I'll remember this draft forever

[StarBoyz83]

The fact that we are actually excited about a draft is proof of how low this franchise has sunk.

Yes, the Cowboys were fortunate enough to be able to draft an elite player. Do you know why? Well, it's obviously because the Cowboys were terrible last year.

The worse the Cowboys play, the better they can draft and they really did draft well this week.

The Seahawks and Patriots did not get the same opportunity to draft Downs, so they are not congratulating themselves on acquiring elite talent.

Then again, they are probably too busy celebrating their conference and Super Bowl championships to worry about it.

I look forward to a day when the NFL draft is a boring process as I wait three and a half hours for my team to finally choose at pick #32
.

7 good seasons in 30 years will do that lol I dont expect a good one in year 31 either.

 

[plasticman]

Lol, what a terrible attitude.

No, I'm supposed to feel disappointed when my team has a losing season.

When the most exciting day as a fan is watching the draft then thee is no better indication that his team has been struggling for a long time.

Depending on a rookie class to turn the team around in their first season reaks of desperation.

Anger, frustration and criticism are not indications of the wrong kind of attitude, it shows that I care.

The worse type of attitude in regard to being a fan would be indifference.

The draft can be fun but should nevr be seen as an indicationm of the dfuture success of teh team.

How many times have teams like the Cardinals, Lions and Browns drafted in the top 5? Several.

How many times did that result in a Super Bowl championship? Zero.

More often than not, they were right back drafting in the top 5 the following draft.

 

[RonWashington]

To me the key is getting a veteran safety like Thompson in FA then pairing him with Downs holy smokes ! Competent top shelf safeties to back stop the other nine on D . I don’t think you can be a legit contender without good safeties

 

[Whiskey Cowboy]

The fact that we are actually excited about a draft is proof of how low this franchise has sunk.

Yes, the Cowboys were fortunate enough to be able to draft an elite player. Do you know why? Well, it's obviously because the Cowboys were terrible last year.

The worse the Cowboys play, the better they can draft and they really did draft well this week.

The Seahawks and Patriots did not get the same opportunity to draft Downs, so they are not congratulating themselves on acquiring elite talent.

Then again, they are probably too busy celebrating their conference and Super Bowl championships to worry about it.

I look forward to a day when the NFL draft is a boring process as I wait three and a half hours for my team to finally choose at pick #32
.

Look at the turnaround on defense. They haven't proven a thing on the field, but the front office has been more assertive than usual in assembling what looks like a very competent and competitive unit. They've done it without spending a ton in free agency, and they've taken Diggs, Osa, and Micah's contracts off the books in the process.

They hired a young, talented first year DC from a division rival. I'll be honest, I don't know how Parker will pan out, but I like what I see so far. His philosophy is intriguing. I think he can do really well here.

Last weekend they supplemented some nice veteran pieces with what looks like a collection of dynamic rookie playmakers. Is it championship level football operations? Time will tell, but it's something to be optimistic about.

I've noticed a shift in how the front office operates starting with Jerry and Jimmy's reconciliation. Maybe I'm letting the sentiment of the story influence my thinking, but I like what they've done throughout the process of rebuilding the roster. They've made difficult decisions that may have hurt some feelings, but were what's best for the team.

I think we're so used to this team caving to the demands of their guys and trying to make a splash that when we see what productive football operations should look like, we get excited. Is that a low bar? Yes, emphatically, but it's also a big step in the right direction.

 

[ShortRound]

It's the winds of change

 

[DarkVader33]

We had an unbelievable draft that very well could set the team up for many good seasons in the future. Going into the draft there were 2 players that I was interested in drafting with the first pick. They were Caleb Downs and Rueben Bain in that order. Little did I know that both could be possible.

This unbelievable ride down the draft started with Arizona drafting Love. Arizona already had a full roster of running backs, but they took Love anyway. They could have easily taken Reese. So, now you would assume that Tennessee would take Reese, but they throw a curve ball and take Tate. When they took Tate I exploded off my coach with shouts of joy. I couldn't believe it. I knew good things were coming.

Then we hit the Giants at 5. I figured out the Giants would take one offensive payer and one defensive player in the 1st round. I thought they would take Love or Tyson. Love waa already gone and the Giants went with Reese. They could have easily gone with Downs.

Then the Chiefs trade up for Delane and Washington takes Styles. The Saints take Tyson and then we knew that the Browns would take oline and I knew that the Giants wanted to take an offensive player and they did.

Then we get to Miami at 11 and both Downs and Bain are on the board. I knew that trade could be coming. Guess who is going to help us not once but twice? That would the Rams. The Rams were sitting at 13 and weren't likely to trade up. I had seen Lemon mocked to them and also knew they were interested in the qb. The Cowboys were able trade up for Downs and the Rams took the qb which kept Lemon on the board and this set the Cowboys up to do the 2nd trade that netted them an edge, a corner, and a dlineman. A totaly awesome chain of events that I will remember forever as I watch our team play in the future.

Ya but how can you live with reaching for a 6th round prospect in the first in DLaw? It negates everything else that transpired. At least that’s what it sounds like to many here.

The dress didn’t go quite like I expected but I’m hopeful.

 

[DarkVader33]

December/January.

Probably but it could be October/November.

 

[DarkVader33]

Look at the turnaround on defense. They haven't proven a thing on the field, but the front office has been more assertive than usual in assembling what looks like a very competent and competitive unit. They've done it without spending a ton in free agency, and they've taken Diggs, Osa, and Micah's contracts off the books in the process.

They hired a young, talented first year DC from a division rival. I'll be honest, I don't know how Parker will pan out, but I like what I see so far. His philosophy is intriguing. I think he can do really well here.

Last weekend they supplemented some nice veteran pieces with what looks like a collection of dynamic rookie playmakers. Is it championship level football operations? Time will tell, but it's something to be optimistic about.

I've noticed a shift in how the front office operates starting with Jerry and Jimmy's reconciliation. Maybe I'm letting the sentiment of the story influence my thinking, but I like what they've done throughout the process of rebuilding the roster. They've made difficult decisions that may have hurt some feelings, but were what's best for the team.

I think we're so used to this team caving to the demands of their guys and trying to make a splash that when we see what productive football operations should look like, we get excited. Is that a low bar? Yes, emphatically, but it's also a big step in the right direction.

We still have $16 mill is Osa’s contract for this season. His savings will come next year.

 

[Kwyn]

we got everything we needed and wanted. Jerry did NOT do Jerry, he was more of a GM. Kudos to him on that. The rest is up to the coaches and players. This is actually an exciting off season. Jerry didnt waste time, he didnt waste teh draft or free agency, he attacked it like a solid GM.

To be fair, McClay is the GM in all but name. Things would be better perhaps if he was because he might be able to work more freely.

Then again, he’s been hiding behind Jerry’s skirts forever and the failed teams he’s put together are on him as much as anyone.

Jerry calls himself GM but only works at it a few hours a week

 

[plymkr]

We had an unbelievable draft that very well could set the team up for many good seasons in the future. Going into the draft there were 2 players that I was interested in drafting with the first pick. They were Caleb Downs and Rueben Bain in that order. Little did I know that both could be possible.

This unbelievable ride down the draft started with Arizona drafting Love. Arizona already had a full roster of running backs, but they took Love anyway. They could have easily taken Reese. So, now you would assume that Tennessee would take Reese, but they throw a curve ball and take Tate. When they took Tate I exploded off my coach with shouts of joy. I couldn't believe it. I knew good things were coming.

Then we hit the Giants at 5. I figured out the Giants would take one offensive payer and one defensive player in the 1st round. I thought they would take Love or Tyson. Love waa already gone and the Giants went with Reese. They could have easily gone with Downs.

Then the Chiefs trade up for Delane and Washington takes Styles. The Saints take Tyson and then we knew that the Browns would take oline and I knew that the Giants wanted to take an offensive player and they did.

Then we get to Miami at 11 and both Downs and Bain are on the board. I knew that trade could be coming. Guess who is going to help us not once but twice? That would the Rams. The Rams were sitting at 13 and weren't likely to trade up. I had seen Lemon mocked to them and also knew they were interested in the qb. The Cowboys were able trade up for Downs and the Rams took the qb which kept Lemon on the board and this set the Cowboys up to do the 2nd trade that netted them an edge, a corner, and a dlineman. A totaly awesome chain of events that I will remember forever as I watch our team play in the future.

What I'll remember about this draft is we drafted 1 of the 2 guys I got stuck on. I was stuck on Styles and Downs. It's very rare when we enter a draft and I have a dream scenario involving a couple players I got stuck and we draft one. I was stuck on Downs because I'm stuck on the idea of building the defense from the inside out.

September we will start the season with the best DT and S combo since Lett/Maryland and Woodson. That's awesome.

 

[Streifenkarl]

Well to me a draft is part of an off season, and the whole thing matters. Usually you don't see how good or bad a draft went before at least one season has passed. So I'm with the "let's wait until December" crowd here.

In Jerry standards we had a quite good off season so far, simply because he hasn't done any weird or stupid moves yet. Yes, our expectations are that low. But like every year an off season ends with the first regular season game, so I wouldn't judge the whole thing yet.

The trades were ok, I like our draft, so I'm quite happy. But we were coming from an absolute zero, so there was only one direction this could have gone.

 

[plymkr]

In Jerry standards we had a quite good off season so far, simply because he hasn't done any weird or stupid moves yet.

Bingo!!! Well said. On paper I’m excited because of what I said earlier about how we haven’t been this stout up the middle in the defense since Woodson and Lett. But right now that’s just “on paper”, no one is proved anything yet.

But back to your point the most exciting thing about this offseason is Schotty got to hire his own DC. Aubrey got signed. No weird high draft pick with a busted leg or broken spine that’s going to have to red shirt a season. I’m excited for the same reason you stated. Jerry seems to be acting differently! That’s just as exciting as any draft pundits or media people praising our draft. If Jerry is learning to let his coaches coach and scouts scout and not interfere then we’re in a better place then we’ve been in for a very long time.

I would rather have a rookie or 2nd year HC that can make his own decisions than a veteran coach that Jerry is interfering with. I’m not the biggest Scotty guy but I’m excited it seems Jerry is not being Jerry as much.

 

[plasticman]

Look at the turnaround on defense. They haven't proven a thing on the field, but the front office has been more assertive than usual in assembling what looks like a very competent and competitive unit. They've done it without spending a ton in free agency, and they've taken Diggs, Osa, and Micah's contracts off the books in the process.

They hired a young, talented first year DC from a division rival. I'll be honest, I don't know how Parker will pan out, but I like what I see so far. His philosophy is intriguing. I think he can do really well here.

Last weekend they supplemented some nice veteran pieces with what looks like a collection of dynamic rookie playmakers. Is it championship level football operations? Time will tell, but it's something to be optimistic about.

I've noticed a shift in how the front office operates starting with Jerry and Jimmy's reconciliation. Maybe I'm letting the sentiment of the story influence my thinking, but I like what they've done throughout the process of rebuilding the roster. They've made difficult decisions that may have hurt some feelings, but were what's best for the team.

I think we're so used to this team caving to the demands of their guys and trying to make a splash that when we see what productive football operations should look like, we get excited. Is that a low bar? Yes, emphatically, but it's also a big step in the right direction.

I am optimistic about the future. That is how a good draft is supposed to make us feel.

However, when it comes to significant contributions for the 2026 season, enough to impact the overall performance of the defense, the only rookie II see capable of that is Downs.

That will change in the next few seasons, hopefully, as the rookies gain experience and training. I just think that it is a lot of pressure to put on six rookies.

Parker will be a good DC, I believe. It will take time for him to build a formidable defense.

This defense will have six new starters while learning a fourth different defense in four seasons.

We can't expect the cohesion that is necessary for a successful defense this season. They are going to struggle at first. They will improve but the first half of the season will be rough.

And while the draft was a good one, that is less of "productive football operations" and more about having great draft position as a result of being bad in 2026 with the added quality of an additional 1st round pick, courtesy of poor contract negotiations with a generational player.

 

[phildadon86]

Rambo knows we had a great draft. Everybody knows.

You said the same thing last year.

 

[Nova]

We'll see how it all plays out over time, but this felt like one of their better performances.

One of the few years where there wasn't a head scratching pick or big reach.

 

[CT Dal Fan]

While I agree with everything....the Cowboys were also kind of lucky.

They tried to trade up twice for Downs- at 6 with the Browns and at 9 with the Chiefs. The asking price was too steep so they stood pat.

The fact the Giants did not take Downs at ten was a minor miracle. Luckily they needed OL help or the entire look of Dallas' draft might have been different. Would they have taken Bain? Traded down twice? We will never know.

 

[blueblood70]

We had an unbelievable draft that very well could set the team up for many good seasons in the future. Going into the draft there were 2 players that I was interested in drafting with the first pick. They were Caleb Downs and Rueben Bain in that order. Little did I know that both could be possible.

This unbelievable ride down the draft started with Arizona drafting Love. Arizona already had a full roster of running backs, but they took Love anyway. They could have easily taken Reese. So, now you would assume that Tennessee would take Reese, but they throw a curve ball and take Tate. When they took Tate I exploded off my coach with shouts of joy. I couldn't believe it. I knew good things were coming.

Then we hit the Giants at 5. I figured out the Giants would take one offensive payer and one defensive player in the 1st round. I thought they would take Love or Tyson. Love waa already gone and the Giants went with Reese. They could have easily gone with Downs.

Then the Chiefs trade up for Delane and Washington takes Styles. The Saints take Tyson and then we knew that the Browns would take oline and I knew that the Giants wanted to take an offensive player and they did.

Then we get to Miami at 11 and both Downs and Bain are on the board. I knew that trade could be coming. Guess who is going to help us not once but twice? That would the Rams. The Rams were sitting at 13 and weren't likely to trade up. I had seen Lemon mocked to them and also knew they were interested in the qb. The Cowboys were able trade up for Downs and the Rams took the qb which kept Lemon on the board and this set the Cowboys up to do the 2nd trade that netted them an edge, a corner, and a dlineman. A totaly awesome chain of events that I will remember forever as I watch our team play in the future.

Like your positivity but outside of Caleb Downs everything is TBD it's incomplete the only way you can judge this draft is how it turns out three to 4 years from now..

Not trying to rain on your parade we've had drafts like this don't think that when CD lamb dropped to us that wasn't great but I could tell you what the best draft appeared to be when you just judging the 1st round picks that would be getting Parsons from moving down 10 to 12 with the Eagles trade and also picked up OSA..

I can go on and on there are other ones as well... But those drafts have to be judged not over still being high from the excitement of the draft we need to wait a few years we don't even know if Caleb Downs is gonna be generational or not so we will see...

But again after Caleb Downs even though my boards different than the professionals, I was a little hesitant to be excited about Lawrence over there were a lot of other higher graded picks at the same position ,same thing when you go throughout the draft it felt like they were trying to fill need With a specific RAS score or slightly different feel like body type or size or arm length versus actual BPA..

That's just me I mean I thought they had a solid draft yes it wasn't disappointing or obviously mistakes made but we need to wait and see before I make this a memorable draft for me..

 

[Redsfan_83]

The week after the draft is so amusing for fans, as they all think their team nailed the draft. This is all fine and dandy, but last I checked, there is no Super Bowl for your draft board. Fans will be fans, but when Mike Tannenbaum talks for 2.5 hours about how the secret meeting between McVay and Ty Simpson was the biggest heist of the 2026 NFL Draft, I turned ESPN off and am now watching a show called Dream Cruises, which features a bunch of overweight French Canadians on Vacation, lol.

If the Rams fall flat on their faces again this year, and the obnoxious HC of their team is brought to tears again, then whatever happens with my Dallas Cowboys is secondary. Just play the pigskin, and see what happens

 

[blueblood70]

I think we will see in September.

I agree with everyone else we need three years three seasons if you want to judge it in September no we need to judge the roster in September yes we need to stop overreacting to the way it looks now compared to what it will look like for game one But if you want to just go by year one then we can talk in February see how all these rookies fit in and what they did or didn't do..

I'm still holding out hope for last year I really think besides Booker wasn't exciting and online he's a solid long term solution that guard so he's good but he's not an excited position right But I still think Eazy E and Revel can be good and we need to see that we did not see it their rookie years..


So even last year's draft can turn out to be a lot better than you think it might even better than this year's draft we need to see how it develops..

 

[shabazz]

We had an unbelievable draft that very well could set the team up for many good seasons in the future. Going into the draft there were 2 players that I was interested in drafting with the first pick. They were Caleb Downs and Rueben Bain in that order. Little did I know that both could be possible.

This unbelievable ride down the draft started with Arizona drafting Love. Arizona already had a full roster of running backs, but they took Love anyway. They could have easily taken Reese. So, now you would assume that Tennessee would take Reese, but they throw a curve ball and take Tate. When they took Tate I exploded off my coach with shouts of joy. I couldn't believe it. I knew good things were coming.

Then we hit the Giants at 5. I figured out the Giants would take one offensive payer and one defensive player in the 1st round. I thought they would take Love or Tyson. Love waa already gone and the Giants went with Reese. They could have easily gone with Downs.

Then the Chiefs trade up for Delane and Washington takes Styles. The Saints take Tyson and then we knew that the Browns would take oline and I knew that the Giants wanted to take an offensive player and they did.

Then we get to Miami at 11 and both Downs and Bain are on the board. I knew that trade could be coming. Guess who is going to help us not once but twice? That would the Rams. The Rams were sitting at 13 and weren't likely to trade up. I had seen Lemon mocked to them and also knew they were interested in the qb. The Cowboys were able trade up for Downs and the Rams took the qb which kept Lemon on the board and this set the Cowboys up to do the 2nd trade that netted them an edge, a corner, and a dlineman. A totaly awesome chain of events that I will remember forever as I watch our team play in the future.

I'll remember this post forever.

It really touched me