beware_d-ware
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 7,485
- Reaction score
- 9,118
I don't really like giving letter grades to drafts because I think there's more nuance to it than that, but if you wanted to sum up my feelings to this class, I'd probably give it a C or D.
Trystan Hill: to start with the positives, I like that we showed that we value DT. I like that we drafted a guy with 88th percentile NFL athleticism and some real interior rushing upside. I like that we chose to keep investing in our trenches.
That being said, I am not sold on Hill as a player. Dude is your classic 3T penetrator who either wins or loses right at the snap, and struggled to anchor even against Conference USA linemen. He's not giving you anything extra for run defense in the pros, and as we saw last January, that's a problem. Dude is also apparently lazy in practice and didn't get along with his coaches at UCF. Now apparently he loves Marinelli and that's great, but Marinelli's also like 70 and you've got to think he's going to retire soon. We've already seen Hill blow up on a coaching staff transition before.
I don't know, I just don't think this guy improves this team unless he has some serious pass rushing ability and there is major bust risk with his attitude. If you were in the pre draft thread, you probably know how badly I wanted Juan Thornhill. I think that tool-wise he's an Earl Thomas starter kit, and we have the NFL's best DBs coach to work on him. Worst case, he'd have a chance to be a week one starter here. And reportedly the Cowboys loved him too, but they explicitly agreed with Marinelli that if Hill and Thornhill were both on the board, they'd go DT. So Marinelli got his guy over the scouts again, and the last time that happened it proved to be a terrible mistake.
Connor McGovern: Didn't know who he was, so it was straight over to Youtube for me. I liked what I saw. He's your classic power guard, looks a little lost moving out in space but he can move guys in the run game and it is over for bull rushers when he drops anchor. I would worry about his fit in our zone scheme, but we saw XSF do fairly well here this last season and McGovern's kind of a rich man's version of him.
The real question is how the hell is he going to get on the field. For 2019, I don't see him beating out anyone unless Williams really struggles. For 2020, Collins would have to be released (likely), Connor Williams would have to move to RT, and he'd have to beat out Cam Fleming in order for McGovern to see the field. So this guy could end up very well getting buried. Picking a guard in general was weird, with Martin and Williams as starters and Looney and XSF proving that they can be capable backups. I get that the Cowboys' board was wiped out and they were in a true BPA kind of situation, but they are adding depth to literally the deepest position on the team. I don't understand why they didn't take a dart throw at Miles Boykin instead, who is a 99th percentile athlete with some OK tape on top of it. A good WR would have a much better chance at eventually seeing playing time here than a good G.
3rd day: This was not a good draft class, and teams were starting to draft guys I'd never heard of by the end of the third. So let's just say my expectations for the third day were low.
Pollard's a 3rd down back and apparently a KR ace as well; wonder if he can return punts as well. For a late 4th, whatever. Kinda wished we drafted Isiah Johnson instead though. Michael Jackson's a height/weight/speed CB, Richard likes them, whatever. Mike Weber might actually make the roster as a 7th rounder, we literally only have one halfback on the roster right now and Pollard can't carry the load if Zeke were to get injured. So that's good. I haven't heard of anyone else we picked and tbh I don't really care.
Trystan Hill: to start with the positives, I like that we showed that we value DT. I like that we drafted a guy with 88th percentile NFL athleticism and some real interior rushing upside. I like that we chose to keep investing in our trenches.
That being said, I am not sold on Hill as a player. Dude is your classic 3T penetrator who either wins or loses right at the snap, and struggled to anchor even against Conference USA linemen. He's not giving you anything extra for run defense in the pros, and as we saw last January, that's a problem. Dude is also apparently lazy in practice and didn't get along with his coaches at UCF. Now apparently he loves Marinelli and that's great, but Marinelli's also like 70 and you've got to think he's going to retire soon. We've already seen Hill blow up on a coaching staff transition before.
I don't know, I just don't think this guy improves this team unless he has some serious pass rushing ability and there is major bust risk with his attitude. If you were in the pre draft thread, you probably know how badly I wanted Juan Thornhill. I think that tool-wise he's an Earl Thomas starter kit, and we have the NFL's best DBs coach to work on him. Worst case, he'd have a chance to be a week one starter here. And reportedly the Cowboys loved him too, but they explicitly agreed with Marinelli that if Hill and Thornhill were both on the board, they'd go DT. So Marinelli got his guy over the scouts again, and the last time that happened it proved to be a terrible mistake.
Connor McGovern: Didn't know who he was, so it was straight over to Youtube for me. I liked what I saw. He's your classic power guard, looks a little lost moving out in space but he can move guys in the run game and it is over for bull rushers when he drops anchor. I would worry about his fit in our zone scheme, but we saw XSF do fairly well here this last season and McGovern's kind of a rich man's version of him.
The real question is how the hell is he going to get on the field. For 2019, I don't see him beating out anyone unless Williams really struggles. For 2020, Collins would have to be released (likely), Connor Williams would have to move to RT, and he'd have to beat out Cam Fleming in order for McGovern to see the field. So this guy could end up very well getting buried. Picking a guard in general was weird, with Martin and Williams as starters and Looney and XSF proving that they can be capable backups. I get that the Cowboys' board was wiped out and they were in a true BPA kind of situation, but they are adding depth to literally the deepest position on the team. I don't understand why they didn't take a dart throw at Miles Boykin instead, who is a 99th percentile athlete with some OK tape on top of it. A good WR would have a much better chance at eventually seeing playing time here than a good G.
3rd day: This was not a good draft class, and teams were starting to draft guys I'd never heard of by the end of the third. So let's just say my expectations for the third day were low.
Pollard's a 3rd down back and apparently a KR ace as well; wonder if he can return punts as well. For a late 4th, whatever. Kinda wished we drafted Isiah Johnson instead though. Michael Jackson's a height/weight/speed CB, Richard likes them, whatever. Mike Weber might actually make the roster as a 7th rounder, we literally only have one halfback on the roster right now and Pollard can't carry the load if Zeke were to get injured. So that's good. I haven't heard of anyone else we picked and tbh I don't really care.
Last edited:
