The Cowboys' 2023 draft class looked promising, but as the years rolled on, it has become clear the franchise whiffed and badly.
Expecting the players a franchise drafts to be good is never a sure bet in the NFL, even first-round picks, and for the Dallas Cowboys, the 2023 NFL Draft will be looked back on as one of the franchise's worst.
At the time, many loved it.
Mazi Smith was taken in the first round, Luke Schoonmaker in the second round, followed by DeMarvion Overshown, Viliami Fehoko, Asim Richards, Eric Scott, Deuce Vaughn, and Jalen Brooks.
That group has not aged well.
CBS Sports' Pete Prisco graded the 2023 NFL draft class for each team, initially giving Dallas an "A" grade.
But now? With everything that has transpired, there's no second-guessing what Prisco's grade is going to be. Is there?
He's given it an F grade, and it's hard to argue.
"They took defensive tackle Mazi Smith with their first-round pick and he busted and was traded to the Jets," Prisco wrote. "Second-round tight end Luke Schoonmaker is a backup.
"Third-round linebacker DeMarvion Overshown was a big hit before he tore up his knee in 2024. He was back last year, but wasn't quite the same. He is still a starter. None of their remaining five picks is still on the roster."
Mazi never really got off the ground in Dallas, as the storyline of his weight when how ot best use him saw the defensive tackle be shipped off to the New York Jets.
Schoonmaker also hasn't hit the heights expected and is in a contract year, and I expect the Cowboys to allow him to move in free agency after this year.
What should Dallas have done differently?
Hindsight isn't always fair. But ...
*They surely wish Buffalo hadn't jumped one pick ahead of them to take tight end Dalton Kincaid.
*They debated on the clock, as we reported at the time, between Mazi and guard Matthew Bergeron, who was taken at No. 38 by Atlanta. Yes, Dallas would like a do-over there; Bergeron has been a full-time, full-career starter for the Falcons.
*It might be a retrospective stretch, but two other guys Dallas liked - TCU guard Steve Avila (to Rams at 36) and tight end Sam LaPorta (to Lions at 34) would've worked out better.
*It is not a stretch to say that they should've taken guard O'Cyrus Torrence over Schoonmaker at 58; Torrence went one pick later to Buffalo. (Yes, the Cowboys surely wish they could've simply had Buffalo's draft haul.)
*The Cowboys were targeting running back but the stars never aligned here. Texas A&M's De'Von Achane went to Miami a few picks ahead of Overshown. A host of other candidates (notably Chase Brown to the Bengals in Round 5) were picked one round ahead of where Dallas was hoping they'd go. ... so Dallas settled on the "cute'' selection of the diminutive Deuce Vaughn, the son of a member of the scouting department.
Some of this look-back stuff can manifest itself into unfair cherry-picking. But this much is inarguable: Dallas' insistence on over-valuing "position over player'' got them in trouble - and got them Mazi and Schoon.
Overshown looms as the only one who could "hit" from the draft class, as we have already seen the Pro Bowl potential. Albeit fleetingly due to injury.
The others in Fehoko, Richards, Scott, Vaughn, and Brooks never truly got liftoff at The Star and have faded into the distance.
So out of eight draft picks, just two remain on the roster, and only one - Overshown - seems to have the potential to be a big-time player for the Cowboys, which isn't a great look from Will McClay the scouting department.
Yes, most of the draft picks are a dart throw, even first-rounders, but to only hit on potentially one player from an entire class gets you an F grade.
And deservedly so.
