Cowboys draft grades
By: Jake Rajala
The Dallas Cowboys made some polarizing draft picks. They went heavy defense, to say the least. The Boys unleashed five picks on defense. They picked one skill player and it came in the seventh round. With that said, I’m going to hand out draft grades for the Boys.
Caleb Downs: A
Caleb Downs can be the next Earl Thomas. He had the highest NFL score of 84. This was first among safeties. I must point out that he has the highest selling jersey. The Boys added more beef to their DL, so they could afford to go secondary here.
Malachi Lawrence: B-
Malachi can be a very good player. He wasn’t very productive in college but he is a freak athlete. He ran a 4.52 40 yard dash. He reminds me a lot of Haason Reddick. He wisely skipped the bench press part of the combine. I expect Lawrence to pass Donovan Ezeiruaku on the depth chart soon.
Jaishawn Barham: D
Jaishawn Barham will be the next Jaylon Smith in my opinion. He had an overall NFL score of 63, which was 16th among safeties. He had 10 TFLs last season and four sacks last season. That’s not overly potent. The Boys are still hoping he can be the next “Sean Lee”.
Drew Shelton: B
Drew Shelton will compete for a starting gig. He won’t be the next Tyron Smith or Joe Thomas, but he can slow down the likes of Montez Sweat and Brandon Graham. He was sixth in the athletic score. He was also honorable mention Big 10.
Devin Moore: A
Devin Moore was a sharp addition at the fourth round of the draft. He had the third highest production score among CBs. He is 6’3. He is sort of a poor man’s version of Richard Sherman. Hopefully, he isn’t like the 6’4 CB Stanley Baptise.
LT Overton: B-
LT Overton can get in the rotation on occasion. Kenny Clark is also getting old, so it’s wise to have youth on the interior DL. I would have liked to see the Boys draft a WR at this pick, however.
Anthony Smith: C+
Anthony Smith is a WR that was selected in the seventh round. He likely won’t be a steal in my opinion. He will fight for a roster spot. At 6’3, he can be a modest red zone threat, nonetheless.
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