the jury's still out:

2023: 2 starters (Mazi, Overshown), 2 contributors (Schoonmaker, Richards), possibly 4 nothings (Fehoko, Scott, Vaughn, Brooks)

2022: 3 starters (Tyler Smith, Jake Ferguson, DaRon Bland), 3 contributors (Sam Williams, Tolbert, Clark) and 3 nothings (Waletzko, Ridgeway, Harper)

2021: 2 starters (Parsons, Odighizuwa), 2 1/2 contributors (Golston, Mukuamu, Bohanna-but not much), 6 nothings (Joseph, Wright, Cox, Ball, Fehoko, Farniok)

I could keep going, but hopefully the point is made.

2-3 starters, a few contributors & a few that don’t help is pretty normal for any team. Nobody bats 1.000 or is drafting 6 starters.

 

[Johannes44]

What materially changes for the Cowboys between 2 weeks ago and today? Can anyone say with any certainty that the Cowboys today are a significantly better team on offense, defense and special teams? I don't see it. This is still going to be a mediocre team that is going to struggle against the better teams. It is a team that wholly dependent on how healthy they are. Losing key players for any period of time is going to mean another lost season.

 

[gimmesix]

2-3 starters, a few contributors & a few that don’t help is pretty normal for any team. Nobody bats 1.000 or is drafting 6 starters.

Yes, that's the norm. Some of our fans seem to think we draft starters up and down the line, but that's not the reality of the draft.

 

[kskboys]

We had a good draft in terms of rebuilding the trenches and i think Revel might be a Starter by year 2 but we dont have playmakers on this team besides CeeDee who will be doubled and tripled every game.

Running Game is suspect at best and the WR Room is one of the worst in the league. Add to that Dak coming from season ending injury i doubt this Offense is gonna do much next season let alone compete with Philly and WASH

You missed the biggie. We have no DT's and no LBs.

 

[Bigrandrn]

It’s always a crap shoot for the most part….we had soooo many needs we weren’t gonna fill them, but I wanted to at least pick players at most of those positions and the only spot we didn’t was WR. Got a monster NT, CB, OL and DE quality players, two types of RB…..I thought that LB we moved up for was kinda dumb move (gave up an extra pick for a questionable player too early)…..but if most pan out, it will be fine.

 

[superonyx]

Tell me where I'm wrong.

For continuing to subject yourself to something you seem to not even enjoy.
How is that right? Life is short. We may not have tomorrow. This is entertainment. I can't see how bellyaching non stop and bringing a rain cloud to every thread or any threads makes this more entertaining or a great use of the limited amount of time we get. It's like being with a girlfriend and the relationship has become toxic, sexless and you keep showing up to bicker over every stupid crap.

 

[plasticman]

Drafts are severely overhyped.

A team might look good drafting at the positions they seem to need he most but will these players come together to form a championship team.

Building a team is like cooking a gourmet meal. Technically, you might have the right ingredients but you must use the correct amounts, cook them in the correct order, blend everything correctly in the correct amount of time.

The players have to be coached the right way, evaluated the right way, placed in the situations that give them the best chance to succeed.

There are so many variables.

The most talented teams don't win the Super Bowl. Even the teams with the best regular season record or statistical rankings only win about 40% of the time.

NFL playoff history is filled with stories of the seemingly lesser team coming out on top and it usually involved special players on very good teams doing special things at a special time.

Discipline and commitment, required qualities in a winning culture, are too often difficult to find.

 

[Whiskey Cowboy]

While I was the biggest proclaimer on here about getting a RB in the 2nd, Henderson and Judkins went right before our pick. We made the right choice in going with EZ.

They also wanted Tet in the first but Carolina took him. I’m glad they didn’t reach later just to grab one.

I’m just glad we at least double dipped in the RB department finally. Are they that great? Time will tell. But you can’t talk all offseason about running the ball and then add nothing.

Double dipping at DT was fun as well. You never know who’s going to stick with those guys. You have Mazi with all the talent in the world, and Jay Ratliffs of the world that just spark.

The thing about the draft is the chips rarely fall perfectly in place. I also wanted Judkins or Henderson in the second, but once they were gone, forcing a reach while EZ was sitting right there would have been foolish. Nobody had Revel falling to us in the third, but there he was. Could we have gone RB? Sure, of course, but it would've been a lesser player than one of the top corners in the draft. Sometimes you have to make choices that go against preconceived notions. Getting those choices right can be the difference between a perennial all-pro, and a guy that is gone in two years. You may not check all of the boxes with this mentality, but you end up with playmakers and contributors, as opposed to space fillers.

This draft was deep at RB and we have brought in a couple of interesting players that should succeed behind this OL. Many are making the assumption that Blue is a complimentary piece, but he compares favorably to CJ2k. Get the fumbles under control, add some beef to his lower body and he has the speed to break games wide open. We have no idea what kind of pro he will be, but his ceiling is a top end starting RB that can score from any part of the field. Dr Phil is clearly a hammer, but he has some speed to his game as well. You can comfortably line him up on short yardage/goal line situations, and also use him to wear down defenses and open up creases for the other guys.

We managed to bring these guys in on day 3, as well as a promising 1T, another DT with nice traits, a nice rotational LB/STer, among others, all after adding a capable OL starter in the first, and what appear to be home run picks in the second and third. I don't recall ever thinking a Dallas draft could be considered an A+, but this one is close, if not right there. Very pleased with what the FO, scouts, and coaching staff were able to accomplish.

 

[jay94]

We had a good draft.

We took some nuts and bolts.

Problem is we have no fire power to really compete.

The RB we got, even if he is Jahmyr Gibbs exactly, is still a complimentary piece.

You didn't even mention our Arena worthy skill position roster. Ferg overrated in my opinion.