Dallas Cowboys 2020 Draft Recap + Grades

Today’s column will feature a rare non-basketball outing on Basketball Beeswax as contributor Alex Blaine analyzes the draft picks made by yacht captain Jerry Jones for the Dallas Cowboys. Blaine is the creator of popular NFL Instagram account @superlatenflnews which currently has over 25k followers. The focus of the article is due to the Basketball Beeswax headquarters being located in the heart of Dallas, Texas and Blaine’s personal preference. Enjoy.

With the 2020 NFL Draft in the books, it’s time we take a look at how the Dallas Cowboys’ front office went about drafting this year.

Round 1, Pick 17:

CeeDee Lamb (WR, Oklahoma)

Going into the draft, picking a WR wasn’t the top priority for the Cowboys. In fact, it may have been one of the lowest needs for the team. However, when arguably the best receiver in the draft falls all the way to pick 17, it is hardly impossible to pass up selecting him. What made the pick even harder to pass up on was the fact that the Cowboys’ division rival Philadelphia Eagles had Lamb atop their draft board. With Howie Roseman, the Eagles general manager, unable to trade up in time, it was the perfect opportunity to steal the stud WR right from their hands.

Grade: A+

Round 2, Pick 51:

Trevon Diggs (CB, Alabama)

Opposite of the first pick that the Cowboys made, drafting a cornerback was one of the top priorities for them going into this year's draft. When the front office picked CeeDee Lamb in the first round, most people, along with Jerry Jones himself, thought that the Cowboys would likely miss out on a lot of the top defensive backs that were left in this year's draft class. In an attempt to snag one of the top defensive backs remaining in the draft, Jerry pushed to trade up multiple times, but was not successful. With the Cowboys now cemented at pick 51, the only thing they could do was hope. Miraculously, when the time came for the Cowboys to be on the clock, Trevon Diggs, the top cornerback on Dallas’ draft board, was still up for grabs. Diggs is an outstanding ball hawk with spectacular ball skills who racked up 3 interceptions in 2019, one of which was a pick six. With another homerun pick by the Cowboys front office, people were starting to become impressed, and it was only round 2.

Grade: A

Round 3, Pick 82

Neville Gallimore (DT, Oklahoma)

Although it wasn’t as good of a pick as the first two, drafting DT Neville Gallimore was a great move by Jerry Jones. With the addition of aging Gerald McCoy and Dontari Poe during this year's free agency, the Cowboys have put together a monstrous defensive line, and by selecting Gallimore, Dallas added young depth to an already scary front 7. In 2019, Gallimore racked up 18 tackles for loss as well as 8.5 sacks.

Grade: B+

Round 4, Pick 123

Reggie Robinson (CB, Tulsa)

In round 2, the Cowboys selected CB Trevon Diggs, so for next year, Dallas will be set at the cornerback position. However, both of Dallas’ starting cornerbacks in Chidobe Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis are set to be free agents in next year’s offseason. With that being said, this was a great pick for the Cowboys because although Robinson won’t be Dallas’ number one option at corner this year, he will have a chance to develop throughout the year, and when it comes time to for the front office to make the tough decision of having to resign both Awuzie and Lewis, they may not have to spend as much money on resigning both corners if Robinson turns out to be solid. Like Diggs, Reggie is a spectacular ball hawk, gathering 4 interceptions last year along with 17 pass deflections.

Grade: B

Round 4, Pick 146

Tyler Biadasz (C, Wisconsin)

With the unexpected retirement of starting center Travis Frederick last month, the position has become more of a need than it should have been. Although Biadasz isn’t a replacement for Frederick, he is a great depth guy who will fill in the role if need be. Biadasz was a three year starter who won the Rimington trophy in 2019.

Grade: B

Round 5, Pick 179

Bradlee Anae (DE, Utah)

To many peoples surprise, Anae was still on the board by the time the Cowboys were on the clock in the fifth round. Bradlee had 13 sacks and 14 tackles for loss in 2019, as well as 41 tackles. Anae is not expected to be a replacement for DE Robert Quinn who the Cowboys lost in free agency, but he is expected to be a part of the rotation with last year's rookies including Jalen Jelks, Joe Jackson, and Dorance Armstrong.

Grade: B-

Round 7, Pick 231

Ben DiNucci (QB, James Madison)

Newly hired head coach Mike McCarthey expressed interest in developing a young quarterback in his pre-draft news conference. Although most fans were hoping that the front office would select TE and son of legendary WR Randy Moss, Thaddeus Moss, picking a QB may not have been so bad. McCarthey has had success in the past with seventh round quarterbacks, one of which was Matt Flynn. Most people assume that picking DiNucci was automatically a bad decision due to the lesser known school that he went to. Like every other pick, you never know until that player takes the field.

Grade: C

Overall, the Cowboys may have had one of the best drafts we have seen in a long time. Of course, only time will tell, but acquiring a stud WR in CeeDee Lamb and two ball hawk corners in Trevon Diggs and Reggie Robinson gave a lot of hope to Cowboys fans for the upcoming seasons.