The Cowboys Just Murdered the 2020 NFL Draft (While the Eagles and Packers Imploded)
HOLY SHIT the Cowboys DOMINATED the 2020 Draft.
Heading into Draft night, the Cowboys had a ton of needs. They lost Byron Jones to the Dolphins leaving a hole at corner, lost Randall Cobb to the Texans creating a need for a slot receiver, lost their sack leader in Robert Quinn, and they STILL had a long term hole at safety.
As normal, I had been scouring the mock boards, looking to see how this team could fill these needs and what to target where. Based on the new defensive scheme Mike Nolan is brewing, along with the relatively mediocre 1st round draft position, all the buzz was around Cowboys taking a pass rusher like K'Lavon Chaisson, a corner such as Travon Diggs, or a safety like Xavier McKinney. Shit, there was a ton of talk they would just move back, maybe to grab a Center to replace Travis Frederick.
All of those options were great, but for a first-rounder, I was REALLY hoping for something a little... sexier.
And then, all of a sudden, things started to fall into place. When the Raiders took Ruggs at the 12 spot, I started to get excited. Bucs move up to protect Brady, and then the word on the streets was that the Eagles were trying to move up as well... they were eyeing Jeudy and Lamb... no dice. Apparently Philly wasn't willing to trade their second-rounder to move up those few spots. The second rounder they turned around and used on Jalen Hurts. OUCH.
The rest of the league didn't even think to move up to take Lamb as he inexplicably slid down the draft board, because the one, Cowboys never officially spoke with Lamb, two, they already have Amari Cooper, and three, they have to fill serious needs on the defense... drafting CeeDee doesn't make any sense.
But Jerry, the genius in the spaceship didn't speak to Lamb because he never thought he'd be available, not because he wasn't interested in SNATCHING him up. It was a classic case of choosing the Best Player Available. Something you rarely see. Picking Lamb showed patience, discipline and it didn't hurt that it also disrupted everything the Eagles were hoping to do.
Drafting CeeDee gives the team the flexibility to move around the field placing Amari Cooper in the slot more, which is where he was most productive last year. CeeDee can also play the slot. Dem Boyz automatically became Team 40 Burger. What a fucking steal.
Let's talk round 2. Remember when the Cowboys were resigned to draft Travon Diggs at 17 at CB to replace Byron Jones? With the run on receivers on day 2, and despite ALMOST moving up to grab him, they were able to wait and STILL get the corner they wanted... but at 51. Now the team doesn't need to feel pressured to put him on the field. They can rely on Chidobe Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis (who are in the last year of their respective contracts) and allow him to develop.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
Just for reference, mock sites had Travon Diggs ranked as the 30th overall best overall player (fringe 1st rounder), and the Cowboys were able to luck out and get him 20 spots later than projected.
Even Jerry Jones remarked at how ridiculous this pick up was.
"We have well-done, in-depth studies and charts that we all were reviewing [Friday] morning before the draft," Jones told reporters. "All of our studies showed that he was in the one percentile. Diggs was in the 1 percent chance of falling to us there. One."
Fire emoji.
Meanwhile, NFC rivals like the Giants, Eagles, and yes, even the Packers, were throwing up all over the place. It was as DELICIOUS as a pint of Birthday Cake flavored Halo Top. Watching Eagles Twitter implode while Cowboys continued to get guys who will immediately make an impact?
MMMM MMM GOOD.
Third round was all about finding someone to pair with Demarcus Lawrence and the Hot Boyz to create pressure and chase down Quarterbacks. At 82, 300 pound DT that can run a SUB 4.8 40, fell into Jerry's lap. Another boon. While Gallimore has some room to grow, make no mistake, his initial quickness, power, and motor will provide plenty of disruption to collapse the pocket and get opposing QB's on the run.
Check out what I'm talking about.
After Rounds 1-3, it really didn't matter what else Jerry did. A+ grade regardless. BUT, the Cowboys continued to get better at positions of need nabbing the most improved college corner last year in Tulsa's Reggie Robinson at 123. Robinson and Diggs are exactly the kind of corners that Mike Nolan is looking for; athletic, physical, and the kind that attacks the ball. Both capable of being CB1's. And if that's not enough, it looks like he and CeeDee both will be able to make an immediate impact on special teams as well.
BOY OH BOY.
After the debacle that was the 2019 Draft, where almost no one they drafted helped the team (except for 4th round Tony Pollard), watching Jerry Jones stay true to his board and BLOW THE DOORS off of the 2020 draft from his spaceship in the ocean was a MUCH needed change of pace. Watching every analyst give this team A to A+ grades for every draft pick felt even better. But given that I'm a petty Cowboys fan, no matter how nice it was to watch this team make savvy pick after savvy pick, watching the Eagles and Packers fuck up every pick along the way made it taste oh so much sweeter.
What that old saying? "It's not enough for me to succeed, others must fail." This draft has put all the pieces together to make that a fact, and I could not be happier about it.