Dallas Cowboys Draft Grades: 2017 NFL Draft Yields Defensive Stars, Cowboys Take Risk On Jourdan Lewis
Dallas Cowboys draft grades have been pretty good during the 2017 NFL Draft. The Cowboys drafted one player in each of the first three rounds, taking advantage of what was left on the board to help improve the defense. Jerry Jones and his staff seem to have had a defined plan heading into the 2017 NFL Draft because the team only selected defensive players on the first two days. Though they only focused on one side of the ball so far, the Dallas Cowboys draft grades have been relatively good to this point.
A report by Sports Illustrated gave the Cowboys top marks for selecting Michigan defensive end Taco Charlton at the end of the first round. A lot of Cowboys fans expressed a bit of surprise on social media when the pick came in, but have quickly warmed up to Charlton. The surprise may have come from Charlton ranking among the better players in the draft class, but quite a few teams focused on getting offensive players early in the first round. That allowed the Cowboys to swoop in and get a difference-maker on defense later in the round.
The Dallas Cowboys draft grades continued to be impressive in the second round when the team selected Colorado cornerback Chidobe Awuzie with pick No. 60. With a definite need to improve the secondary, this was an easy selection to predict when Awuzie slipped all the way to the end of the round. Awuzie’s draft grade is listed below on a full list for the Cowboys this year. Despite finishing with one of the best records in the NFL last year, the team was still able to walk away from the 2017 NFL Draft with players who could be key to success next year.
Here’s an exclusive look at @TheSupremeTaco‘s first day at @thestarinfrisco.
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— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) April 29, 2017
Pete Prisco at CBS Sports also released a report as the draft took place, giving his own NFL draft grades. He graded Taco Charlton a bit lower, stating that he had seen flashes from the Michigan defensive end, but little else during his college career. Prisco was much more impressed with Colorado cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, who received one of the highest grades of the second-round selections. Prisco even stated that Awuzie was a “steal” at this point in the 2017 NFL Draft, as he should have been a player selected in the first round.
Prisco turned in an “incomplete” grade for Michigan cornerback Jourdan Lewis in the third round. Though he stated that there is a certain talent with Lewis, his off-field issues place a dark cloud over this pick. He has a pending trial for domestic violence that could cause him to miss time if the charges are carried out. This is the main reason why so many other teams passed on selecting Lewis, but the Cowboys clearly felt he was worth taking a risk on. How the summer plays out for Lewis will end up dictating whether or not Jerry Jones and his staff made the right decision.
Dallas Cowboys Draft Grades – 2017 NFL Draft (Sports Illustrated / CBS Sports)
No. 28 – Taco Charlton, DE, Michigan [A- / B-]
No. 60 – Chidobe Awuzie, CB, Colorado [A- / A]
No. 92 – Jourdan Lewis, CB, Michigan [B+ / INC]
Cowboys officials are confident of the character of third-round draft pick Jourdan Lewis.
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— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) April 29, 2017
The Cowboys have four additional picks that will take place on Day 3 of the 2017 NFL Draft. That includes pick No. 133, where the team could look to add even more depth on defense. Jerry Jones has already stated that he is very pleased with the selections from the first two days and the team is already looking extremely good on paper. While the Dallas Cowboys draft grades are only the opinions of football analysts to this point, it already seems to indicate that the team should go into summer camps with additional swagger.
[Featured Image by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images]
