Eagles Erotica, Atlanta Fail-cons: NFC Draft Assessments
Also: the Cowboys avoid RBs, the Bears get weird on Day Three, and the Brandon Aiyuk hostage situation continues.
These are not mere “draft grades.” They are Draft Performance Assessments. They are not lazy clickbait or a desperate effort to sell premium subscriptions. They are laser-accurate, ultra-scientific evaluations of each team’s draft by the most qualified standardized testing professional on the entire NFL blabosphere: me. This paragraph is not meant to merely be ironic. It is meant to make everything line up on your screen a little more neatly.
The subcategories for each assessment are self-explanatory. The assessment system is proprietary, 10000% objective and in no way arbitrary.
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys
Improved Roster: B-
Used Resources Well: B+
Met Needs: C-
FINAL DPA: C+
There’s shrewd running back Moneyball and there’s what the Cowboys have opted for: actively dodging easy roster improvements in the name of obstinance.
The “no RBs” meme would not be a big deal if the Cowboys made any effort to optimize their roster for Win Now purposes in free agency or on the player retention/contract extension front. As it stands, Jerry Jones looks like Nero reaching for the marshmallows, only with lower energy.
The Cowboys will probably re-sign Ezekiel Elliott, assuming Emmitt Smith turns them down. As of Sunday morning, they hadn’t even added a priority UDFA running back, which shows a Tony Khan-in-a-neck-brace level of commitment to the bit.
First-round Oklahoma tackle Tyler Guyton is a 6-foot-8 converted H-back who lines up in a two-point stance and has a catch-and-steer pass protection style. Tall, toolsy Big-12 linemen don’t always project well to the NFL.
Guard Cooper Beebe, on the other hand, is as wide as a Honda CR-V, was a starter at Kansas State for four years and has enough lateral quickness to be a quality NFL starter. He has a mauler’s reputation, but I am more impressed by his ability to pick up inside stunts and blitzers. Beebe arrived on a pick acquired from the Lions on a trade-down.
Deion Sanders nearly wooed Marshawn Kneeland away from Western Michigan before last season. Kneeland stayed in Kalamazoo, and while his sack total (4.5) wasn’t impressive, his film was. Kneeland is a burly bull rusher who brushes tight ends and fullbacks aside, hustles down the line in backside run support and applies pressure late in the play. Kneeland will be a problem for opponents who are already trying to cope with Micah Parsons and Tank Lawrence.
Injuries kept getting in the way of Marist Liufau’s development at Notre Dame. He never quite developed as a top pass rusher or a tackle factory from the “Rover” position (sometimes a Mike, sometimes an edge), but Liufau hustles and hits, fends off blockers and trips up the ball carrier if he arrives a step late.
Overall, this is not a bad draft for a team that only wants to end an an era of frustration with a little grace and dignity.