FRISCO, Texas – Every NFL draft season involves live footage from the situation rooms of all 32 teams, with team executives and scouts congratulating each other around the room after selecting their picks.
Are they crazy? Not every team can have a good draft, right? On Friday night, the Dallas Cowboys front office pulled back the curtain to provide insight into this phenomenon.
“Everybody puts together their own board, of course. Everybody’s going to feel good about the draft,” Cowboys COO and executive vice president Stephen Jones said after the end of the second day of the draft. 2024 NFL Draft. “The proof is going to be: Are they playing? Are they making the Pro Bowl? Are they All-Pros? Are you winning games? are you winning playoff games? That’s what it’s all about in summary.
“The reason everyone is patting themselves on the back is because they wrote their own board. We feel the same way. We feel very strongly about our board. I know 31 other people are very committed to their board. So it comes down to this: the proof will probably not even be in a year, it will take in two years, in three years to see how you really drafted.
There’s also the bias of feeling like the college player a team selects all of a sudden, as if he has a lot more potential after donning the colors of his new NFL team.
“When you start the draft, well, he still has Baylor on him, he still has Notre Dame on him, he still has Alabama on him, and no
only that, he’s one of 300. The second he’s yours, all of a sudden he gets prettier and better,” Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Friday night.
The hours and hours scouts spend traveling the country analyzing these college players to provide the best possible projections for their front office are also reflected in the jubilation in the war room during the draft.
“I have to say this, these scouts work really hard on this and they believe in these players,” Dallas Cowboys vice president of player personnel Will McClay said Friday night. “That’s their job and they’re supposed to bring that belief to make it manifest, you sell it and you watch it on tape and you get it. Yeah, we want to be excited. You get a new toy that you open .or whatever it is and you’re excited about it. You want to use it and we want to see how they fit into what we’re doing and help us win.
While there are no draft grades here, there are plenty of beliefs about the best value in each NFL team’s draft class. Two of CBS Sports’ top analysts and hosts of the “With The First Pick” podcast – Rick Spielman, who spent 16 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings (2006-2021), and Ryan Wilson, CBS Sports HQ NFL analyst – highlight their every team’s new favorite toy in the draft class.
Some are obvious, like the Chicago Bears choosing new franchise quarterback Caleb Williams first overall, while others reflect a greater appreciation of the value of where a solid prospect has been selected.
Rick Spielman (NFC)
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys: Kansas State OL Cooper Beebe (3rd round, 73rd overall)
Philadelphia Eagles: Clemson LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr. (5th round, 155 overall)
Washington Commanders: Kansas State TE Ben Sinnott (2nd round, 53rd overall)
New York Giants: Tyler Nubin, Minnesota S (2nd round, 47th overall)
NFC North
Minnesota Vikings: Dallas Turner, Alabama’s Edge Rusher (1st round, 17th overall)
Chicago Bear: USC QB Caleb Williams (1st round, 1st overall)
Green Bay Packers: Texas A&M LB Edgerrin Cooper (2nd round, 45th overall)
Detroit Lions: Boston College OL Christian Mahogany (6th round, 210th overall)
NFC South
Atlanta Falcons: Notre Dame LB JD Bertrand (5th round, 143rd overall)
New Orleans Saints: Northern Iowa DL Khristian Boyd (6th round, 199th overall)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Georgia S Tykee Smith (3rd round, 89th overall)
Carolina Panthers: Washington State CB Chau Smith-Wade (5th round, 157th overall)
NFC West
San Francisco 49ers: Arizona WR Jacob Cowing (4th round, 135th overall)
Los Angeles Rams: Michigan RB Blake Corum (3rd round, 83rd overall)
Arizona Cardinals: Texas Tech Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (4th round, 104th overall)
Seattle Seahawks: Auburn CB DJ James (6th round, 192nd overall)
Ryan Wilson (AFC)
AFC East
Dolphins: Colorado State DL Mohamed Kamara (5th round, 158th overall)
Patriots: Florida State TE Jaheim Bell (7th round, 231st overall)
Bills: Penn State CB Daequan Hardy (6th round, 219 overall)
Jets: Wisconsin RB Braelon Allen (4th round, 134th overall)
AFC North
Steelers: North Carolina State. Payton Wilson (3rd round, 98th overall)
Ravens: North Carolina WR Devontez Walker (4th round, 113th overall)
Browns: Ohio State DL Michael Hall Jr. (2nd round, 54th overall)
Bengals: Arizona TE Tanner McLachlan (6th round, 194th overall)
AFC South
Jaguars: Missouri OT Javon Foster (4th round, 114th overall)
Colts: Oregon State WR Anthony Gould (5th round, 142nd overall)
Texans: Georgia CB Kamari Lassiter (2nd round, 42nd overall)
Titans: Tulane WR Jha’Quan Jackson (6th round, 182nd overall)
AFC West
Raiders: Oregon IOL Jackson Powers-Johnson (2nd round, 44th overall)
Chiefs: Jaden Hicks, Washington State S (4th round, 133rd overall)
Broncos: Jonah Elliss, Utah rusher (3rd round, 76th overall)
Chargers: USC WR Brenden Rice (7th round, 225th overall)
