DALLAS — It’s been over a week since the 2024 NFL draft concluded its annual seven-round talent bazaar, and the progress reports – along with the perceptions that come with them – have already been turned in for parental review.
The letters for the Dallas Cowboys vary, and no one can really have a correct assessment this quickly for just how the team fared. The consensus states that a draft class requires three or so years to see how things shake out before a mark should be placed on the permanent record.
What we can do in the immediate aftermath is try to decipher what the Cowboys were thinking with the eight selections that they had. We aren’t privy to their inside plans, but we can deduce what the strategy was for the draft, and whether or not they stuck to their guns.
The plan
Most league insiders and astute Cowboys followers expected the team to try to add picks by trading down from their first-round selection. With more holes than picks, and by virtually sitting out of free agency, the organization had to build their draft capital.
A trade down was easy to see coming and Dallas got a high third-round pick back by sliding down five spots in Round 1. Mission accomplished on Plan A.
The Cowboys also knew that they had to rebuild their offensive line after losing two starters in free agency. Even by trading back early, the team found their left tackle of the future in first-round pick Tyler Guyton. The team made the sensible move by doubling up and selecting Cooper Beebe in Round 3, and he looks like the center of the future. Another possible contributor to the O-line came in the seventh-round when they picked OT Nathan Thomas.
Again, the strategy to replenish what was lost on the offensive line was successful. If that wasn’t second on the to-do list, it was clear that it was a priority, so kudos for the Cowboys for bringing young talent to the offensive line.
Another area where the Cowboys needed to improve on defense was against the run. To try to solve that problem, they drafted one of the best run-stuffing defensive ends in Marshawn Kneeland in the second-round and added linebacker Marist Liufau with pick 87.
Kneeland was also considered one of the last of the last top-tier pass rushers available when Dallas made the selection.
The Cowboys were soft against the run, soft in the middle, and had a major need at LB. These two picks on Day 2 of the draft provided their response to getting better in those areas. Count it as another part of the plan well-executed.
Cornerback was an underrated need, and the team drafted an underrated CB in Caelen Carson in the fifth-round. Carson was expected to be picked higher, so the Cowboys got a bargain in the experienced corner who excelled in multiple coverages at Wake Forest. New defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer’s scheme needs knowledgeable CBs, and he got one in the four-year starter.
The Cowboys needed some weapons on offense but couldn’t find the right place to draft a running back and waited until the sixth-round to bring quarterback Dak Prescott a new toy. Wideout Ryan Flournoy has the traits to help, but his game needs refinement. Adding skill position players wasn’t as successful as the first few parts of the strategy, but finding an athletic player like Flournoy late in the draft could pay dividends.
Ultimately the Cowboys did what they usually do in the draft, they plugged their biggest holes with the best options on their board. They needed help on the offensive line, against the run, and at the edges on both sides of the ball. Most of what they sought out was accomplished.
The process
There were other strategies that Dallas used in the draft that might tell us about what their future holds. There was no quarterback selected, nor did they add a running back.
Those decisions show that the organization might mean what they say and will continue to try to get a new deal worked out with Prescott, or that they’re happy with Trey Lance being the developmental signal caller on the roster. The lack of a bellwether back also proved that the team was comfortable with merely bringing Ezekiel Elliott back into the fold as their solution in the backfield.
The Cowboys continued to go to the same well by drafting another offensive lineman in the first-round. That’s been a successful venture for them since drafting Tyron Smith in 2011, and every time they’ve done so since, the player has turned out to be an All-Pro.
It’s also a staple of the organization to look ahead at who’s going to be a free agent after the upcoming season and to draft their eventual replacement. Run-stuffing defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence is in the last year of his contract and drafting Kneeland felt like a conscious decision.
The same can be said for Carson’s selection with veteran CB Jourdan Lewis only on a one-year deal.
The only thing that went against what the team normally does in the draft was how the Cowboys appeared to pick developmental players. Every selection should be a prospect that you hope can help, but Dallas grabbed some rookies who will need time to grow, which seems counter to their stated goal of pushing for a championship in 2024.
Guyton only played one full season of college football and although he has the tools necessary, he’s not a polished player yet and hasn’t had much time at left tackle. Nevertheless, the first-rounder will be tasked with protecting Prescott’s blindside while replacing a future Hall of Famer.
Kneeland, meanwhile, has much more experience, but he’s been labeled as a raw prospect who needs ground up work to refine his pass rush prowess. Beebe, whom the team surely hopes will nail down the center job for the foreseeable future has played everywhere along the line except center.
First-round picks are normally more pro-ready than Guyton and second-round selections are expected to start, but that’s not likely going to be the case with Kneeland. The third-round, where Dallas landed Beebe, is where you start to seek players who might be more developmental but the Cowboys appear to be counting on the Kansas State lineman to lock down an important role on the line.
The only skill player that the Cowboys drafted also needs time to develop. For an offense that needed some juice, the team opted not to add any until late in the draft and with a project at WR.
The conclusion
All of this points to the Cowboys building for 2025 rather than 2024. It feels like the organization is prepared for their draft class to take their lumps early to be better down the road, especially in the first two rounds.
That’s a smart sentiment for continued roster building as putting all of your eggs in one basket can leave you in a hole that can take years to dig out of in the NFL, but there was no help for Prescott in what is still currently the last year of his deal in Dallas. The QB, head coach and defensive coordinator are all on one-year deals, yet the Cowboys didn’t draft as if they’re going ‘all-in’ for the 2024 campaign.
Building for the future is important, but so is helping for an upcoming season where ownership has spoken of the desire to compete for a Super Bowl. Dallas did little to help a QB who lost his starting RB, a Hall of Fame LT and one of his more reliable receivers on offense, while drafting rotational players in the second, third and fifth rounds on defense.
Perhaps this draft tells us more about where the Cowboys are headed in 2025 than where they truly are in 2024, which makes for another frustrating part of the offseason for a team that loves to sit on the fence.
Do you think the Cowboys were successful at sticking to their process at the NFL draft? Share your thoughts with Ben on Twitter @BenGrimaldi.
