Your way too early 2021 Draft Grades

[KDawg]

For the life of me I can’t understand why people are so hung up on Dallas getting Parsons.

 

I agree he has immense talent. But the character is a concern. If he’s still doing well with no character concerns in year 3 and Davis isn’t panning out I’d be more inclined to understand. But not now.

[Warhead36]

I'll say a B. I like the Davis and Cosmi picks but think Darrisaw/JOK might have been a better value combination. Would have preferred if we went Brown/Tremble in round 3 instead of St. Juste/Brown but don't totally hate it. I think we could have gotten Bates in round 5.

 

Overall I like the players we took, I just don't know if we maximized value where we could have.

[HigSkin]

I'm giving them an A for sticking to the long term plan and building the team the right way....

 

 

[Skinsinparadise]

I am typically emotional in a postive way when I see players I've watched taken.   I knew most but not all of these guys.  Heck I gushed about Mline as the last pick in the 7th and Patterson as an undrafted FA -- both guys I am very familiar with.   So I am not always the most objective.  But I am not always gushing.  I hated for example the Haskins pick in real time -- but still talked myself into the liking that draft in part because they still got Montez Sweat in the first round. 

 

What strikes me unique about this draft is how it filled just about every need.  Part of that was because unlike most drafts we didn't have a zillion needs to fill.  So I'd give it an A as for filling needs.  Overall grade A minus. 

 

The guys I didn't know were the edge rushers because I didn't study that spot and Forrest.  The other guys I knew well, St-Juste not as much so but I watched him shine in the Senior Bowl and I recalled that well since I just rewatched that game recently.

 

Jamin Davis:  he wasn't my top guy at 19 but he was among the ones I liked.  I debated on his behalf ferociously on the draft thread.  Among the most hearted debates we had on the draft thread were Jamin versus Zaven Collins.  I was somewhat the lead on team Jamin albeit I liked both.   I know that player very well in part for that reason.   And the fact that Rivera took him makes me like him even more since he knows the LB spot.  Great pick. 

 

Samuel Cosmi:  the best athlete at LT aside from Spencer Brown in this draft.  I even considered him at one point at our pick at 19 but then backed off on it when we got closer.  @stevemcqueen1 loved the guy for two years going and pushed him hard.  So he was on my radar in part because of that.  Great pick.

 

St-Juste:  He was one of the big defensive stars of the Senior Bowl so he was hard to miss.  I haven't really studied him though.  The corners were flying off the board.  They needed one.  really good length for the spot.  I'll trust them on this.   He might be able to play safety, too.  Good pick.

 

Dyami Brown:  On the draft thread some of us can be annoyingly persistent about the guys we like in the draft -- especially myself.  That was @KDawg who kept hitting about Dyami Brown from way back during the college season.  So he helped make me aware.  I watched more closely him relatively late in the process.  What struck me about him is he did the little things well like pass blocking so I commented at the time that I can see him being up Ron's alley.  On the draft thread before the draft I predicted he might be the guy they take.  So it was cool to see them take him.  Really good deep threat among other things.  Great pick. 

 

John Bates:  I watched just about every TE that was projected to be drafted.  Bates wasn't high on my list but I didn't dislike him either.  I had him ranked a round lower than where we took him.  He's a really good blocker, can catch, not explosive though.  I didn't hate the pick, didn't love it.  But I'll trust them on it.

 

Darrick Forrest:  I didn't watch him at all.  But after the first 2 draft days it was clear to me they valued athleticism so I ranked the safeties based on RAS scores and Forrest was ironically at the top of the list.  Supposedly high character.  Special team ace.  Good pick.

 

Cheeseman:  I knew nothing about the long snappers but I'll trust it. 

 

Bradley King and Toney:  pass rushers late in the draft who say their model their game after Chase Young ironically and who are ultra athletes for the spot -- really high RAS scores.  I'll trust it.

 

Dax Milne:  ironically almost identical in size to Dyami Brown.  He struck me Dyami Brown light before the draft.   Deep threat among other things.  Great hands.  Question about him is similar to his QB -- the level of competiton.  He can seperate against inferior competition.  And has glue as hands so I was jazzed about it.  I watched him plenty. 

 

Jaret Patterson:  Among others he was on my list of players in the 7th round.  He was on my draftable RB list that I crreated and posted before the draft.  Brugler actualy ranked him as a 5th rounder.  He's a fun watch.  He's so slippery and explosive with good contact balance.   Not very fast.  So he's more quick than fast.   He did it like Milne versus inferior competition so that's the wild card.  But it gave me a jolt when we signed him so quick after the draft. 

[HigSkin]

4 hours ago, KDawg said:

For the life of me I can’t understand why people are so hung up on Dallas getting Parsons.

 

I agree he has immense talent. But the character is a concern. If he’s still doing well with no character concerns in year 3 and Davis isn’t panning out I’d be more inclined to understand. But not now.

 

Media generated hype and as usual, any reason for media to talk about Dallas. It's ridiculous really.

 

 

Edited May 2, 2021 by HigSkin

[Chump Bailey]

C+

 

*Rather have S Jamar Johnson than Forrest but not conniption worthy

 

*Round 6 rather have CB Thomas Graham Jr. instead of Cheeseman - pretty big whiff IMO value wise

 

*Round 7 rather have WR Tre Nixon instead of Bradley-King, RB Kylin Hill instead of Shaka Toney, DE/OLB Jamar Watson, DE/OLB Darius Hodge or DE/OLB JaQuan Bailey instead of Milne but so be it.

[Skinsinparadise]

 

 

[Est.1974]

Really happy with the draft. Probably go B+

 

Been keen on Davis for a couple of months, love that pick. Also Cosmi in the second, should start day 1. After that much of it comes down to personal preference. Deablo was someone I liked, although I suspect he just doesn’t fit where as the CB we picked does.

 

Maybe we should have taken a chance on Trey Smith. I also wanted Kary Vincent Jr late on. I like the flurry of late picks, although I’m not convinced we executed full value for that 5th round cost next year. 
 

Not much to be critical of overall.

[TheShredder]

3 hours ago, Silvernon said:

Two starters - notably a LT - should get any team a half-decent draft grade.

 

I am rather confident the 3rd rounders will play significant roles early on and will be the third corner and receiver. Considering the personnel groupings in the NFL these days, and what this team has done in recent past, that means they will effectively be starters. 

 

Day 1 Starters:

SLB Davis

LT Cosmi

 

Mid-year starters:

CB St-Juste

WR Brown

 

Role players:

LS Cheeseman

Only starter is Jamin.  Cosmi will be 3rd stringer in 2021.  Brown is WR 4 or 5, but will see the field. 

Overall it wasn't a good year 1 draft but should be a good draft after great coaching helps Cosmi and Brown realize some potential in year 2. 

Facts are in the tape as you can see they drafted for need this year.  D+ to C- year 1 draft which could look like an A after the 1st year getting coached up. 

[Wildbunny]

1 hour ago, KDawg said:

For the life of me I can’t understand why people are so hung up on Dallas getting Parsons.

 

I agree he has immense talent. But the character is a concern. If he’s still doing well with no character concerns in year 3 and Davis isn’t panning out I’d be more inclined to understand. But not now.

It seems everyone that's being drafted by the cowboys does have some character concerns.

That seems to be their #1 criteria when scouting a player...

 

Now, to get back on topic, I'll give the team an A+ hands down.

 

I mean trading up to draft a LS in the 6th round and not being blasted by the majority of fans? That's talent.

 

Had Bruce Allen done this this place would have nuked in a second...

[Anselmheifer]

4 minutes ago, Wildbunny said:

It seems everyone that's being drafted by the cowboys does have some character concerns.

That seems to be their #1 criteria when scouting a player...

 

 

You can draft a player with character concerns. I believe we could have absorbed Micah Parsons. We have the culture and coaches for it. You can't draft a TEAM with character concerns. Of course Dallas would draft Parsons. And for Parsons, it's the worst place he could have gone. Huge national exposure for a guy that's already a head case. A bunch of other character issue guys and a history of tolerating bad behavior. A meddling owner and lack of coaching leadership. Jerry Jones is already telling Parsons what number he can have and there is no negotiation? He's joining a unit that is awful. The DL isn't good. The secondary isn't good. Worst place Parsons could have gone. 

 

I would have liked Parsons for us, but I would have worried. I don't think he's a modern coverage backer. to me, he's basically a super elite Cole Holcomb. Fast. Physical. Great blitzer. Never going to be great in coverage. 

 

I wanted us to trade up for fields. But if we are picking where we are slotted, I really like Jamin Davis. And picking a first round LB is something I trust our team to do. Head coach and DC both were LB's. Marty Hurney has a GREAT track record in the first round and at least two of those picks were LB's, Keuchly and Thomas Davis. Jamin will be playing behind an elite DL with a very good secondary and this offense should actually put up points. He has the size to play inside and is good against the run. Doesn't miss tackles. Has the athleticism AND the length to be a great coverage LB. We haven't had one of those in an age. Jamin is going to make pro bowl's. Multiple. 

 

Love the Cosmi pick. Need meets value. Tough. Three year starter. No health concerns. ELITE athlete. We have the coaching staff to maximize this guy. He's going to start by year 2, but I think he probably starts and is good as a rookie. I see him as a multi pro bowl guy also. 

When we picked St-Juste, I didn't love it. Then I looked harder. He's exactly what I said I wanted before day two. A loooooong CB with athleticism. His 40 time was very good for a guy his size, but his short shuttle and 3 cone were in the 90th percentile for all corners. Guys that size don't move like that. I also love guys that perform well at the senior bowl. But the thing that I really like about the pick is the scheme fit. St-Juste should be really, really good in a press man scheme that is good at consistently getting pressure with the front 4. I think he can contribute immediately and could start sooner rather than later. This could be the guy that pushes Fuller inside. 

Dyami Brown. In a league where the 3rd receiver basically starts, I think Brown is going to essentially start day 1. He's a great outside complement to Terry. A speed guy that can take the top off a defense but can also run routes. He's also going to allow us to be much more flexible with Samuel and play him more in the slot. Love this pick. Huge value. 

The only pick I hated was John Bates. With Brevin Jordan still on the board? Come on. I understand that we needed a blocking TE. Sign one. Or draft one later. I think Jordan has the potential to be a borderline star/pro bowl player. We are going to regret this one. Taking Jordan there would have made this an A++++ draft for me. 

[KDawg]

45 minutes ago, TheShredder said:

Only starter is Jamin.  Cosmi will be 3rd stringer in 2021.  Brown is WR 4 or 5, but will see the field. 

Overall it wasn't a good year 1 draft but should be a good draft after great coaching helps Cosmi and Brown realize some potential in year 2. 

Facts are in the tape as you can see they drafted for need this year.  D+ to C- year 1 draft which could look like an A after the 1st year getting coached up. 

Brown is more likely to be WR3 than 5, imo.

 

Cheeseman is starting. Yes, people don’t really look at LS that way but that doesn’t change the truth in the statement. 
 

Bates is going to play. A lot.

 

Jamin is the best backer on the roster already and he’s raw. 
 

I am willing to bet Cosmi starts this year. Only way he doesn’t is if Charles shows out and starts at LT. 
 

Next year I’m willing to bet the line is something like this: 

 

Tackles: Cosmi/Charles

Guards: Schweitzer/Flowers

Center: Roullier

 

OR

 

Cosmi, Flowers, Roullier, Charles, Moses

Edited May 2, 2021 by KDawg

[gooseneck]

Just got back from my morning jog to church where I talked about being God and jogged back.  I gave our draft a pq to the 27th power.

[86 Snyder]

I'll go with a B/B-

 

 Overall I like the early picks, with St Juste the one I'm most unsure of panning out.  Day 3 had some reaches and headscratchers but they filled needs.

 

And that's really why I'm landing on B/B-.  It's so obvious they drafted purely for need and that's bad process moving forward.  If this regime drafts for need every year, we're going to miss out on some high end talent.

 

We traded a future 5th to move up for a long snapper?  That's ridiculous.  Not gonna lose my mind about it but if you make a lot of minor mistakes over time the lost value really piles up.  

 

Overall I'm pleased with the draft but there were a couple mistakes.  No blunders, but definitely a couple hiccups.

[dyst]

I think people are high on Parsons, because, he was an exceptionally talented LB in college. So when giving out grades or admiring another teams selection, it only makes sense to base that opinion on what the player did while playing.

 

In the end, it is possible that Davis will outplay Parsons in the pros, but from a purely collegiate analysis, Parsons was very intriguing, his character issues aside, despite it being a red flag.

[Ball Security]

2 hours ago, KDawg said:

For the life of me I can’t understand why people are so hung up on Dallas getting Parsons.

 

I agree he has immense talent. But the character is a concern. If he’s still doing well with no character concerns in year 3 and Davis isn’t panning out I’d be more inclined to understand. But not now.

The thing that Parsons has going for him is that he can claim that he’s not the biggest asshole in Dallas’ draft class.  They also drafted a big bad woman beater in the middle rounds.  The Cowboy way.

[KDawg]

29 minutes ago, dyst said:

I think people are high on Parsons, because, he was an exceptionally talented LB in college. So when giving out grades or admiring another teams selection, it only makes sense to base that opinion on what the player did while playing.

 

In the end, it is possible that Davis will outplay Parsons in the pros, but from a purely collegiate analysis, Parsons was very intriguing, his character issues aside, despite it being a red flag.

What does his play matter if he taints the surrounding atmosphere? Did he help Penn State perform better than expected when he played? 
 

Individual accolades are extremely myopic and a bad way to go about roster building.

 

just imo.

[Warhead36]

I think we could have handled Parsons. Our locker room has strong culture and leadership. I don't see that at all in Dallas. Remember last year when they were struggling and players were anonymously throwing the coaches under the bus? There's been a leadership void in Dallas ever since Romo retired.

[KDawg]

It’s not about handling a guy like that. It’s about what his presence does to a team and culture. (If the concerns are true).

 

You guys can prefer to play in the lab with all sorts of strange concoctions if you want to. I don’t want to blow it up. Say we can absorb it all you want, but I’ve seen guys that have less character concerns than even Parsons destroy teams. Live. In person.

 

No thanks.

 

 

[dyst]

19 minutes ago, KDawg said:

What does his play matter if he taints the surrounding atmosphere? Did he help Penn State perform better than expected when he played? 
 

Individual accolades are extremely myopic and a bad way to go about roster building.

 

just imo.

I really liked Parsons’ game (granted I am just watching Youtube clips), but I would be extremely nervous if we drafted him. So I do agree, still doesn’t negate the fact that he was impressive. Am kinda glad we didn’t get him. Not sure we have the environment for any issues.

Edited May 2, 2021 by dyst

[KDawg]

4 minutes ago, dyst said:

I really liked Parson’s game (granted I am just watching Youtube clips), but I would be extremely nervous if we drafted him. So I do agree, still doesn’t negate the fact that he was impressive. Am kinda glad we didn’t get him. Not sure we have the environment for any issues.

He’s an excellent player.

 

Jury is out on if he’s an excellent teammate. Even without the previous character concerns stuff he’s already saying some obnoxious things in Dallas.

[DWinzit]

I believe WFT's staff and leaders could have handled Parsons and he would have been fine in Washington.

 

I could not think of a better place for him to land outside of Washington than Dallas. There are tons of character flawed people already there starting with the owner. Should be a fun comedy show like normal. 

 

Thrilled we ended up with a high character, high floor, high ceiling player in Jamin!

[KDawg]

9 minutes ago, DWinzit said:

I believe WFT's staff and leaders could have handled Parsons and he would have been fine in Washington.

 

I could not think of a better place for him to land outside of Washington than Dallas. There are tons of character flawed people already there starting with the owner. Should be a fun comedy show like normal. 

 

Thrilled we ended up with a high character, high floor, high ceiling player in Jamin!

Again, it’s not about “can” it’s about “why”

 

I’m willing to bet the reason WFT’s staff could take on a guy like Parsons largely is due to the fact that they wouldn’t take on a guy like Parsons. 

[tmandoug1]

2 hours ago, dyst said:

I think people are high on Parsons, because, he was an exceptionally talented LB in college. So when giving out grades or admiring another teams selection, it only makes sense to base that opinion on what the player did while playing.

 

In the end, it is possible that Davis will outplay Parsons in the pros, but from a purely collegiate analysis, Parsons was very intriguing, his character issues aside, despite it being a red flag.

Based on what I've seen of RR, he has decided he wants a team built of honor, courage, and leadership. Parsons doesn't fit that mold just like Guice and (my opinion) Trent didn't. He wants "us" in the huddle not "me" in the huddle. 

[Riggo-toni]

I will guess - B.

I think Jamin will start immediately. I suspect Cosmi will be 2nd string. Cheeseman will be starting LS. The DBs will be depth and special teamers, with FS still a weakness. Bates will see action as a blocker, and finish the season with 11 catches for 73 yards. Dyami Brown will show flashes, but won't be the force out of the gate McLaurin was.  A few 20+ pass plays, and finishes the season with 300 yards. Solid #2/3 by year 3.  Dax will end up on somebody else's practice squad. The DE/LBs won't see much action, with one making the squad, and the other on the PS.