The Dallas Cowboys have done fairly well in the draft in the first round, although not every pick has been a home run. After a shaky 2017 draft that had Taco Charlton as the headliner, the Cowboys went back to the defensive side of the ball and chose Leighton Vander Esch to start the class.
What we knew heading into the draft is that the Cowboys needed wide receiver help as they decided to approach the position by committee rather than have a true top guy. This would be the season that the Dallas Cowboys ended up trading for Amari Cooper as the plan didn’t go as they expected. That said the Cowboys did approach the 2018 draft looking to add to the defense which was also in need of help.
This was the year the Dallas Cowboys had decided to let Dez Bryant go and Jason Witten had retired. The season started off rough and forced the hand of the front office to make a trade for Cooper. This draft added some depth pieces and while Vander Esch has certainly been a solid player, when healthy, this was not the best draft class for the Cowboys. Jason Garrett would go on to coach this season and next, before Mike McCarthy took over, and with the change has come a bit of a draft strategy change.
Let’s re-grade the Dallas Cowboys 2018 draft class that started with Leighton Vander Esch.
…A class that added depth, but with it only three players still remain from the class.
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The first round saw the Cowboys choose Leighton Vander Esch out of Boise State. His rookie year was easily his best season for the Dallas Cowboys, and while he has been a strong player, health has been an issue.
Vander Esch would start 11 games in 2018 and record 140 tackles, 2 interceptions, and made the AP second team for defense. Vander Esch was to be teamed with Jaylon Smith and this was supposed to solidify the defense for years to come.
As we know, between Jaylon regressing to not much more than a backup and Vander Esch missing games, this would not come to fruition in the ways the coaches and front office envisioned.
Vander Esch, when healthy is a solid off-ball linebacker, but without a lot of help in front of him on the defensive line, he has been solid, but not close to his 2018 stats.
The next two seasons saw him miss 13 games, and while he sprang back for a full season in 2021, he was not the same player they had drafted. Some of it has been a philosophical change, some being an off-ball linebacker, and some has been his health. A very good starter, the reliability has been a question so that takes him down just a bit.
Individual Grade: B+
Round Two saw the Cowboys add to their offensive line, as the offseason left them a little thinner than they would have probably liked. They chose Connor Williams out of Texas with their next pick. Williams had a lot to like, but one of the knocks on him was his length. This would show up as the seasons went on in regard to holding penalties. The penalties allowed the Cowboys to feel that Williams was replaceable a few years later as he ended up in Miami with another pick that we will cover later.
Williams was a solid guard who did fill a huge hole that the Dallas Cowboys are still trying to find ways to fill the hole. While many feel that Williams needed to go it has become evident that they could have kept him and felt better at the position than they have in the last few years.
Yes, Tyler Smith is looking up, but they may need him at left tackle with Tyron Smith and his run of physical issues. Williams could have filled left guard, Tyler would have been left tackle, and they would not have felt the need to rely on Tyron staying healthy.
Williams didn’t look like the best pick but has looked better after the issues the Dallas Cowboys had on the line last year. While Williams has been moved to center, he is still a solid lineman and certainly worth the second-round pick. Penalties have been his issue, and while those certainly have hurt him, he is still a very solid starter and a good run-blocking lineman.
Individual Grade: C+
Round Three was finally where the Dallas Cowboys went with a wide receiver as they chose Michael Gallup out of Colorado State. With the Cowboys needing talent outside, many thought they would have chosen a wide receiver earlier, but at the time Gallup was seen as a bit of a steal at this point in the draft.
Gallup had a 1000-yard season in 2019 and his stock was up. However, an injury ridden 2021, followed by a lackluster 2022 has hurt his value overall. Granted, the Cowboys may have rushed him back due to the problems at wide receiver in 2022, however, outside of the 2019 season he has not quite lived up fully to where fans thought he would be.
Yes, the injury has hurt him, but the Dallas Cowboys did decide to re-sign him and keep him on the roster. The team obviously like a lot of what Gallup provides with his ability to catch on the sidelines and make some highlight-worthy plays.
The knock on Gallup has been consistency. He will show up for a game like week 15 in 2020, going for 121 yards and 2 TDs, but then also have a game like week 14 from 2021 where he had 3 catches for 32 yards.
Gallup has been a solid player for the Cowboys and while he may not fully be the “number two” guy in Dallas, he is part of their trio of starters. After a shaky 2022, there is a lot on expectations surrounding Gallup for the 2023 season. With the acquisition of Brandin Cooks in the offseason, there is some question to what role Gallup will play in this offense and where he will be in the ultimate hierarchy.
Individual Grade: B-
The Dallas Cowboys needed to add more to their pass rush and while they thought Taco Charlton would be the guy, the miss in the draft prior may have caused the Cowboys to add some insurance in the form of Armstrong out of Ka
nsas. Armstrong spent several years flashing some ability but did not really contribute until 2021. Up until that point he was mostly just a rotational guy who could spell someone for a few plays. 2021 allowed Armstrong to flash a little more and it led to a similar role in 2022 as a key rotational piece to fill in for series.
Armstrong is not much more than a very good depth piece, but that is not a bad thing. He plays hard and can add to the pass rush when either Micah Parsons or Demarcus Lawrence needs a rest. His tackles for a loss and pressures have increased, but his overall tackles and snap counts have stayed fairly flat. Armstrong is a good piece to have on the team and has looked better over the years.
Armstrong is exactly what you want out of a middle-round pick at the very least. He is a solid depth piece that can give you some starts without feeling the downgrade over the starter is so stark that you have a problem. While he may not be the best player on this list, his role may be the most consistent. If he can stay where he is, then he can be seen as a good pick at this point in the draft.
Individual Grade: A-
The Dallas Cowboys have loved tight ends for a while. With the retirement of Jason Witten, the Cowboys decided they needed to add more to the tight end room and selected Dalton Schultz out of BYU with their second fourth-round pick.
Schultz would eventually give the Cowboys a reason to let Blake Jarwin walk, only to see Schultz walk at the end of the 2022 season. While Schultz has rubbed many fans wrong by searching his name on Twitter and blocking anyone who said one bad thing about his play, he had a good 2021 season and was seen as the future of the position with the Cowboys.
What ended up happening, was Schultz ended up having a very mediocre 2022 and has been replaced by two rookies from the 2022 draft class; Peyton Hendershot and Jake Ferguson. A reliable starter, Schultz ended up being a safety valve for Dak Prescott, but as soon as the rookies showed they could be the same, the writing was on the wall for Schultz. The position of tight end has very few top-end guys, but Schultz was seen as part of the next tier after 2021.
With Schultz moving on and a down year in 2022, his grade does get hurt a little as the replacements seem to be as capable. We could look at this one again in a year or two after we know what those others provide, but as it stands heading into this season, his stock does take a bit of a hit.
If Schultz has a good season in Houston then perhaps it was usage in 2022 rather than him falling back to the mean.
Individual Grade: C+
With the Dallas Cowboys needing some depth at quarterback, the Cowboys decided they could find their backup in the fifth round by selecting Mike White out of South Florida. White was seen as the third quarterback and the thought behind him was that he would eventually develop into the backup to Dak Prescott.
What ended up happening is White never took the step the Cowboys wanted and he ended up in New York and then Miami as a journeyman. He ended up starting for the Jets, but has not been much more than a spot-duty backup.
White came in and showed some flashes as to why the Dallas Cowboys thought he would be their long-term backup. During the preseason games, there was some concern about ball safety. As the Cowboys decided to move on from White and head in a more veteran-specific route, White ended up a solid backup, albeit not one that would develop into a trustworthy starter. White still flashes at times, but a lack of scoring production has hurt him.
It is hard to grade an expected backup, but being that he ended up not becoming the player the dallas Cowboys thought he would be he will be graded as such. White hasn’t been an awful backup and playing for the Jets has not helped, but White may not be much better than any backup the Cowboys have had since White was here.
I think White still has a role as a backup in the league, but he just never ended up where the team wanted him.
Individual Grade: D
The Dallas Cowboys went back to the well at linebacker in the sixth round by selecting Chris Covington out of Indiana. Covington was seen as a depth piece for the linebacking corps with the hopes that his flashes at Indiana would develop into a key piece as a backup. What ended up happening was that Covington was out of the league in two years and only played in eight games, notching only three total tackles. There was some concern about him adjusting the NFL game, and in the end, the concerns proved true.
Covington was supposed to be a solid rotational piece for the Cowboys behind Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch. That did not happen and when the Cowboys switched staff, Covington was seen as replaceable. This was not a great pick by the Cowboys and probably fell into a category of them thinking highly of off-ball linebackers and a poor defensive scheme. When you add both of those things into a player who just couldn’t develop we see the result.
While the Cowboys have changed some of their thoughts about the position, I am not sure Covington would have a role in this version of the defense. Covington did end up on the Colts’ practice squad but was cut shortly afterward and has not been on a roster since 2020. There were better players on the board, and this was just a miss.
Individual Grade: F
One of the more productive depth pieces the Cowboys grabbed, Cedrick Wilson out of Boise State provided help at wide receiver. While Wilson was eventually seen as replaceable, there are many that would love to add Wilson back as a fourth wide receiver. Wilson had a good 2021 after Michael Gallup went down and the cost for his services ended up too high for the front office. In Miami, Wilson did not live up to the cost the Dolphins paid for him. Now, the Dolphins have been rumored to look for trades or hope that he becomes the player they signed.
In Dallas, Wilson was a solid depth piece and performed as well as you would want your fourth/fifth wide receiver to perform. The Dallas Cowboys saw the cost of Wilson and decided Noah Brown would give them enough production to feel Wilson leaving would be okay. I do think the Cowboys wish they had him in 2022, but not as in dire need in 2023 without injuries.
Wilson is a solid player and his 2021 may have helped his overall grade more than anything. He was a solid pick for the Dallas Cowboys and white he had one really good season, that season is enough to keep his grade up. Much of the grade has to do with his one good season and where he was picked. Fairly to Wilson he was what the Cowboys wanted but just played himself out of the price they were willing to pay.
Individual Grade: B+
The Cowboys under Jason Garrett relied heavily on keeping games close and using running backs in a more traditional style to the current era of the NFL. This caused the Cowboys to look for depth behind Ezekiel Elliott with Bo Scarbrough in the seventh round out of Alabama.
Scarbrough was supposed to be the complement to Elliott. Scarbrough never developed enough for the Cowboys and became a journeyman in the NFL before winning the USFL championship with Birmingham in 2022.
The Dallas Cowboys ended up going with two running backs the next year and while they did try to give Scarbrough some attempts at becoming a depth piece it was just never to be. He played decently in spot duty at times for Dallas and other teams, but his injuries caught up with him and the value of running back as a whole allowed the league to let him head to the USFL.
If Scarbrough had panned out it probably would have helped this draft class overall.
Individual Grade: F
The 2018 Dallas Cowboys draft was less spectacular and more about depth. Yes, there were some contributors, but overall the class lacked a lot of punch overall. Vander Esch, Williams, and Armstrong highlight the class with Wilson shortly behind them. If the Cowboys had hit on this class a little more then it is possible that Jason Garrett could have stayed a little longer. Instead, this class was a microcosm of the Garrett era overall, solid but unspectacular and a little conservative.
With the class starting with a linebacker, moving to the offensive line, then wide receiver, there may have been a little hindsight in looking at where the team is now in regard to those positions and where they could potentially have been. Had the coaching staff been turned over before this season I am not sure this class looks like this. This was the season that caused the front office to get Amari Cooper and was probably the beginning of the end for Jason Garrett.
The Dallas Cowboys have started moving away from the value of certain positions recently and while they still have some work to do, this draft was not the worst nor was it the best in recent memory. With so few players still on the roster, it is probably a class we will look back on as time goes on as a miss overall. If Vander Esch had stayed healthy this class may have been above average, but taking everything into account, the final grade is…
Final Grade: C