DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys entered the 2024 NFL Draft with seven picks -- no fourth-round pick and an extra seventh-rounder from the Las Vegas Raiders.
Dallas finished last season 12-5 before losing to the Green Bay Packers in the wild card round, thus positioning them toward the back end of the draft.
After a Day One trade that saw the Cowboys swapping picks with the Detroit Lions and earning an additional third-round selection, the Cowboys ended up with eight new players in this year's draft.
Here are the players the Cowboys selected this year:
- No. 29 overall, 1st round (via trade from Detroit): Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma
- No. 56 overall, 2nd round: Marshawn Kneeland, Edge, Western Michigan
- No. 73 overall pick, 3rd round (via trade from Detroit): Cooper Beebe, G, Kansas State
- No. 87 overall, 3rd round: Marist Liufau, LB, Notre Dame
- No. 174 overall, 5th round: Caelen Carson, CB, Wake Forest
- No. 216 overall, 6th round: Ryan Flournoy, WR, Southeast Missouri State
- No. 233 overall (via Las Vegas), 7th round: Nathan Thomas, OT, Louisiana
- No. 244 overall, 7th round: Justin Rogers, DT, Auburn
Below, let's take a more in-depth look at how the Dallas Cowboys' 2024 NFL Draft panned out.
No. 24 overall, 1st round: Traded to Detroit Lions
As some predicted, Dallas traded down, shipping the No. 24 pick to the Detroit Lions. In exchange, the Cowboys received Detroit's 29th pick and 73rd overall pick (third round). The Lions also got a 2025 7th round pick in the trade.
Here is a look at the history of Dallas' draft-day trades. The Lions selected Alabama corner Terrion Arnold with this pick.
No. 29 overall, 1st round (via trade from Detroit): Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma
With the No. 29 overall pick from Detroit, the Dallas Cowboys selected Oklahoma offensive tackle Tyler Guyton. He originally committed to TCU and played two seasons for the Horned Frogs before transferring to the Oklahoma Sooners in 2022. Guyton played 20 career games at OU, starting 14 of those 20.
For more about Guyton, click here.
No. 56 overall, 2nd round: Marshawn Kneeland, Edge, Western Michigan
With the No. 56 overall pick, the Dallas Cowboys selected Western Michigan edge rusher Marshawn Kneeland. Kneeland was the sixth edge rusher taken in the 2024 draft.
Kneeland was second-team All-MAC and led his team with 4.5 sacks. In his senior season, Kneeland played 10 games and started nine, totaling 57 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss.
For more about Kneeland, click here.
No. 73 overall pick, 3rd round (via trade from Detroit): Cooper Beebe, G, Kansas State
With the No. 73 overall pick, the Dallas Cowboys selected Kansas State offensive guard Cooper Beebe.
Beebe was a 2023 Consensus All-American, Outland Trophy finalist (nation's best college interior lineman), and 2022-23 Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year (voted on by coaches). Beebe played 51 career games and started 48 of those and allowed only five sacks among his 1,488 career pass blocking snaps.
Four of those five sacks came in his freshman season at Kansas State.
No. 87 overall, 3rd round: Marist Liufau, LB, Notre Dame
With the No. 87 overall pick, the Dallas Cowboys selected Notre Dame linebacker Marist Liufau.
Liufau was a 2023 Butkus Award Semifinalist (award for most impactful linebacker in college football). He started 25 games in his final two seasons at Notre Dame, logging 95 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and three sacks in that timespan.
According to NFL analyst Lance Zierlein, some of Liufau strengths include: Good football IQ and field awareness, plays with enough violence in his hands to take on blocks, and capable on spot drops and man coverage.
Some of Liufau's weaknesses, according to Zierlein, include:
- More of a rally-and-help tackler than an individual stopper in the open field.
- Average patience and eye discipline to diagnose the mesh point.
- Needs to play with better anticipation matching running back's lane choice.
- Slow to fight past second-level blocks once they get into him.
No. 174 overall, 5th round: Caelen Carson, CB, Wake Forest
With the No. 174 overall pick, the Dallas Cowboys selected Wake Forest cornerback Caelen Carson.
Carson started in 11 games as a junior for the Demon Deacons, finishing with 42 total tackles and leading the team with eight pass breakups. NFL Analyst Lance Zierlein says "Carson's game is most suitable for press-man and Cover 2 looks, although he’s capable of handling most coverages."
"He doesn’t have as many snaps under his belt as some prospects, so his instincts and break anticipation aren't fully focused yet," Zierlein said in his evaluation. "He's much better from press than off-man coverage and does a nice job of utilizing his physicality to rough up the release and contest catches when he's in position. He works through route combinations from zone and will come downhill and strike with good purpose most of the time. Carson's angles to the throw and as a tackler can be spotty, leading to missed opportunities. Overall, the physical traits are ahead of the positional skills, but there is enough in place to project him as an eventual CB3."
No. 216 overall, 6th round: Ryan Flournoy, WR, Southeast Missouri State
With the No. 216 pick in the 2024 Draft, the Dallas Cowboys selected Southeast Missouri State wide receiver Ryan Flournoy.
A Chicago-area native, the 6-foot-1, 202-pound Flournoy took something of a circuitous route to being drafted, having bounced around during his college football career.
The 24-year-old began his college football career at Central Missouri in 2018, then transferred to Iowa Western Community College in 2021 and eventually ended up at Southeast Missouri State. In his first year there, he earned All-Ohio Valley Conference honors. In his second year, he served as a team captain and once again was named to the all-conference team -- despite missing significant time during the season with a broken hand.
Heading into the year, he was named to The Athletic college football analyst Bruce Feldman's annual "Freaks" list, coming in at No. 47. After his final campaign on campus, he was one of just a few non-FBS players invited to participate in the Senior Bowl -- and was the first player from his school to earn that honor since 1998.
No. 233 overall (via Las Vegas), 7th round: Nathan Thomas, OT, Louisiana
With the 233rd overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Cowboys selected offensive tackle Nathan Thomas from University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
The 6-goot-5, 334 native of New Orleans was a two-year starter for the Ragin' Cajuns, anchoring the offensive line as its left tackle during his junior and senior years. As a senior, he earned an honorable mention to the All-Sun Belt Conference team -- but he missed out on what would've been the final game of his career when he suffered a knee injury that kept him from lining up against Jacksonville State in the New Orleans Bowl.
He is the third offensive lineman selected by the Cowboys in this year's draft class.
No. 244 overall, 7th round: Justin Rogers, DT, Auburn
With the 244th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft -- and their last pick in this year's event -- the Cowboys selected Auburn defensive tackle Justin Rogers.
The 6-foot-3, 345-pound Detroit native started his college career at Kentucky, where he registered 60 tackles -- five for loss -- over 33 games played. He started off his sole season at Auburn coming off the bench, but worked his way into a starter for the team's final seven games of season.
In high school, he played both offensive and defensive tackle and was the top-ranked recruit from his graduating class in Michigan.
For more Cowboys coverage during the NFL Draft, continue to visit wfaa.com/cowboys.
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