Potential impact of the last two draft classes on position groups

[TheMarathonContinues]

I honestly dont see any way they could have been higher than 32

I mean most of them couldn’t get on the field so I get it. Mazi, Overshown and Eric Scott will at least have a chance this year…..

 

[plasticman]

Call me overly optimistic but when your most recent draft picks can't just walk in and grab a starting position then isn't that the sign of a strong competitive team?

If you are the fan of a team hoping to see a significant contribution from your rookie and 2nd year players, in fact, depending on it, then it's going to be a long season.

Rather than "evaluate" the contributions of a draft class that hasn't walked onto the field during a regular season game, much less participate in one, I think it would be far more significant to look at the previous two drafts in 2021 and 2022. This would be the players on the cusp of their most productive opportunities.

The first thing that jumps out to me is the sheer size of both drafts classes. They took 11 in 2021 and 9 in 2022, a total of 20 players. That is one pick short of three entire drafts. Did they help themselves?

Well, at this point in their careers they have played 2-3 seasons and yet:

2 players with at least one 1st team All Pro. (Parsons, Bland)
4 players with at least 1 Pro Bowl (Parsons, Bland, Tyler Smith, Ferguson)
7 players expected to start this season (25% of all starters)

QB - None drafted
RB - None drafted
WR - starting slot receiver (Tolbert)
TE - starter (Ferguson)
O-line: starter (Tyler Smith) mostly irrelevant backups
D-line: 1st team All Pro starter (Parsons), starter (Osa), contributing backup (Williams), backup (Golston)
LB - starter (Clark)
DB - 1st team All Pro starter (Bland), contributing backup (Izzy) backup (Wright)

Only five players from the 2021 draft have been 1st team All Pro. Parsons is the only one to do it twice. He is the only one with three Pro Bowls. Bland is one of five players from the 2022 draft to become 1st team All Pro. Of the nine players drafted that year to make a Pro Bowl, three of them are Cowboys.

Only the Lions are on equal ground with the Cowboys when it come to the level of contributions from their '21 and '22 classes.

 

[darthseinfeld]

Excellent post. Bang on across the board. The most interesting take from all of this, imo, is how low you are on Schoonmaker. There is nothing to suggest you are wrong but for the sake of the team and the valuable capital we spent on him, I hope you are wrong.

25 year old rook who didnt make an impact as a blocker or as a reciever. Im really not counting on him to hit. I think Stephans may be a better prospect. Schoonmakers supporters talk up his blocking. It wasn't very good

 

[Verdict]

-QB: Not much unless you count Lance as a potential backup. The UDFA they just brought in could challenge for a PS spot with a strong camp/preseason

-HB not much here either. Deuce had a strong preseason, and had a few nice plays in the regular season, but other times looked like a liability. It possibly he may not even make the roster

WR- Brooks showed some promise in his limited reps as a rookie. The team is supposedly high in him. Its possible he could push Tolbert for the #3 spot. Flournoy is interesting. Very good athletism, but 24 and will be 25 during the season. Might not make the roster, and if he does he probably wont get much time on offense in 2024

TE- Schoonmaker offered very little as a reciever, and wasnt the blocker he was advertised to be. For a blocking TE, he was barely league average. Ferguson was a better blocker. 2023 UDFA offers much more as a reciever and wouldnt be surprised if he emerges as our #2 TE at camp

OL- Last year they hit on some quality backups with late round picks and UDFA in Richards and Bass. Richards a strong preseason, although didnt get much regular season time. Bass followed up a strong preseason with 300 snaps in the regular. Wasnt a world beater but looks to be at least a playable OG. This year we went with alot more meat with two OL in the top 75, landing Guyton and Beebe. Both will be starters this year. They added to that with Nathan Thomas in the 7th, who along with Bass and Richards could add to depth. They have done well the last two years not only adding starter level talent, but quality backups who could develop into starters

DL: They took Mazi Smith #1 last year, and his rookie year was alot of downs and a few ups. He was down in the 280's for some reason. Hopefully his weight is back up because it looks like he is our 1T. They drafted Fehoko in the 4th to convert into a 3t, but we have seen nothing from him yet. So he is still a mystery. However the smart money would be on him not making much of an impact if at all. This year they added Kneeland to the DE room. He should have some impact as rotational player early, but probably wont add much to the pass rush in 2024. They took Justin Rogers in the 7th, who will probably be more of a practice squad player. A strong camp could get him on the 53

LB: Overshown looked like he would make an immediate impact before he went down in the preseason. Luckily the injury was so early in the season he should be fully recovered. They drafted Marist Liufau in the 3rd. He is most likely going to be a sub package player in 2024. If he gets consistent time on defense it will most likely be because Kendricks, Overshown or Clark got hurt

DB: Last year they traded 2024 draft picks to move on Eric Scott. He is a guy to watch in the preseason. However that was a different coaching staff that wanted him. They got great value in Carson this year. Carson is probably good enough now to step in as a #3 CB if needed

Just a couple of random thoughts:

1. I could see Mazie having a good year and justifying his draft position.
2. I could see Schoonmaker being an outright bust and being a surprise premature cut.

 

[Verdict]

Call me overly optimistic but when your most recent draft picks can't just walk in and grab a starting position then isn't that the sign of a strong competitive team?

If you are the fan of a team hoping to see a significant contribution from your rookie and 2nd year players, in fact, depending on it, then it's going to be a long season.

Rather than "evaluate" the contributions of a draft class that hasn't walked onto the field during a regular season game, much less participate in one, I think it would be far more significant to look at the previous two drafts in 2021 and 2022. This would be the players on the cusp of their most productive opportunities.

The first thing that jumps out to me is the sheer size of both drafts classes. They took 11 in 2021 and 9 in 2022, a total of 20 players. That is one pick short of three entire drafts. Did they help themselves?

Well, at this point in their careers they have played 2-3 seasons and yet:

2 players with at least one 1st team All Pro. (Parsons, Bland)
4 players with at least 1 Pro Bowl (Parsons, Bland, Tyler Smith, Ferguson)
7 players expected to start this season (25% of all starters)

QB - None drafted
RB - None drafted
WR - starting slot receiver (Tolbert)
TE - starter (Ferguson)
O-line: starter (Tyler Smith) mostly irrelevant backups
D-line: 1st team All Pro starter (Parsons), starter (Osa), contributing backup (Williams), backup (Golston)
LB - starter (Clark)
DB - 1st team All Pro starter (Bland), contributing backup (Izzy) backup (Wright)

Only five players from the 2021 draft have been 1st team All Pro. Parsons is the only one to do it twice. He is the only one with three Pro Bowls. Bland is one of five players from the 2022 draft to become 1st team All Pro. Of the nine players drafted that year to make a Pro Bowl, three of them are Cowboys.

Only the Lions are on equal ground with the Cowboys when it come to the level of contributions from their '21 and '22 classes.

Great post. Fine job.

 

[fivetwos]

I don't think he sucks. I do think he's a tad overrated.

More than anything, he's completely hamstrung by the Jones, especially in the first 3 to 4 rounds of the draft.

He may be the only top player personnel executive (not part of ownership) whose team only uses the draft, bargain free agents, and minor trades to build the roster. 31 other teams participate in unrestricted free agency. Some more than others, but only the Cowboys refuse.

Things are much better now than when Jerry and his drinking buddies were making the board.

McClay is perfectly willing to play the Milli Vanilli role. I’m sure is paid VERY well in exchange for that as well as his silence on the matter. We all know this FO structure is a sham, yet it’s somehow accepted. An 82 year old should never be the GM of anything.

I’ve recently began to think of how much of a detriment it is that the people that make the actual decisions need their opinion fed to them.

It’s quite possible McClay has advocated for a higher end FA or two recently and the kid nixed it.

I dunno. Just seems that until Jerry’s ego is gone it’s a lost cause, then hope the media can get to the kid thereafter.