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The 2021 NFL Draft has come and gone and there are a lot of fans around Cowboys Nation who are a little unhappy with the Dallas Cowboys rookie draft class. Count The Athletic’s draft analyst and sportswriter Dane Brugler as one of those who were less than impressed with the Cowboys 11 draft picks.
Instead of handing out letter grades for the NFL Draft hauls, Brugler power-ranked each draft class from best to worst for all 32 teams. You have to be a subscriber to see his rankings in its entirety, but here is where the Cowboys ended up.
24. Dallas Cowboys
Favorite pick: Micah Parsons, LB, Penn State
Regardless of what they say publicly, the Cowboys hoped to draft a cornerback in the first round before they saw two top-level prospects go just before they came on the clock. Nonetheless, Parsons is one of the best talents in this draft class with his athletic traits, especially downhill attacking the pocket. I’m eager to see how new coordinator Dan Quinn plans to deploy his skills.
Day 3 pick who could surprise: Jabril Cox, LB, LSU
The Cowboys came close to spending pick No. 99 on Cox, but were still able to land him 16 picks later. With entrenched starters Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith, along with Parsons, it is a crowded linebacker depth chart in Dallas, but Cox’s coverage abilities will make him a match-up defender.
To see the Cowboys land so low in Brugler’s power-rankings reinforces the way many of us felt about their rookie draft class. From the Micah Parsons selection with the 12th overall pick in the first-round to the Matt Farniok pick at 238, there wasn’t a lot of rallying support for the Cowboys picks from very many fans.
Only time will tell how well these players will work out, but as things stand right now it’s difficult to get too excited about the Cowboys crop of rookies this year. There is the hope the team knows better than fans and media, however, it does seem as if they passed over some talented prospects and reached for others.
It’s going to be really interesting to see what the future has in mind for the Dallas Cowboys 2021 draft class. Fingers crossed that there are more hits than misses from this group. What do you think?