CFZ My thoughts on the draft so far, and where I think we should go next

[USArmyVet]

He is hurt. It’s why he is falling. And he is definitely not as polished as a pass catcher. Dallas is not the only team passing on Washington bro

Darnell Washington was selected by the Steelers 3 picks after Dallas in the 3rd round.

Career college receiving stats:

Darnell Washington 6' 7" 270 pounds 21 years old

45 catches 774 yards 17.2 ypc 3 td's


Luke Schoonmaker 6' 5" 250 pounds 24 years old (25 in September)

54 catches 637 yards 11.8 ypc 7 td's

Not as polished a pass catcher??????

Sorry but give me OG Torrence in the 2nd and Washington in the 3rd.

 

[USArmyVet]

TE Coach rated Schoonmaker higher blocking than Washington is why they selected him

So a 2nd round pick on a run-blocking TE instead of taking a starting OG in Torrence? Only in Dallas.

 

[Strol]

Schoonmaker will start. He will be 25 so they need him to get going

"He'll start because he is old." That is not a very compelling argument on as to why somebody is a starter.

 

[MC8828]

The Jones boys complete botched this with the TE pick. 100% Torrence should have been the pick. This error completely devalues our draft it’s that big of a blunder.

 

[Macnalty]

Dallas could have come away with the following:

1st: DT Mazi Smith
2nd: OG O'Cyrus Torrence
3rd: TE Darnell Washington

Washington is a bigger TE than Schoonmaker and 4 years younger. While there is some concern for his knee, he is a better risk reward pick than the 2nd round reach Dallas just performed. Then Dallas could trade up in the 4th and secure RB Roschon Johnson out of Texas. That would have been a good first 4 rounds for Dallas.

Washington has some bad knees and that made him available late in the draft
, I agree his talent is superior but the underlying injury must of been more than they could tolerate.

 

[Macnalty]

Darnell Washington was selected by the Steelers 3 picks after Dallas in the 3rd round.

Career college receiving stats:

Darnell Washington 6' 7" 270 pounds 21 years old

45 catches 774 yards 17.2 ypc 3 td's


Luke Schoonmaker 6' 5" 250 pounds 24 years old (25 in September)

54 catches 637 yards 11.8 ypc 7 td's

Not as polished a pass catcher??????

Sorry but give me OG Torrence in the 2nd and Washington in the 3rd.

I do agree on the OG, we probably should have went OL heavy as it is clear our entire division is stacked at DT and anything we can do to negate their strength should help

 

[Sandyf]

It is amazing how as fans we trust what any media says about a player rather than what McClay and his guys get from their evaluations. They literally saw every player in the draft and decided who would go on their board based on the coaches needs for the team, not ours and definitely not the media.

They slot them based on how those players fit the scheme our coaches run. Each of those players also has to fit the the skills they want and those players physicals are evaluated for risk.

Pretty obvious that Washington physical scared them away. And if Andrew's, our player doctor, says no then he ain't going to be on the board. Who McClay has at the top of a position isn't going to be what the media has. Take Overshown and Smith as examples. Fans and media had several LB rated at the top and potential 1st round guys yet did any of them go 1st round or heck even 2nd round. Smith, by all accounts, was the top rated 1T in the draft, not 3T. And Schoonmaker was probably our 2nd or 3rd rated TE after Kincaid.

Just because those media experts say a thing rarely makes it true. Fan's have favorites but that doesn't make them the right fit. We didn't draft flash but did draft players that will help us right away with run stopping, with 11, 12, and 13 personnel on offense and pairing with Parsons on rushing the passer. As to grades, we can't make that assessment for a couple of years unless you just go on flash.

 

[USArmyVet]

Washington has some bad knees and that made him available late in the draft
, I agree his talent is superior but the underlying injury must of been more than they could tolerate.

I guess I would rather take a flyer in the 3rd on a superior talented TE with some injury concerns than a flyer on a near 25 year old blocking TE that was a 5th year college senior who also has injury issues...."missed time in his final season because of an AC joint sprain to his left shoulder (December 2022) and then injured his right shoulder in the College Football Playoff semifinal vs. TCU; wasn’t able to finish his pro day because of a right leg injury (March 2023)"

 

[Hawkeye19]

Darnell Washington was selected by the Steelers 3 picks after Dallas in the 3rd round.

Career college receiving stats:

Darnell Washington 6' 7" 270 pounds 21 years old

45 catches 774 yards 17.2 ypc 3 td's


Luke Schoonmaker 6' 5" 250 pounds 24 years old (25 in September)

54 catches 637 yards 11.8 ypc 7 td's

Not as polished a pass catcher??????

Sorry but give me OG Torrence in the 2nd and Washington in the 3rd.

Didn’t realize Washington was picked. Thought he was still out there.

And yah— he is less polished as a route runner and his hands aren’t as soft. It’s not just stats— it’s how will his game translate at the next level. He may be the better blocker— though some experts are giving the edge to Schoonmaker for his technique even though he is smaller. Guess we’ll find out

As for Torrance, I already agreed that I would have been fine with that pick. Dallas wanted a TE and got the one they wanted— even with Washington on the board. If they end up being wrong— I’ll live with it lol

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

Didn't like the Schoonmaker pick but I do get it. He is a great blocker and he has good hands. A safety blanket for Dak the way that I look at it is Dalton Shultz but he can block and give you some mismatches. He will be a 1st down machine for some of those short yards. He is not a run-over-you kind of guy but he gives you that extra OL in the run game.
Mazi Smith- You thought last year's defense was pretty good, hmmm this year's defense is going to be fearsome.
Add in Overshown Quinn is going to have fun with him.

Exactly, this defence is going to be such a fun unit this year, and Dak has a new safety blanket.

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

They literally had O'Cyrus that was a projected 1st rder and that could start, as well as Drew Sanders that could start, sitting right there. Instead, they drafted a 3rd string TE.

I am ok not taking Sanders with the fact we got Overshown. That's a good tradeoff. O'Cyrus is the one reason I wasn't thrilled about the TE pick. However, I get the pick, and I'm starting to warm up to him the more I think about it.

 

[Hadenough]

"Tall, thick, young ultra-powerful TE. Will be the 6th OL when he's on the field. That good of a blocker. Low-volume receiver in college but flashed bulldozer YAC talent and has an enormous catch radius though there are some drops on film. All-Pro upside."


Yeah, because he is a better pick than Schoonmaker which is why Dallas wouldn't have taken him.

To me Washington is the better pick. Dude is a monster but I think Jerry was given the 2nd pick to play with. I personally would of gone OT instead of TE. Love the LB pick though.

 

[Macnalty]

Didn’t realize Washington was picked. Thought he was still out there.

And yah— he is less polished as a route runner and his hands aren’t as soft. It’s not just stats— it’s how will his game translate at the next level. He may be the better blocker— though some experts are giving the edge to Schoonmaker for his technique even though he is smaller. Guess we’ll find out

As for Torrance, I already agreed that I would have been fine with that pick. Dallas wanted a TE and got the one they wanted— even with Washington on the board. If they end up being wrong— I’ll live with it lol

Well said, this might be trivial as the real challenge is going to be protecting Dak against our division's above-average DT we are going to be seeing frequently.

 

[ghst187]

The third round pick is the only one I’ve liked at all so far although still feel like we probably should’ve take the RB from Texas as all the RBs are almost gone now.
I get the desire to fix the DT position and I agree but I’m not excited about our first pick. I think he’s a bust and was a third round talent at best. Watched his tape over and over and he shows next to no bullying power, doesn’t command a double team, slow off the snap, sometimes has trouble finding the ball carrier, see none of the explosiveness that he supposedly shows at underwear Olympics.
The TE picks is sad (JAG) that we had to use a second round pick to replace a sixth round pick who will be #3 on the rotation. Could’ve had a starting G or a number of corners or RBs.
At least the third rounder will contribute right away on ST and probably get into the LB rotation. So though, I think this is the worst draft since 2009.

 

[Bagman]

I don't see his age as an issue he can be very productive for at least 7 years which is great

I agree 100%. I mean, in 7 years the kid will be 32. How many people are washed up physically at 32 ? He's a beast. He's not going to decline too much. I think getting 7 productive years out of any draft pick is damn good nowadays.

 

[Bagman]

The third round pick is the only one I’ve liked at all so far although still feel like we probably should’ve take the RB from Texas as all the RBs are almost gone now.
I get the desire to fix the DT position and I agree but I’m not excited about our first pick. I think he’s a bust and was a third round talent at best. Watched his tape over and over and he shows next to no bullying power, doesn’t command a double team, slow off the snap, sometimes has trouble finding the ball carrier, see none of the explosiveness that he supposedly shows at underwear Olympics.
The TE picks is sad (JAG) that we had to use a second round pick to replace a sixth round pick who will be #3 on the rotation. Could’ve had a starting G or a number of corners or RBs.
At least the third rounder will contribute right away on ST and probably get into the LB rotation. So though, I think this is the worst draft since 2009.

Yeah. Dallas will probably go 5-12 with this draft.

 

[ghst187]

Yeah. Dallas will probably go 5-12 with this draft.

They were good enough to be decent before this draft but they haven’t gotten any better with it. I don’t see a player yet that will get a second contract.

 

[Carson]

So a 2nd round pick on a run-blocking TE instead of taking a starting OG in Torrence? Only in Dallas.

Look man, I get it. I wanted Nolan Smith, Torrence and Washington. But nothing we can do but hope for the best. You have to trust the coaches perspective who spend time with the players and scouts. TE coach Lunda Wells says he rated him as a better player and blocker than Washington.

I trust the guys whose job it is to scout these players and pick them.

"He'll start because he is old." That is not a very compelling argument on as to why somebody is a starter.

The facts have been presented many of times all over. Upside blocker, plays the Y well and excels on 3rd downs. He’s older, so he is experienced and should be ready to go Day 1. McCarthy loves the player.

 

[big dog cowboy]

So far, I'd say our draft is meh.

I'm going to completely disagree with that. All 3 picks make the roster better.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Here are my thoughts for the draft so far.

With our first pick, we took Mazi Smith NT Michigan. I think this was a very good pick. Was it an "exciting" pick? No. However, it filled a void that's been missing since probably at least Jay Ratliff. The last time we took a NT in round 1 was in 1991 with Russell Maryland. I was not even born when that happened. Mazi Smith is the type of player that can help us shut down the run and stuff the middle to protect QBs from stepping up. He's also surprisingly athletic for his size. I know some here aren't as happy as I am, but this is a pick that's been needed for a long time. A+ from me.

With our second pick, we took Luke Schoonmacher TE Michigan. Tight end wasn't exactly my top choice for the 2nd round pick. I'd have liked Torrance O'Cyrus as guard is a key need as well. However, I can see the logic. He's a good blocker, and he gives us a nice trio of TEs. For me, this pick is meh. I'll give it a C.

With our 3rd pick, we took DeMarvion Overshown LB Texas. I'm thrilled about the player. He's an excellent LB with a lot of speed and a hard hitting player. I think this completes our defence. We now have 4 solid LBers. Parsons, LVE, Clark, and Overshown. We will be such a deadly team. The only question that I have about this pick is that we probably could use a WR, RB, or a guard more at this spot. I wanted Tre Tucker, McBride, or Zavala. That said, Tucker went much earlier than I thought he would, and McBride and Zavala are still on the board. I'll give this a B+/A-

So far, I'd say our draft is meh. Mainly with our 2nd round pick. I love the first pick, and I like our 3rd pick. For the rest of the draft, I think we need G, RB, maybe a WR/QB, and a kicker. For me, I'd like to see the rest of our draft be Zavala, a RB like the one from Pitt or maybe McBride, DTP/Tune/WR (Bobo from UCLA?), and the kicker from Maryland. Alternatively, I'd like McBride, Mafi (UCLA), same for 6, and the same kicker for 7. I think this would fill a lot of our holes. I think Zavala is underrated, as is Mafi. I think this would fill a lot of our remaining holes.

I think these picks would make our draft go from meh to decent. I think we would fill a lot of holes. I'm excited to see what our UDFA class will be as well, considering we are usually very good here.

I will give this draft a B- so far. A first round, B- 2nd round, C 3rd round.