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By Jon Machota
May 3, 2022
After the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Dallas had its first-round pick, Tulsa offensive lineman Tyler Smith, graded ahead of offensive guards Zion Johnson and Kenyon Green. Some in the news conference room at The Star were skeptical. After all, Green and Johnson were off the board by pick No. 17. Dallas drafted Smith at No. 24.
But Jones wanted to prove he wasn’t lying, so he picked up a sheet of paper in front of him that he said was printed three days before the draft. It appeared to show all of the team’s first-round grades and the top of their second-round grades.
“Can you see that?” Jones asked reporters.
Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones started laughing, then told his father, “Don’t show them that.”
Jones put it down before anyone sitting close was able to snap a cellphone picture. But several TV cameras in the back of the room were rolling, leading to this screen grab that was tweeted Tuesday by WFAA reporter Mike Leslie.
By enhancing the photo and breaking down player names and school names, we were able to come up with what we believe to be the top 34 of 39 names on that sheet. The bottom five were just too difficult to decipher.
Stephen Jones said before the draft that the Cowboys had 14 to 16 first-round grades. After the first round, it was revealed that they had 14, which matches up with 14 names listed in the top box. Judging by this enhanced photo, those 14 would be:
1. Kayvon Thibodeaux, DE, Oregon: drafted at No. 5 by the Giants.
2. Evan Neal, OT, Alabama: drafted at No. 7 by the Giants.
3. Aidan Hutchinson, DE, Michigan: drafted at No. 2 by the Lions.
4. Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State: drafted at No. 10 by the Jets.
5. Ahmad Gardner, CB, Cincinnati: drafted at No. 4 by the Jets.
6. Derek Stingley, CB, LSU: drafted at No. 3 by the Texans.
7. Travon Walker, DE, Georgia: drafted at No. 1 by the Jaguars.
8. Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame: drafted at No. 14 by the Ravens.
9. Ikem Ekwonu, OT, North Carolina State: drafted at No. 6 by the Panthers.
10. Drake London, WR, USC: drafted at No. 8 by the Falcons.
11. Jordan Davis, DT, Georgia: drafted at No. 13 by the Eagles.
12. Charles Cross, OT, Mississippi State: drafted at No. 9 by the Seahawks.
13. Lewis Cine, S, Georgia: drafted at No. 32 by the Vikings.
14. Jameson Williams, WR, Alabama: drafted at No. 12 by the Lions.
The second-round grades on the front of the paper appear to go as follows:
15. Chris Olave, WR, Ohio State: drafted at No. 11 by the Saints.
16. Tyler Smith, OL, Tulsa: drafted at No. 24 by the Cowboys.
17. Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah: drafted at No. 27 by the Jaguars.
18. Daxton Hill, S, Michigan: drafted at No. 31 by the Bengals.
19. Breece Hall, RB, Iowa State: drafted at No. 36 by the Jets.
20. Kenyon Green, OG, Texas A&M: drafted at No. 15 by the Texans.
21. George Karlaftis, DE, Purdue: drafted at No. 30 by the Chiefs.
22. Zion Johnson, OG, Boston College: drafted at No. 17 by the Chargers.
23. Treylon Burks, WR, Arkansas: drafted at No. 18 by the Titans.
24. Kyler Gordon, CB, Washington: drafted at No. 39 by the Bears.
25. Tyler Linderbaum, C, Iowa: drafted at No. 25 by the Ravens.
26. David Ojabo, DE, Michigan: drafted at No. 45 by the Ravens.
27. Jahan Dotson, WR, Penn State: drafted at No. 16 by the Commanders.
28. Jermaine Johnson, DE, Florida State: drafted at No. 26 by the Jets.
29. Kaiir Elam, CB, Florida: drafted at No. 23 by the Bills.
30. Arnold Ebiketie, DE, Penn State: drafted at No. 38 by the Falcons.
31. Trent McDuffie, CB, Washington: drafted at No. 21 by the Chiefs.
32. Quay Walker, LB, Georgia: drafted at No. 22 by the Packers.
33. Devonte Wyatt, DT, Georgia: drafted at No. 28 by the Packers.
34. Logan Hall, DE, Houston: drafted at No. 33 by the Buccaneers.
If this list is correct, the only players not on the page who were drafted in the first round were Northern Iowa offensive tackle Trevor Penning, who went at No. 19 to the Saints, Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett, who went at No. 20 to the Steelers, and Chattanooga offensive guard Cole Strange, who went 29th to the Patriots.
“The good news is, most of those players are gone,” Stephen Jones added after Jerry Jones put the paper down.
Of the 34 listed above, Breece Hall, Gordon, Ojabo, Ebiketie and Logan Hall were still available when the second round started Friday night. According to our list, Smith was the second-highest-graded player remaining behind Cine. That Dallas picked Smith over Cine shouldn’t be a surprise considering how the Cowboys have valued safety in the draft over nearly the past 20 years. Roy Williams, in 2002, is the last safety Dallas has drafted in the first or second rounds.
May 3, 2022
After the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Dallas had its first-round pick, Tulsa offensive lineman Tyler Smith, graded ahead of offensive guards Zion Johnson and Kenyon Green. Some in the news conference room at The Star were skeptical. After all, Green and Johnson were off the board by pick No. 17. Dallas drafted Smith at No. 24.
But Jones wanted to prove he wasn’t lying, so he picked up a sheet of paper in front of him that he said was printed three days before the draft. It appeared to show all of the team’s first-round grades and the top of their second-round grades.
“Can you see that?” Jones asked reporters.
Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones started laughing, then told his father, “Don’t show them that.”
Jones put it down before anyone sitting close was able to snap a cellphone picture. But several TV cameras in the back of the room were rolling, leading to this screen grab that was tweeted Tuesday by WFAA reporter Mike Leslie.
By enhancing the photo and breaking down player names and school names, we were able to come up with what we believe to be the top 34 of 39 names on that sheet. The bottom five were just too difficult to decipher.
Stephen Jones said before the draft that the Cowboys had 14 to 16 first-round grades. After the first round, it was revealed that they had 14, which matches up with 14 names listed in the top box. Judging by this enhanced photo, those 14 would be:
1. Kayvon Thibodeaux, DE, Oregon: drafted at No. 5 by the Giants.
2. Evan Neal, OT, Alabama: drafted at No. 7 by the Giants.
3. Aidan Hutchinson, DE, Michigan: drafted at No. 2 by the Lions.
4. Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State: drafted at No. 10 by the Jets.
5. Ahmad Gardner, CB, Cincinnati: drafted at No. 4 by the Jets.
6. Derek Stingley, CB, LSU: drafted at No. 3 by the Texans.
7. Travon Walker, DE, Georgia: drafted at No. 1 by the Jaguars.
8. Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame: drafted at No. 14 by the Ravens.
9. Ikem Ekwonu, OT, North Carolina State: drafted at No. 6 by the Panthers.
10. Drake London, WR, USC: drafted at No. 8 by the Falcons.
11. Jordan Davis, DT, Georgia: drafted at No. 13 by the Eagles.
12. Charles Cross, OT, Mississippi State: drafted at No. 9 by the Seahawks.
13. Lewis Cine, S, Georgia: drafted at No. 32 by the Vikings.
14. Jameson Williams, WR, Alabama: drafted at No. 12 by the Lions.
The second-round grades on the front of the paper appear to go as follows:
15. Chris Olave, WR, Ohio State: drafted at No. 11 by the Saints.
16. Tyler Smith, OL, Tulsa: drafted at No. 24 by the Cowboys.
17. Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah: drafted at No. 27 by the Jaguars.
18. Daxton Hill, S, Michigan: drafted at No. 31 by the Bengals.
19. Breece Hall, RB, Iowa State: drafted at No. 36 by the Jets.
20. Kenyon Green, OG, Texas A&M: drafted at No. 15 by the Texans.
21. George Karlaftis, DE, Purdue: drafted at No. 30 by the Chiefs.
22. Zion Johnson, OG, Boston College: drafted at No. 17 by the Chargers.
23. Treylon Burks, WR, Arkansas: drafted at No. 18 by the Titans.
24. Kyler Gordon, CB, Washington: drafted at No. 39 by the Bears.
25. Tyler Linderbaum, C, Iowa: drafted at No. 25 by the Ravens.
26. David Ojabo, DE, Michigan: drafted at No. 45 by the Ravens.
27. Jahan Dotson, WR, Penn State: drafted at No. 16 by the Commanders.
28. Jermaine Johnson, DE, Florida State: drafted at No. 26 by the Jets.
29. Kaiir Elam, CB, Florida: drafted at No. 23 by the Bills.
30. Arnold Ebiketie, DE, Penn State: drafted at No. 38 by the Falcons.
31. Trent McDuffie, CB, Washington: drafted at No. 21 by the Chiefs.
32. Quay Walker, LB, Georgia: drafted at No. 22 by the Packers.
33. Devonte Wyatt, DT, Georgia: drafted at No. 28 by the Packers.
34. Logan Hall, DE, Houston: drafted at No. 33 by the Buccaneers.
If this list is correct, the only players not on the page who were drafted in the first round were Northern Iowa offensive tackle Trevor Penning, who went at No. 19 to the Saints, Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett, who went at No. 20 to the Steelers, and Chattanooga offensive guard Cole Strange, who went 29th to the Patriots.
“The good news is, most of those players are gone,” Stephen Jones added after Jerry Jones put the paper down.
Of the 34 listed above, Breece Hall, Gordon, Ojabo, Ebiketie and Logan Hall were still available when the second round started Friday night. According to our list, Smith was the second-highest-graded player remaining behind Cine. That Dallas picked Smith over Cine shouldn’t be a surprise considering how the Cowboys have valued safety in the draft over nearly the past 20 years. Roy Williams, in 2002, is the last safety Dallas has drafted in the first or second rounds.
