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Grading the Cowboys’ draft selections on value and need
By Jeff Cavanaugh Apr 29, 2018 16
Grading a team’s draft without three or more years to see its selections perform is foolhardy. We have no idea how these players will produce in the NFL until we see them do it.
We can, however, evaluate a team’s plan, its execution and how much value they got with each pick. Especially in the context of having evaluated and graded all of the players beforehand. I don’t know everything about every prospect; I will have misses. I don’t have the advantage NFL teams do of talking to everyone that’s ever met each player and knowing exactly who they are, their work ethic, football intelligence, and every other intangible.
What I have is their tape – and what I hear. This is my fifth year of grading prospects, so I do feel confident assessing whether a pick demonstrated good value or not according to my draft grades. So let’s take a peek at how the Cowboys did. Below are each of the picks, where they were selected (round followed by overall pick number in the draft) and how I had them graded.
1 (19) Leighton Vander Esch – LB – Boise State
My grade: Round two. Vander Esch was going to go in the first round, there was never a doubt about that. What made him a second-round grade for me was the single year of production and the lack of physicality he played with for a man of his size and athleticism. Jason Garrett addressed that after the pick was made, talking about how it can be a challenge for tall guys to get the proper leverage to really deliver a pop. The name of the game is taking down the ballcarrier. He does that.
Linebacker was arguably the Cowboys’ biggest need and they addressed it with a three-down player who has a very high ceiling. His testing numbers at the combine show him to be one of the most athletic players in the league from day one. He can help in coverage and limit the number of snaps that Jaylon Smith is asked to play. I didn’t love the pick, but I was fine with it.
2 (50) Connor Williams – OL – Texas
My grade: Round two. Before the start of the second round, my hope (and I didn’t think it realistic) was that one of the step-in, starting-quality guards would be available at #50. The names were James Daniels, Will Hernandez, Austin Corbett and Connor Williams. Three of those names were picked in the first seven picks of the second round. The fourth one made it. The Cowboys picked exactly who I would have picked.
Williams should be the Game 1 starter at left guard and allow Cam Fleming to be the swing tackle in case something happens to either starter. That’s massive for this team. The potential for the Atlanta Falcons Chaz Green Debacle of 2017 should be off the table. Williams is a very good prospect that’s going to help this team a ton.
3 (81) Michael Gallup – WR – Colorado State
My grade: Round two. This one was going to have to fall perfectly to happen and it did. I draw your attention to my dreams from late February where I draw up the 8 WRs who needed to go off the board for Gallup to make it to pick #81.
I’m pretty proud of that Draft Nostradamus move there. I had Gallup as my third-rated wide receiver in the draft behind Calvin Ridley and DJ Moore, and it was going to take other teams valuing other guys more for the Cowboys to find him in the third. They are very lucky.
Gallup is a well-rounded receiver that can play in any spot. His physicality combined with route running ability makes him a very strong prospect. I won’t be surprised at all if by the end of the 2018 season he’s the best receiver on this team. The Cowboys had people fighting for him in round two and were fortunate to have him fall in their lap in the third.
4 (116) Dorance Armstrong – DE – Kansas
My grade: Round three. Armstrong’s production came down this year but it was because of a schematic change at Kansas that asked him to do more wrestling with offensive tackles than attacking. He was a double-digit sack guy in 2016 and will fit really well on this roster. It’s not unthinkable that he’ll be a top-four defensive end at some point as a rookie and contribute as a pass-rusher. His acceleration, agility, and length help him a lot as a rusher.
4 (137) Dalton Schultz – TE – Stanford
My Grade: Round five. As you’d expect from a Stanford tight end, Schultz will show up to camp as a tight end who can block. That’s important for a team that lost both James Hanna and presumably Jason Witten. Adding a compensatory fourth-round pick that’s going to see a good number of snaps right away and can develop the receiving part of his game is just fine. Schultz was the last tight end I had with a grade in the top five rounds so if they hadn’t taken him, the player they wound up with might not have been able to contribute in 2018. Schultz will.
5 (171) Mike White – QB – Western Kentucky
My Grade: Round four. White was my seventh-ranked QB in this draft behind Rosen, Mayfield, Jackson, Darnold, Allen and Kyle Lauletta. If you were going to grab a developmental guy at QB he was the last one that I was interested in, so I like the pick. He has the size and arm talent you want to try and develop, took care of the football, and is accurate enough to instill confidence that he may have an NFL future.
6 (193) Chris Covington – LB – Indiana
My Grade: N/A. I watched his teammate Tegray Scales who I liked quite a bit, but did not study Covington. I’ll have to lean on Dane Brugler who says he has the perfect demeanor and play style to be a core special teams guy who develops as a depth piece at linebacker.
6 (208) Cedrick Wilson – WR – Boise State
My Grade: Round four. The Wilson pick was another great value on my board. He’s a lean guy that doesn’t have the long speed of a burner but is a good route-runner with an understanding of how to play the position. He smoothly changes directions and is fairly explosive. He makes the catches you’d expect an NFL wide receiver to make but might not make the spectacular ones. He’ll add to the receiver competition and has a chance to make the 53 man roster coming out of camp.
7 (236) Bo Scarbrough – RB – Alabama
My Grade: Round seven. Scarbrough has a history of getting dinged up and needs some help to get going but he’s a hammer when he has the football. If you can give him a little bit of a runway, he’ll help wear down a defense on Sundays. Whether he makes the roster will depend on how many running backs the Cowboys keep and their plan with Tavon Austin, but I could see Scarbrough making the roster.
If you want an overall draft grade based on the value of the Cowboys’ picks and how they filled their needs, I can’t give them anything other than an A. Their first three picks were all top 40 players on my board and the values they got on Gallup, Wilson, Armstrong and White picks were very nice. They still need to add a body at safety but other than that the Cowboys had three very good days.
By Jeff Cavanaugh Apr 29, 2018 16
Grading a team’s draft without three or more years to see its selections perform is foolhardy. We have no idea how these players will produce in the NFL until we see them do it.
We can, however, evaluate a team’s plan, its execution and how much value they got with each pick. Especially in the context of having evaluated and graded all of the players beforehand. I don’t know everything about every prospect; I will have misses. I don’t have the advantage NFL teams do of talking to everyone that’s ever met each player and knowing exactly who they are, their work ethic, football intelligence, and every other intangible.
What I have is their tape – and what I hear. This is my fifth year of grading prospects, so I do feel confident assessing whether a pick demonstrated good value or not according to my draft grades. So let’s take a peek at how the Cowboys did. Below are each of the picks, where they were selected (round followed by overall pick number in the draft) and how I had them graded.
1 (19) Leighton Vander Esch – LB – Boise State
My grade: Round two. Vander Esch was going to go in the first round, there was never a doubt about that. What made him a second-round grade for me was the single year of production and the lack of physicality he played with for a man of his size and athleticism. Jason Garrett addressed that after the pick was made, talking about how it can be a challenge for tall guys to get the proper leverage to really deliver a pop. The name of the game is taking down the ballcarrier. He does that.
Linebacker was arguably the Cowboys’ biggest need and they addressed it with a three-down player who has a very high ceiling. His testing numbers at the combine show him to be one of the most athletic players in the league from day one. He can help in coverage and limit the number of snaps that Jaylon Smith is asked to play. I didn’t love the pick, but I was fine with it.
2 (50) Connor Williams – OL – Texas
My grade: Round two. Before the start of the second round, my hope (and I didn’t think it realistic) was that one of the step-in, starting-quality guards would be available at #50. The names were James Daniels, Will Hernandez, Austin Corbett and Connor Williams. Three of those names were picked in the first seven picks of the second round. The fourth one made it. The Cowboys picked exactly who I would have picked.
Williams should be the Game 1 starter at left guard and allow Cam Fleming to be the swing tackle in case something happens to either starter. That’s massive for this team. The potential for the Atlanta Falcons Chaz Green Debacle of 2017 should be off the table. Williams is a very good prospect that’s going to help this team a ton.
3 (81) Michael Gallup – WR – Colorado State
My grade: Round two. This one was going to have to fall perfectly to happen and it did. I draw your attention to my dreams from late February where I draw up the 8 WRs who needed to go off the board for Gallup to make it to pick #81.
I’m pretty proud of that Draft Nostradamus move there. I had Gallup as my third-rated wide receiver in the draft behind Calvin Ridley and DJ Moore, and it was going to take other teams valuing other guys more for the Cowboys to find him in the third. They are very lucky.
Gallup is a well-rounded receiver that can play in any spot. His physicality combined with route running ability makes him a very strong prospect. I won’t be surprised at all if by the end of the 2018 season he’s the best receiver on this team. The Cowboys had people fighting for him in round two and were fortunate to have him fall in their lap in the third.
4 (116) Dorance Armstrong – DE – Kansas
My grade: Round three. Armstrong’s production came down this year but it was because of a schematic change at Kansas that asked him to do more wrestling with offensive tackles than attacking. He was a double-digit sack guy in 2016 and will fit really well on this roster. It’s not unthinkable that he’ll be a top-four defensive end at some point as a rookie and contribute as a pass-rusher. His acceleration, agility, and length help him a lot as a rusher.
4 (137) Dalton Schultz – TE – Stanford
My Grade: Round five. As you’d expect from a Stanford tight end, Schultz will show up to camp as a tight end who can block. That’s important for a team that lost both James Hanna and presumably Jason Witten. Adding a compensatory fourth-round pick that’s going to see a good number of snaps right away and can develop the receiving part of his game is just fine. Schultz was the last tight end I had with a grade in the top five rounds so if they hadn’t taken him, the player they wound up with might not have been able to contribute in 2018. Schultz will.
5 (171) Mike White – QB – Western Kentucky
My Grade: Round four. White was my seventh-ranked QB in this draft behind Rosen, Mayfield, Jackson, Darnold, Allen and Kyle Lauletta. If you were going to grab a developmental guy at QB he was the last one that I was interested in, so I like the pick. He has the size and arm talent you want to try and develop, took care of the football, and is accurate enough to instill confidence that he may have an NFL future.
6 (193) Chris Covington – LB – Indiana
My Grade: N/A. I watched his teammate Tegray Scales who I liked quite a bit, but did not study Covington. I’ll have to lean on Dane Brugler who says he has the perfect demeanor and play style to be a core special teams guy who develops as a depth piece at linebacker.
6 (208) Cedrick Wilson – WR – Boise State
My Grade: Round four. The Wilson pick was another great value on my board. He’s a lean guy that doesn’t have the long speed of a burner but is a good route-runner with an understanding of how to play the position. He smoothly changes directions and is fairly explosive. He makes the catches you’d expect an NFL wide receiver to make but might not make the spectacular ones. He’ll add to the receiver competition and has a chance to make the 53 man roster coming out of camp.
7 (236) Bo Scarbrough – RB – Alabama
My Grade: Round seven. Scarbrough has a history of getting dinged up and needs some help to get going but he’s a hammer when he has the football. If you can give him a little bit of a runway, he’ll help wear down a defense on Sundays. Whether he makes the roster will depend on how many running backs the Cowboys keep and their plan with Tavon Austin, but I could see Scarbrough making the roster.
If you want an overall draft grade based on the value of the Cowboys’ picks and how they filled their needs, I can’t give them anything other than an A. Their first three picks were all top 40 players on my board and the values they got on Gallup, Wilson, Armstrong and White picks were very nice. They still need to add a body at safety but other than that the Cowboys had three very good days.