Cowboys NFL Draft Class: Too Soon to Grade?
FRISCO - The 2022 NFL Draft is almost a week behind us and debate and disagreements reign supreme among fans. Which teams got the best value in the early and late rounds? What team made the biggest reach on a player?
Pro Football Focus has issued its team-by-team draft grades for all 32 teams and all 262 selections.
How did the Cowboys fare? Here are all the selections the Cowboys made over the weekend, along with PFF's analysis and grade:
R1 (24) — T Tyler Smith, Tulsa
R2 (56) — EDGE Sam Williams, Mississippi
R3 (88) — WR Jalen Tolbert, South Alabama
R4 (129) — TE Jake Ferguson, Wisconsin
R5 (155) — T Matt Waletzko, North Dakota
R5 (167) — CB DaRon Bland, Fresno State
R5 (176) — LB Damone Clark, LSU
R5 (178) — DI John Ridgeway, Arkansas
R6 (193) — LB Devin Harper, Oklahoma State
Day 1: Smith has been on a meteoric rise in recent months. Arguably the most violent offensive lineman at the Group of Five level, he led the nation in big-time run-blocks a season ago. His grip strength and power are a sight to see — once his hands get locked into the defender’s pads, it’s game over. The Tulsa product earned a 92.1 PFF grade that ranked fourth among FBS tackles in 2021. He was even better from Week 6 on, too, as he graded out at 94.2 over the back half of the season. Smith is going to have a steep learning curve to start, but he is young at just 21 years old.
Day 2: Ole Miss’ Sam Williams has an insane get-off for an edge product who stands at 6-foot-4, 261 pounds. His 4.46-second 40-yard dash ranked 98th percentile among players at his position, but his play strength is massively lacking. He earned a career-high 78.1 PFF grade this past season but needs to develop counters in the NFL if he’s going to consistently create pressure on the quarterback.
Day 3: Waletzko’s developmental traits are as good as you’ll see in this tackle class. With a 7-foot-1 wingspan and nimble feet, he’s the project NFL teams want and has the tape of an offensive lineman with solid upside. Waletzko graded above 70.0 in five of his nine games this past season.
Draft Grade: B+
The Cowboys' first overall pick seems to be a point of debate, as some think Dallas selected Smith too high. But the team maintains he was rated the 16th best player on their board, and to get him at 24 was a bargain.
Some so-called "experts" claim you can't judge a draft immediately and that it takes time to determine which players were the best fit. Others believe the exact opposite, and that you can only evaluate a draft immediately while the thoughts regarding each pick are fresh.
Whatever the case, the Cowboys have their draft class, and we'll know in a couple of months how each one might fit into what we can only hope is a playoff-bound 2022 season.
