Initial Draft Grades/Thoughts

[dboy214]

Will be interesting to see what the so called experts give us. But we did have the overall 9th pick in this draft with 8 picks. Because of that high a pick, anything less then an overall B- is a disaster.

Giants had a better draft than us picking almost 20 spots behind us. their first 3 picks could be scary good.

 

[honyock]

I'd say B. I thought they raised the football intelligence of the team and added character and locker room guys who were productive in college and fit needs. Raising the football IQ on the team was sorely needed. Today brought the grade up, thought they did really well. Surprised that of the 8 picks, only 2 were on defense. Hope they're busy in FA for defensive help.

 

[HoosierCowboy]

I give it an A
but this is just the first grade of maybe 3
another about half way thru the season
and another in four years

 

[The Quest for Six]

I give it a C+, took a couple of head scatchers, especially on second day, third day was pretty good, although I thought they should of moved up and gotten better value in the early part of the round

 

[fishspill]

I'd give it a B+. Despite my opposition to the Murray selection, he was value based on most grading scales. The other players I either love (Smith, Carter, Harris) or don't know enough about to complain. But they all seem to be reasonable selections at their spots. I'm not sure about the guys in the 7th especially but it's the 7th. You really have to be lucky there.

 

[SSGMIKE]

C-

Don't see it.....

NFL Network have the BOYS with one of lowest grade in this draft.... Should done done better

 

[romo_19_55]

The Boys Scouting department got exactly WHAT we needed overall: A- Grade

Smith -> A+ (best athletic young OT in the DRAFT.....hands down!!!)
Carter -> A (speed speed speed......something we've lacked in the middle)
Murray -> A+ (stud RB with an extra gear like Felix but hands of gold!!!!!)
Arkin -> A+ (stud OG with a nasty streak with HUGE hands and power)
Thomas -> B- (special teams player of the year in College....)
Harris -> B+ (got Chris Johnson wiggle and toughness..awesome talent)
Chapas -> B (has got great hands and toughness; smart player)

In terms of DE and elite CB or FS for our DEFENSE, I assuming Rob Ryan can upgrade our Defense schemes andJerrah has plans to BID for the Raider Free Agent CB Nnamdi Asomugha and/or Free Agent Saftey Michael Huff or other Free Agents from either the Browns or other recently CUT veteran players.

The KEY was to fix our aging and non-explosive OL (to enable the Boys to keep drives alive, make 3rd downs more consistently, and score more TD's in the Red Zone) as well as give our Defense more rest between series). To Jerrah's credit, he listened to the Scouting department and, at least, drafted two STUDS to compete or replace the older OL guys. It's pretty obvious that RT Marc Columbo is going to be replaced by Tyron Smith and left OG Kyle Kosier will likely be replaced by Arkin by preseason (or NLT next year) especially if he holds his own or, better yet, dominates NFL defensive tackles like he did at the East West games. With these two new OL studs giving Romo more time in the pocket, the Boys should be able to sustain long drives now by making more 3rd downs and scoring more often in the Red Zone (instead of kicking field goals) especially by adding two more explosive skill-players like Demarco Murray and Dwayne Harris to the mix!!!

 

[Donny Phoenix]

Lot of people down on the DeMarco Murray pick. Seems like the ideal pick for Dallas, IMO. Here's why:

Felix is obviously the feature back, but he doesnt block or pick up blitz exceptionally well. He's stronger and more powerful than he's given credit for.

Barber blocks and picks up the blitz well, but doesn't run with the same ferocity that he used to. Some say he lacks breakaway speed, but when he got injured year before last, it was on a 40-something yd run and was the only reason he got caught. But Dallas saves money by letting him go, so it looks like he's gone.

Choice doesn't block or pick up blitz well either, and seemingly just fell out of favor with the staff. He may have decent trade value.

So, the Cowboys needed a back that had good speed, good size, good hands, and was a GOOD BLOCKER and could pick up blitz. Hence, DeMarco Murray. Could be a really really good pick.

I'm excited about the Dwayne Harris pick. He could be our wes welker-type, except bigger. More weapons for Romo.

Seems like Hynoski(who was on a lot of zone lists) was available when they selected Chapas. Any thoughts on that?

 

[jterrell]

Smith - A (best athlete and filled biggest need imho)
Carter - D (top notch athlete but will require a position change and a clean bill of health, seems a bad fit for his skillset versus our scheme)
Murray - B- (This is a Felix back up plan and solid overall pick at 71 for the talent but we really could have used a day 1 starter at OG)
Arkin - B (Good potential at a need position wish he was more ready to go day 1 but in r4 you want a future starter)
Thomas - B- (local kid who reminds me of crayton at a diff position)
Harris - B (a true slot WR type with special teams ability)
Chapas - B (battle gronk and best blocker wins imho)

All in all a B-. I am on record as hating the Carter pick for us and that keeps me from going higher. If Arkin was a projected a day 1 starter I'd go B+ but I can't come out of this draft where we were top 10 in many rounds and think 1 day 1 starter is enough. All that said we did add talent and none of our picks were reaches imho. We did get value for the pick even if it doesn't looks great come mid-season grade time. Three years from now this may very well be an A+ class but hard to see handing out that type of grade today.

 

[speedkilz88]

A-, and this is coming from a self-admitted pessimist

Our first two picks were outstanding. We got two top 20 talents, and assuming Carter comes back from his injury at the level he was before we got a couple great players.

Not a huge fan of the Murray pick, only because his health and durability will always be a concern

Our later picks filled needs and we didnt just go with "name" players like we so often do in the later rounds

Although Murray had some injuries, he only missed four games and he said all that happened 3 years ago.

 

[MonsterD]

C+ , Smith contributes, the rest are limited to very limited in contributing to us now.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Although Murray had some injuries, he only missed four games and he said all that happened 3 years ago.

I think the problem was that he got bruised ribs midway through this past year and played tenatively last year.

I say just dont run him 1000 times and we will be fine.

 

[theogt]

B+

Would have been an A if not for the Murray pick. The other picks were good value picks at positions of need, several of them will be immediate contributors. Almost all of them could be starters at some point, with the rest contributing as role players.

It's hard to ask for much more out of a draft.

 

[Clove]

I give the first pick an A, because we flat out needed it.

I was only hoping we'd address the defensive line at least once in the draft, so obviously Ryan is satisfied with what we have.

I like the pass catching running back out of the back field.
I like the guard, and I like the WR pick.

I think it was a good draft, mainly because it doesn't look like a Jerry draft.

 

[2233boys]

D, aside from Smith the team drafted backups and special team players. It is the same ******** strategy Jerry employs all the time because he is a moron.

 

[fishspill]

Although Murray had some injuries, he only missed four games and he said all that happened 3 years ago.

My recall isn't perfect but when checking ESPN stats I saw he missed 6 games in his career. It is noteworthy that only 1 had been missed in the last two years.

 

[coogrfan]

Not to be rude, but the idea that it's possible to make any sort of meaningful evaluation of a draft class before those players have even set foot on the field as Cowboys is kinda silly.
Ask me again three years from now.

 

[28 Joker]

Tyron Smith made this entire draft for me. I can't wait for him to pave the way for Felix Jones. "Winning".

I would have liked a plug and play, young, athletic guard, but we will see what happens in free agency. The backup C/G spot is still a big problem, imo. What if Gurode goes down? Phil Costa doesn't inspire much confidence, because he is so inexperienced. However, he may be better at C, than Young is at backup OT.

Jason Garrett is taking the offensive line in the strong, very athletic direction. "Winning". No more slow, footed Robert Busters, please. No more James Martens, ect.... Tyron Smith is the prototype offensive linemen to pave the way for Felix Jones and pass protect against elite defensive pass rushers. Hearing Houck bring up Larry Allen when talking about Smith makes me feel like saying "winning".

I'm fine with the Murray pick, because he could be a Larry Centers type option. He's fast, so you have to take a guy like that in a round 3 instead of round 4. Felix should rush the rock 14-16 times per game and touch it close to 20 times per game. There is for sure going to be snaps for Murray to seize, imo. I could see him grabbing the number two option and putting Choice out of work for good. This is my hope, anyway. You don't draft players like him in round 3 unless you have plans for them. Murray's combination of receiving skills and pass blocking skills will make him an attractive third down option, who can spell Felix some on third downs. That is what I think, anyway.

Other thoughts:

J.J. Watt is playing for the Cupcake. "Winning".

Good luck Cupcake. # 11

Gabe Carimi went late in round 1, but the Packers drafted the better player, Derek Sherrod.

The Commanders traded down all day and didn't get a blue chipper. "Winning".

Prince Amukamara was over rated and was drafted about where he should go. It was still a good value pick for the Giants.

Cameron Jordan fell like a brick. Thud.

Mike Pouncy:

Tyron Smith's has a text for you. "Winning".

James Carpenter in round 1? I think his best spot is guard. Did you see Saban? He was shocked.

Nate Solder went to the Patriots and was the second OT off the board.

I wasn't impressed with the Browns at all. Going from 6 to 27. ????

The Falcons gave up a ton for Julio Jones, and giving up a ton for WRs is very risky. Jones is a good one, though.

The Titans shocked everyone by taking Locker at 8.

I think Marcus Gilbert could have been a nice guy to kick to guard and play RG. He is in Pittsburgh.

How in the world is Dallas going to block the Lions inside?

I didn't have to ban myself... "Winning"

 

[CATCH17]

I can dig that.

I'm more happy with the Murray pick cause i just feel it means we're finally going to stop wasting time with forcing Barber into the starting role cause of his contract.

I'll say a low grade B for this draft...just to keep from being overly high on it. I'm really happy with the 2 O-Line picks though. Really happy.

Hey man I'm a Demarco Murray fan now cause he's got that star on his helmet but he's so bad between the tackles as a runner that I hope we look at him at receiver.

I have a feeling we will see more zone blocking than we have ever seen in Dallas with our new tackles and RBs.

 

[28 Joker]

Oh, yeah.

Not only did Dallas not "trade down" in round one. They turned down a second round pick and the 17th pick to secure Smith.

"Winning".

Where is Matt Mosley and the rest of the Dallas media?

They have egg, I mean cheese on their face.

Those guys need a napkin.

Where is Anthony Castonzo?

"Winning".