Dallas Cowboys
Finds Talent: Satisfactory. Zack Martin will be a great guard and could slide over to become a very good right tackle. I am not sold on Demarcus Lawrence as a system fit -- he's the kind of underweight, elongated defensive end who could get steamrolled in an old-school 4-3. Ben Gardner is stouter but less dynamic. The seventh-round pick brigade is full of guys like linebacker Will Smith of Texas Tech: major-program starters with high motors and just enough to offer athletically to make them viable prospects.
Meets Needs: Satisfactory. The Cowboys got the guard they needed, then just hammered on the defense, grabbing Devin Street in the fifth round because you would be crazy to ignore wide receiver in this draft. (Hear that, Raiders and Chiefs: crazy!)
Uses Resources: Satisfactory. The Cowboys clearly love Lawrence, but they are a little too needy to be trading out of the third round. Stockpiling seventh-round picks may not seem like a wise Cowboys move -- Jerry Jones is on his second Bombay Sapphire martini by the seventh round -- but the team chose with care and got potentially useful players.
Final Assessment: Proficient. The fingerprints of Rod Marinelli can be seen on much of this draft. The new defensive coordinator stresses aggressiveness above most other traits, and prospects like Lawrence, Smith, Gardner and Ahmad Dixon play like they are leading a cavalry charge. At the same time, Marinelli will sometimes sacrifice too much for a gung-ho attitude. The Cowboys defensive line will be pretty small if Lawrence climbs atop the depth chart, and Anthony Hitchens is more of a try-hard than a can-do. There are few players here who point the way to a brighter future, but the defense has been duct taped up as much as possible, there will be no calling Rayfield Wright out of retirement for a guard emergency, and the decision to avoid a Manziel circus in favor of quiet defensive rebuilding is its own small triumph.
