Full Grades For The Dallas Cowboys 2017 NFL Draft Report Card
By Erik Lambert
The Dallas Cowboys 2017 NFL draft report card showcased their overriding goal. That was to rebuild, repair and retool their defense as fast as possible.
Early impressions? Well the pick-by-pick grades will reveal more but it’s clear the team was committed to filling every possible need they could. Nobody can say they didn’t try. Every position of note was addressed. It will fall to the coaching staff to see how well or poorly they did. Given recent successes there is reason for optimism. Then again this team has seen some of their gambles blow up in their faces.
So let’s find out how it looks.
Day 1
1st Round: Taco Charlton (DE, Michigan)
Dallas desperately needs a pass rusher. With Randy Gregory self destructing more and more every day and the continued underwhelming run of Demarcus Lawrence, this team still hasn’t been able to replace what they lost when Demarcus Ware left. Once again the defense paid the price in the playoffs, unable to put any sort of consistent pressure on Aaron Rodgers, who picked them apart for 34 points including the dagger field goal to end the game.
Maybe somebody like Taco Charlton would’ve made a difference. The Michigan defensive end was really coming into his own in 2016. Not only does he have the size and length made for the Cowboys 4-3 system, he’s also a really good athlete who can be moved around to create mismatches. By rights he could’ve gone in the top 15. As he continues to finetune his arsenal of moves, he’ll only become more dangerous.
Grade: A