Cowboys Send Failed 2023 Draft Pick Packing in First Batch of Cuts

We are 24 hours away from the roster cutdown deadline when teams have to finalize their 53-man roster for the new season. Cutting down the team from 90 players to 53 means that many recent draft picks, veterans, and rookies will be hitting the waiver wire. This obviously includes the Dallas Cowboys as well, who just announced their first batch of roster cuts.

There is no one too surprising on this list except for one recent draft pick. Viliami Fehoko Jr, who was the fourth-round pick of the Cowboys in 2023, was among the first cuts before he could make his NFL debut.

NFL News: Cowboys Waive DE Viliami Fehoko Jr.

This decision further underlines how big of a disaster the 2023 NFL Draft class has been for Dallas. The Cowboys used their first four picks on Mazi Smith, Luke Schoonmaker, DeMarvion Overshown, and Fehoko in that draft. They weren't able to get anything they were hoping for from any of those picks yet.

Fehoko was arguably the biggest mistake out of that group. The fourth-round picks generally don't work out but at least they get out there and show flashes of what made them an NFL-caliber player in the first place. The former San Jose State star wasn't able to do that at all during his Cowboys tenure.

A part of this pick not working out is outside the control of either side. Fehoko was placed on the injured reserve with a knee injury in November before being activated in January.

The biggest reason for the failure is Jerry Jones & Co. Not only is there an obvious mistake in talent evaluation, but it was also clear that the Cowboys didn't need another pass rusher. There was no real path to playing time for Fehoko in the crowded defensive end rotation, so this outcome wasn't that difficult to foresee.

There will be more cuts between now and Tuesday's deadline and it wouldn't be shocking to see even more very recent draft busts getting waived.

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