Inside The Star
Since the NFL went to a seven-round draft format over three days, getting the second day’s picks in the second and third rounds right, has become paramount in the league.
Over the last four drafts, the Dallas Cowboys have come up short on Friday evening. As has been the issue with the last two first round picks, the Cowboys have been caught reaching.
Here are the Friday night picks the Cowboys have made over the previous four drafts:
Hit-and-miss seems to be the best way to describe this list. And they’ve never hit in both rounds on any of the Friday night picks they’ve made since 2021.
That must change this Friday night in the Cowboys’ war room at The Star in Frisco. Primarily because both the Eagles and Commanders are only improving.
The Giants can’t be relied on to hold the cellar position in the NFC East much longer either.
In the 2023 draft, having already reached for defensive tackle Mazi Smith, bypassing a more pressing need on the offensive line, the Cowboys reached in the second round as well.
Panicking over a tight end run, Dallas selected an already old player with a serious foot injury in Michigan’s Luke Schoonmaker.
The thought was obviously to replace the departed Dalton Schultz, lost in free agency. But the Cowboys had a solid tight end in Jake Ferguson already.
So far, Schoonmaker has not lived up to his second-round selection.
In 2024, the scenario was repeated once again.
Having reached in the first round for a third-round prospect in Tyler Guyton, Dallas compounded their error in the second round.
They reached for another third-round prospect in defensive lineman, Marshawn Kneeland.
Kneeland missed a few games due to injury in 2024. At best, his rookie season was mid.
But with an urgent need at running back, the Cowboys bungled the second round for the second-straight draft.
The saving grace of the last two drafts for Dallas and Jones Inc. has been the third round.
In 2023, they landed linebacker DeMarvion Overshown. A solid player when on the field, Overshown has suffered two significant injuries that sidelined his entire rookie year and the end of last season.
Unlike Schoonmaker and Kneeland, he has shown a lot more promise despite his setbacks.
Last year, the Cowboys landed center Cooper Beebe and linebacker Marist Liufau in the third round. Both of those players have more than lived up to their selections.
Beebe is already a solid center and an upgrade from his predecessor, Tyler Biadasz.
Liufau, especially after Overshown’s injury, is...
