And on the third day 3 of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys looked upon the remains of their draft board.
And made a miserable hash out of it.
They failed to try to move up into the fourth round. Instead, the Cowboys settled on staying put with their four picks in the final three rounds.
Dallas made a curious decision to bypass USC receiver Brenden Rice – son of Hall of Famer Jerry Rice – in the sixth round.
They chose an unknown receiver from Southeast Missouri State instead. Rice ended up with the Chargers in the seventh round.
The Cowboys also passed on drafting a running back, nor did they sign one as an undrafted free agent.
They did get a couple of players who might pan out for them beyond 2024. But they did little to improve the team for the upcoming season on Saturday.
Here’s the picks, along with the reported undrafted free agent signings so far:
Caelen Carson, CB
This was not a position of need pick.
While many point out his “value” they gloss over the fact he was a projected third rounder that fell to late fifth.
There’s a reason why that happens. It’s rarely good.
Likely, he’s a special teamer at best.
Grade: D as in this was dumb pick.
Ryan Flournoy, WR
Flournoy – assuming he makes the team – will turn 25 midway through the season. At a time when other receivers his age are having breakout seasons he’ll be a rookie.
At least this pick addressed an area of need.
And he could pan out for the Cowboys.
Grade: C+ only because he does have some potential. Still, Dallas should have grabbed Brenden Rice instead.
Nathan Thomas, OT
The Cowboys apparently were serious about rebuilding their offensive line this year.
Thomas was the third player on the line that the Cowboys selected. He was a left tackle at Louisiana.
But he also lined up at right tackle, making me wonder if Terrence Steele just got put on notice?
Grade: B- if he become the long-term answer at right tackle.
Justin Rogers, DT
This was really the only Day 3 pick made by the Cowboys that I could fully get behind.
They need big bodies up the middle and Rogers is exactly that.
He is a project and unless he wows everyone in camp won’t be starting in 2024. But as a late seventh rounder he was a nice pick.
Grade: A- as they addressed a definite need and could be a long-term answer at that.
Undrafted Free Agent Signings
(reported by DallasCowboys.com as of 3:37 a.m. CDT, April 28, 2024)
Cam Johnson, WR
Like Flournoy, Johnson is already in his mid-20s, having graduated high school in 2018. Apparently, the Cowboys really like old rookies catching the ball.
Luke Schoonmaker – last year’s second-round bust pick – was also in his mid -20s when he was drafted.
Johnson did show signs of greatness in his final year at Northwestern. He could be another T.J. Bass-like gem discovered in the rough.
Brevyn Spann-Ford, TE
Another tight end? Can the Cowboys just go one lousy draft/undrafted free agency without grabbing a tight end?
At 6-6, 260 pounds, he’s a big body and is an excellent run blocking tight end. He was good at Minnesota.
With the Cowboys current running back room, he won’t be getting in much work.
Nathaniel Peat, RB
Multiple sources — but nothing directly from the Cowboys at this writing — are saying that the former Missouri running back has signed as a UDFA with Dallas.
Peat played three years at Stanford before transferring for two years at Missouri. He averaged a little over four yards a carry as a back-up his last two seasons.
Brock Mogenson, LB
I watch a lot of Missouri Valley Conference football because I’m a North Dakota State guy. And South Dakota plays in that conference.
Mogenson is a solid linebacker. Can that translate into the pro game?
Maybe.
If he can take that next step it will take the sting out of Dallas passing on a lot of solid linebackers this year.
Jason Johnson, LB
Johnson led UCF in tackles the last two years running. But most scouts have him as a back-up or special teamer at best.
He also has an extra year in college under his belt – not quite in his mid-20s – and averaged over 100 tackles a year over his last three seasons.
He could pan out. He could not pan out.
But a nice pick up still and we’ll see if he can answer the challenge.
Josh DeBerry, DB
The knock on DeBerry while at Texas A&M is he plays too soft on coverage.
He also struggles to bring down bigger running backs with his tackling. I’m not holding out much hope on DeBerry making the roster.
Corey Crooms, WR
Crooms played four years at Western Michigan then played one final year at Minnesota.
He didn’t exactly light it up for the Golden Gophers, with just 28 catches.
Alec Holler, TE
Apparently the Cowboys scouted UCF a lot this year. He also played six years in college.
Is there a senior citizens section in the Cowboys locker room for old rookies?
Byron Vaughns, EDGE
Keeping with the experienced player movement, Vaughns will also arrive at The Star with a six-year college football resume in hand.
After graduating Utah State, Vaughns transferred to Baylor and put in a solid season for the Bears.
Denzel Daxon, DT
Daxon started his college career at Ohio and transferred to play his last two years at Illinois.
He has the size to be a solid defensive tackle and could secure a spot on the roster if he shines at camp.
But, he’s only been playing football since the age of 17. So he’s a project for sure.
Emany Johnson, S
Another six-year college player, this one out of Nevada, Johnson has a 100-plus tackle season in 2023 and can defend the run well.
Julius Wood, S
Wood is an aggressive player, which sometimes put him in bad positions at East Carolina. But he is a big hitter when he’s around the ball carrier.
The No. 15 Elephant In The Room
Of course the lack of drafted, or undrafted free agent, running backs seems to confirm that Ezekiel Elliott is coming back to Dallas.
Jerry Jones seems to be hinting that Elliott can be a starter. That doesn’t seem to be the consensus among Cowboys Nation.
One Cowboys blogger was stating he’s stepping in his tub and having a toaster thrown in with him if Elliott is RB1 for Dallas this fall.
I might grab the toaster and jump in with him if Elliott is the RB1 in 2024.
But it would explain why Dallas flat out ignored one of the biggest areas of need in the draft. They may be buying time for next year.
With all due respect, you’re clearly not a scout and your opinions seem to be based on someone else’s views. The Cowboys continually draft well. Not perfectly, but well. The free agency stuff is another matter. But Will McClay is one of the best. Also, drafting a good corner is never dumb. You can never have enough good corners.
My opinions are based on watching football for over a half a century and writing about the game for the last 40 years. They belong to no one else.
As for corners, yes, you can have too many. Especially when you have no clear RB1 and no clear WR2 on your roster. Those are the positions you address in the draft. Not CB or Edge where you are clearly set for the year.
That you may have. Your years have given a bad perspective.
They have yet to let me down.
How has Jerry done over the last 28 years again?
RB1 can literally be picked off the pile of scraps… look at Pacheco.. and sorry but I’d much rather see the wr we drafted than Jerry rices son. Is Brandin cooks not a wr2? Pretty sure Gallup wasn’t the 2 last year.
The rummage around the scrap heap plan. What could possibly go wrong with that approach?
I’m sure the Cowboys are devastated that you didnt like their day 3 picks.
I’ll send them a box of tissues…
The real elephant in the room is—-what is the plan? Right now the Boys coaches are all on a one year and gone contract but Jerry expects those coaches to work really hard developing rookies as starters …so some other coaches can benefit in 2025?
There are a few coaches and players who are pretty much dead men walking at The Star this year. I’m not all that optimistic that a winning year is coming.
I loved Zeke in his first three/four years, BUT his last year with Dallas he was 3.8 y/c. Last year w/Pats 3.5 y/c.
Agree with most of the article, starting with the bypass of M. Lloyd for the LB. As every round passed, it was like “what are they waiting for.” Well, we found out, they are going with UDFAs Dowdle & Davis, 5th team Freeman, and maybe EE. Maybe if they do acquire Zeke, I hope he proves me wrong. I hope this RB room proves me wrong.
There is always “next year”.
Right there with you. I have great doubts and am praying I’m wrong about them…
How did Tony do in his position?
The problem wasn’t the RB it was the line. Tony was horrid last year and if you think otherwise your on something
Pollard was terrible.
So your answer is to start backs he beat out for RB1 last year?
Okay…
if some of these guys can fix the oline it will help running game “if” oline coach knows how to coach. Last year it looked like either they didn’t know how to run block or were not good enough. And yeah they gotta protect Dak too. If what they got for rb room is it, then absolutely Zeke is better than any of them. Zeke just wants a job and jerrah just wants to make Zeke pay for jerrahs poor cap management and contract negotiations. I don’t like the way they disrespected Zeke on his way out but hey if he wants to come back and they are not kicking him when he is down then by all means. If they run the ball in the red zone with good blocking Zeke can get the td’s all day long. On the other side of the ball I hope they got some guys that can stop the run. We shall see. But by no way shape or form did I see all in on a damn thing.
If this is “All-In” then I’d hate to see what the Jones clan considers to be “All-out”.
Agreed, how do the Cowboys not draft Benson at 56 instead take another DE. Makes no sense. What a bunch of clowns! Cowboys do not care about winning, the Jonses have brought a lot to the NFL especially in the 90’s, but 30 years without a superbowl appearance is unacceptable, and the only constant is Jerra the Clown. So glad I finally dumped my season tix after Covid.
I was considering catching a game in Dallas this year. But after this offseason? I’m not traveling a thousand miles for this hot mess.
Zeke can’t be our RB1 but what he can do better than any other RB we currently have is get 1 yard on the goal line or pick up that 2 yards on 3rd down. Nothing I hate more than anything is having to pass the ball 2 downs in a row from the 2 yard line. Also, Zeke can still be a good pass blocker.
If Zeke gets 15+ touches a game we are probably in big trouble.
So, you didn’t like drafting the DB because he slid but are seemingly pouting because they didn’t draft Rice who went in the 7th round?
No, I didn’t like the CB pick because they wasted it on an area they are more than set at and passed on drafting an area of need.
And even if Rice was an issue, there were better options at WR available than Flournoy. I just used Rice as a prime example of how much better they could have done there.
It’s pretty obvious you don’t know what you’re talking about. Why do you want Jerry’s son so bad? He lasted that long because he’s not that good. The wr we got has way more potential. And there weren’t any good RBs to take and frankly taking one in the draft has become not worth it. All you’ve done is complain about things you apparently know nothing about. Anyone who just wants Jerry rices son for the hell of it knows nothing about football.
Brenden Rice was merely the best available at the time – certainly not the only option – but why I used him as an example. But Rice was definitely a better choice over a 25 YO receiver from a school no one even knew played football…
Hard to understand the negativity of the takes on the late round picks, particularly Carson who looks to be a tough feisty DB not dissimilar to Jordan Lewis but with more outside corner ability…..Do however think the big mistake in the draft came with the pick of Liafau when the front office said a trade back a bit for an additional late 4th or earliier 5th round pick was available. Could have then secured a good RB or DT as well as a LB.
Do feel a little underwhelmed with the UDFA haul other than Spann-Ford who really could add a lot as a TE to the run game and pass pro….the Eagles in comparison really picked up a couple of potential players in Gabe Hall (DL) and Kendall Milton (RB).
What I think we do need to recognise is that there is still so much opportunity to add some good quality very affordable pieces to the roster with all the cuts and roster churn and scopd to steal practice squad guys across the league that’s coming before real football gets played.