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When we looked at the 2021 NFL draft order last week, we saw that based on their record at the time, the Cowboys held the 11th overall pick.
A week and an embarrassing loss to Washington later, the Cowboys have moved up to the eighth overall spot, as the table below shows:
| Pick | Team | W | L | T | W-L% | SOS |
| 1 | NY Jets | 0 | 7 | 0 | .000 | .588 |
| 2 | NY Giants | 1 | 6 | 0 | .143 | .547 |
| 3 | Jacksonville | 1 | 6 | 0 | .143 | .565 |
| 4 | Atlanta | 1 | 6 | 0 | .143 | .569 |
| 5 | Houston (-> MIA) | 1 | 6 | 0 | .143 | .589 |
| 6 | Minnesota | 1 | 5 | 0 | .167 | .559 |
| 7 | Cincinnati | 1 | 5 | 1 | .214 | .534 |
| 8 | Dallas | 2 | 5 | 0 | .286 | .453 |
| 9 | Washington | 2 | 5 | 0 | .286 | .491 |
| 10 | LA Chargers | 2 | 4 | 0 | .333 | .452 |
But if you’ve watched the last two Cowboys games, you know that the Cowboys are not the eighth-worst team in the league, not by a long shot.
They are much worse.
- FiveThirtyEight.com‘s QB-adjusted team rankings show the Cowboys with 1.330 ELO points, the third-worst value ahead of only the Jaguars and Jets.
- ESPN’s Football Power Index also has the Cowboys ranked third-worst, just ahead of the Jaguars and Jets.
- ProFootballReference.com’s SRS metric has the Cowboy with the second-worst value behind the Jets.
There are probably many more sites and metrics that will ultimately all come to a similar conclusion: The Cowboys suck, regardless of whatever nonsense Stephen Jones is peddling.
Cowboys VP Stephen Jones: “This is gonna be a work in progress.” Mentioned injuries and players still getting their hands around a new defensive system.
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 26, 2020
“I do believe we have the right kind of guys. I know we have the right head (coach) for the job. These things just take time.”
Cowboys VP Stephen Jones on @1053thefan on if the team has progressed: “I just think you’re gonna take your lumps with a new staff.” Mentioned injuries and an unusual offseason with a new coaching staff. “I think we’re going in the right direction.”
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 26, 2020
Of course, he IS right if he believes the “right direction” is a Top 3 pick.
And that then begs an entirely new set of questions: What should the Cowboys do with such a pick? Jeff Cavanaugh has a pretty good suggestion (along with a few others):
Trade anyone you can that's on a one year deal right now. That'll give you 11-12 total picks next year. Use 8+ on defense.
— Jeff Cavanaugh (@JC1053) October 26, 2020
After '21 see if you can get out of Jaylon/Zeke deals.
If you have a top 2 pick take a QB (tag-trade Dak) or trade back for even more picks on D. https://t.co/JOERwg8W8U
Naturally, Cavanaugh’s suggestion makes way too much sense, so the Cowboys brain-trust won’t do anything even remotely close to that, especially since they believe they are going in the right direction.
What would you be looking to do with a Top 3 draft pick?