The Dallas Cowboys had an eventful first day at the NFL draft on Thursday.
SportsDay’s columnists and beat writers grade the Cowboys’ moves from the first round.
The Cowboys didn’t stand pat, but they didn’t travel too far on the draft board, up one spot for S Caleb Downs, down three spots for DE Malachi Lawrence of UCF. Fixing a defense that surrendered 500 points is an ongoing project but the idea of Rashan Gary, Lawrence and Donovan Ezeiruaku as your edge rushers and Downs and former Cardinal Jalen Thompson at safety sounds a lot better than what they trotted out last year. Weird to trade with Philly and help Eagles get a WR but they might have gotten Makai Lemon at 23, anyway. Still very short at linebacker.
The Cowboys landed my favorite player in the draft in Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. They needed an instant impact defender and he could be exactly that for new defensive coordinator Christian Parker. They then traded back three spots to get two fourth-round picks and ammo for another potential Day 2 pick, while still acquiring one of the fastest edge rushers in the draft. It couldn’t have gone much better.
The Cowboys didn’t have to trade up much to get one of the top defensive players on their board, and their best safety in at least a generation, plus they gave themselves more material to work with on Days 2 and 3. Now, if they can get a starting linebacker and maybe a back-up corner, their draft work is mostly done.
The Cowboys made two draft-day trades: one to move up for an elite talent, safety Caleb Downs, and one to move down, which also got them a pair of fourth-round picks, to select defensive end Malachi Lawrence. Both players fill needs for the defense and also bring some versatility with Lawrence showing the ability to play in multiple schemes.