Give it a Grade

[BHendri5]

Forget about the picks for next season's draft, we will grade that next year. This years draft gets not only an A but an A++.

Yeah, we did not get a Wr, or even that Vet Wr, but there is still a possibility to get that vet WR, if not I so be it, 1, or 2 maybe 3 guys will step up and we might have signed an excellent slot receiver from Texas Tech. He could be a guy that could help us immediately.

TG, may be able to do it one last time, if not I'm thinking Austin will step into that spot, and while Stanback continues to progress, I believe he will do as much as Crayton did his second season with us, and the 09 season he will be even better maybe even ready to keep a 1st or 2nd rd draft pick on the sidelines.

Ademola, was very good at Tech and he may have the same impact that Welker has.

This will be a very telling season for our WRs.

But our Draft gets an A++ from me and I do believe the consensus from the so called experts will give us that as well.

 

[dbair1967]

Here, I'd give Jerry a "B-". They got the RB and CB help they needed, but went TE in the second round and didn't resolve WR, the most pressing need.

Well we have two starters at WR, so to say WR is definitely more of a pressing need than a 2nd TE is cause for discussion. Getting an obvious upgrade over Crayton so that he could return to the 3rd WR role would have been more of a luxury than an absolute necessity. However once we traded Fasano (who was kinda a disappointment) the 2nd TE spot became a priority at some point. This team does/would like to use alot of 2TE sets, so essentially they did draft another starter in Bennett

David

 

[Stash]

more talented, yes perhaps. But better WR skills coming in, no.

There's a reason rookies hardly ever make a real impact at WR...even guys drafted relatively high in the first rd struggle to make a real impact, it is unrealistic to believe guys drafted way lower than that would then come in and be able to produce more (or at least enough) to offset a guy that caught 50 balls for nearly 700 yds and 7 tds

David

No, that wasn't my point.

I wasn't looking for 'impact' in 2008, but more toward 2009 and beyond.

Owens has a few years left - if they work out an extension - but I don't count on anything from Glenn.

The team needs a future #1 and I thought a guy like Sweed or Thomas could become that guy.

If you never draft one, how can you ever get one?

Both of Dallas' current 'star receivers' ended up here because of various 'baggage', and so did Keyshawn.

Pretty tough to continue to count on picking up other team's baggage.

 

[BHendri5]

Did I miss something? Why are people crying about us swapping picks with the seahawks, which is all we did right? We swapped our 28th pick for their 25th pick.

 

[Big Dakota]

Did I miss something? Why are people crying about us swapping picks with the seahawks, which is all we did right? We swapped our 28th pick for their 25th pick.

We gave them our 5th and 7th and some see that as the end of the world.

 

[links18]

Can we go back and look at post-draft grade polls from some of our poorer drafts? Seems like some of you guys like to grade on a curve......

 

[DallasEast]

#24 C. Johnson - may have taken Felix, but Dallas could've gotten Johnson at 28

During an interview on NFLN, Jeff Fisher stated that Tennessee was targeting Felix Jones. Jones wouldn't have been available at #28.

 

[dbair1967]

No, that wasn't my point.

I wasn't looking for 'impact' in 2008, but more toward 2009 and beyond.

Owens has a few years left - if they work out an extension - but I don't count on anything from Glenn.

The team needs a future #1 and I thought a guy like Sweed or Thomas could become that guy.

If you never draft one, how can you ever get one?

Both of Dallas' current 'star receivers' ended up here because of various 'baggage', and so did Keyshawn.

Pretty tough to continue to count on picking up other team's baggage.

But we really didnt get a chance to draft either Sweed or Thomas though, unless we'd have used a 1st on them. I like the two guys we drafted in the first much better than either of them

Crayton improved by leaps and bounds last yr, who's to say he has reached his limit? Miles Austin certainly appears to have alot of ability, he just needs reps, and we havent seen what Stanback can do yet but obviously will start to see it in TC and PS.

And I still think something could end up working out before TC/PS for a bigtime vet WR because of the other moves we made.

David

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I gave it a B-. I will never like Felix in the 1st rd over Mendenhall. I believe in BP approach. I like what we did with our CBs and I like that we addressed the RB issue. Not the players I would have liked but we did address it to that is a positive thing. Nothing on WRs, nothing on OL, nothing on ILB. I thought opportunities were there to get good players at those positions but we elected to do other things. I think Jerry and the staff worked hard to get us in good position to have future picks but there were good players on the board, IMO, that we could have taken to address some of those other needs as well.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

A solid B.

The Cowboys drafted their board, and received excellent value for the majority of their picks.

 

[Cowboy Junkie]

I gave it a (B). Menenendall(SP) feel in our Laps and Jerry got cute...
I do like that we collected so many picks for next year ..Dallas did not need much this year , not many rookies can make this team so we now have a safety net of picks for next year when MB3, T.O., Newman and Hamiln may all become FAs...

 

[dbair1967]

#23 Mendenhall
#24 C. Johnson - may have taken Felix, but Dallas could've gotten Johnson at 28
#25 Seahawks - probalby would've taken Jackson anyway.
#26 Texans - Were taking Duane Brown from the get-go.
#27 Chargers - Took Cason

Its was already addressed by many, but your assumptions above are almost certainly untrue.

The Titans would have taken Jones...either the Texans or Chargers would have definitely jumped on Jenkins, and the Texans were thought to be a team that might take Jenkins at their original pick. CB was a major need for them and they did take Antuan Molden with their next pick. Had the Texans taken Jenkins (who they almost assuredly had rated much higher than Brown) the Chargers would have taken Cason, and we'd have been stuck with a guy we had a far lesser grade on. Getting Jones and Jenkins was also a better scenario that Jenkins and maybe somebody like Chris Johnson or Jamaal Charles

David

 

[Stash]

But we really didnt get a chance to draft either Sweed or Thomas though, unless we'd have used a 1st on them. I like the two guys we drafted in the first much better than either of them

Sweed was taken only 8 picks higher than the Cowboys' selection in Round 2. I think they could have traded up to get him had they chosen to.

Crayton improved by leaps and bounds last yr, who's to say he has reached his limit? Miles Austin certainly appears to have alot of ability, he just needs reps, and we havent seen what Stanback can do yet but obviously will start to see it in TC and PS.

I think Crayton is a limited athlete whose physical skills are maxed out. He's a solid #3 receiver but he'll never scare anybody. And he looked terrible when it counted.

Austin has physical ability but inconsistant hands and unrefined routes. With the influx of return men, I doubt he sticks in 2009 personally.

Stanback is a talented unknown, but he's still making a big transition. I'm not sure I'd want to 'count on him'.

And I still think something could end up working out before TC/PS for a bigtime vet WR because of the other moves we made.

I'd be interested in what players you think would still be candidates?

I think that 'big-time vet' ship has sailed....

 

[Bob Sacamano]

stash, this WR crop was horrible

there was interest, but the prospects just weren't good enough to seriously move up to obtain one, certainly not good enough to use original picks on

 

[BHendri5]

We gave them our 5th and 7th and some see that as the end of the world.

is that all? Wow, so we ended up with 2 less draft picks, big deal. we did not need anymore picks this year, we got some extra ones next year.

 

[dbair1967]

Sweed was taken only 8 picks higher than the Cowboys' selection in Round 2. I think they could have traded up to get him had they chosen to.

Well Jerry suggested a trade up but he was basically overruled by the scouts and coaches, who didnt believe any of the WR's were worth giving something up for.

I think Crayton is a limited athlete whose physical skills are maxed out. He's a solid #3 receiver but he'll never scare anybody. And he looked terrible when it counted.

We did win 13 games with him though, and he's made alot of key plays for us over his time here...his effectiveness was definitely lessened when Owens was hurt and came back far less than 100%, but for a team with two talents like Owens and Witten, getting 50 catches for almost 700 yds and 7 tds is quite good

Austin has physical ability but inconsistant hands and unrefined routes. With the influx of return men, I doubt he sticks in 2009 personally.

Like I said, he needs reps...he has size speed and doesnt appear to have any trouble getting open...he'll definitely get more reps in TC and preseason this yr

Stanback is a talented unknown, but he's still making a big transition. I'm not sure I'd want to 'count on him'.

I'm not counting on him, but they seem high on him...maybe he can at least press for the 4th WR position...I think Hurd will ultimately end up the odd man out

I'd be interested in what players you think would still be candidates?

I think that 'big-time vet' ship has sailed....

The Bengals obviously stand out, as they spent 3 picks this weekend on WR's, including one each in the 2nd and 3rd...obviously they are preparing for life without Chad as you dont need to spend 3 picks to replace Chris Henry...and if Detroit struggles early, you'd think we'd be ringing their phone off the hook at the trade deadline for Roy Williams...same for Arizona and Moldin

David

 

[Stash]

Well Jerry suggested a trade up but he was basically overruled by the scouts and coaches, who didnt believe any of the WR's were worth giving something up for.

I think Jerry liked Hardy, and so did I. I think he could've been a 'Plaxico Burress' type eventually.

We did win 13 games with him though, and he's made alot of key plays for us over his time here...his effectiveness was definitely lessened when Owens was hurt and came back far less than 100%, but for a team with two talents like Owens and Witten, getting 50 catches for almost 700 yds and 7 tds is quite good

I happen to think a lot of that production was due to his being an opponents' last priority on defense. I think he really benefitted from the lack of attention and a better player would have had better production.

Like I said, he needs reps...he has size speed and doesnt appear to have any trouble getting open...he'll definitely get more reps in TC and preseason this yr

I think he's another candidate for Parcells and Cowboys South.

I'm not counting on him, but they seem high on him...maybe he can at least press for the 4th WR position...I think Hurd will ultimately end up the odd man out

I prefer Hurd myself.

The Bengals obviously stand out, as they spent 3 picks this weekend on WR's, including one each in the 2nd and 3rd...obviously they are preparing for life without Chad as you dont need to spend 3 picks to replace Chris Henry...and if Detroit struggles early, you'd think we'd be ringing their phone off the hook at the trade deadline for Roy Williams...same for Arizona and Moldin

Cincinnati turned down two #1's - one this season - for that headcase. They've dug in their heels. And I wouldn't want him anyway. His tantrum is all about getting a big raise.

I think if any of the teams seriously thought about trading those guys, they would have done it this year when the value was highest.

 

[Doomsday]

The grades are a lot better then I thought they were given all the complaining going on.

 

[theebs]

Honestly, grading drafts is the silliest thing in all of sports.

Nobody knows what any of these players are going to do in the nfl.

Your basically grading the players on what your personal opinion of them happens to be or from the endless mock drafts that we have read. None of that has squat to do with these players futures.

It matters not if the grade is an f or an A. Its all about production. Grade the players after the season on their production and then again each year.

Arguing over grades and evaluating teams drafts is impossible imo.

 

[Dallas4ever]

Based on the talent acquired and Jerry's past drafts, I gave us a B+. Really didn't get cute and reach with any of the selections. All of the players should contribute immediately.