The 2024 draft for the Dallas Cowboys was a mixed bag. They still seem not to be focused on making the team better for this season but it is not clear that they are focused on next season either. Nobody other than the Joneses and their financial managers really have a clear idea of what they are doing, but trying to build a Super Bowl contender does not appear to be their priority.

In the first round they chose OT Tyler Guyton from Oklahoma. He has good physical traits but is definitely not a plug and play pick, He may not be ready for at least another season or 2 to start effectively although they probably plan on starting him this season. He is responsible for their QB’s (Dak? Or whoever) blindside. Perhaps if Dak gets hurt the Joneses could sign him for less next season. Could this be the way of keeping his price down, after all, there may be another yacht that they need to buy?

In the second round they chose DE Marshawn Kneeland from Western Michigan. He may be an eventual Tank Lawrence replacement although that could take a while. He is not an explosive pass rusher. They probably reached for him, but I suppose in their mind it is better to reach for a defensive line player than a skilled offensive position that could make Dak look better. They clearly had needs at RB and WR but chose not to help the offense,

In the third round they chose their most likely starting center Cooper Beebe from Kansas State. This may have been the best pick of their draft as he is likely to be a plug and play and could be really good.

With their second third round pick which they acquired from moving down in the first round, they drafted LB Marist Liufau from Notre Dame. This was considered a reach and they missed an opportunity to get another offensive skill player, something they clearly were intent on avoiding. The better Dak looks, the more he will cost.

They traded their fourth pick last season to get Trey Lance, who by the way, is not under contract for next season. This may turn out to be a total waste unless they decide they want to start him in 2025 and re-sign him or trade him.

In the fifth round they draft CB Caelen Carson from Wake Forest. This was a spot to also get a running back, but this buy may actually be a really good player and may be worth it

In the sixth round they chose WR Ryan Flournoy from Southeast Missouri State. We have no idea what to expect or if he will even make the team

With their seventh round pick they took OT Nathan Thomas from Louisiana. Nobody knows what they are getting or if he can even make the team.

With their other seventh round compensatory pick (they love those compensatory picks), they chose DT Justin Rogers from Auburn. They finally addressed one of their glaring weaknesses at defensive tackle but a seventh round pick is not an adequate way to fill a major void.

They went into the draft with several major holes to fill based on what they were poor in last season and what they let go without replacing in the early off-season. They seemed to at least somewhat address the weak offensive line. They did not address running back except by bringing back Zeke Elliot. I don’t know who they are trying to fool by doing that since it is clear to everyone that there is NO tread left on that flat tire. They did not address their weakness in stopping the run as they waited till round 7 to get a defensive tackle.

They did sign an interesting UDFA in Brevyn Spann-Ford, TE from Minnesota. He could be a player.

So now they go into the season with major weaknesses at running back, depth at the wide receiver position and a major hole at defensive tackle. They created these problems by themselves and they do not seem to be interested in fixing them. They also still need to sign CeeDee Lamb and extend Micah Parsons. They do not have ANY quarterbacks under contract for 2025. The state of this franchise is impossible to assess but there does not seem to be any sense of urgency in the front office to do anything about this.

End.