The Cowboys got a lot of heat about not making any offseason moves, but nobody ever praises the Dallas Cowboys for drafting exceptionally well. In recent memory, the Cowboys have slam-dunked their first-round picks like CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons, one who got paid and the other who will get paid by the organization. They’ve hit on Tyler Smith and Zack Martin. The team has also solidified their team on Day 2 and Day 3 of the Draft taking the likes of Trevon Diggs (2nd), Dak Prescott (4th), Jake Ferguson (4th), and DaRon Bland (5th).

But how does this rookie class measure up? Who could contribute their rookie season with hopes of getting Dallas to that next level?

Let’s get the draft picks who likely won’t contribute out of the way. The Cowboys had two seventh-round picks this year, defensive tackle Justin Rogers is already in Cincinnati while the Cowboys still have offensive lineman Nathan Thomas. Rogers, for obvious reasons, and Thomas due to the offensive line depth, will not contribute for Dallas.

6th-round pick Ryan Flournoy (WR)

Flournoy has an interesting depth chart ahead of him. CeeDee Lamb, Brandin Cooks, Jalen Tolbert, and Jalen Brooks are all ahead of Flournoy in the depth chart. Yet, we’ve seen Flournoy be a favorite target in training camp and has made some Dez Bryant esque catches. Will Flournoy be playing every down or a reliable fantasy football option? No, but if there’s 1-2 unforeseen injuries at receiver, it is nice to have the rookie from Southeast Missouri State on our team.

5th-round pick Caelen Carson (CB)

Carson is getting thrown into the fire to start his rookie year. With the Cowboys not re-signing Stephon Gilmore and DaRon Bland’s untimely injury, Carson will be one of the starting three corners alongside Jourdan Lewis and star Trevon Diggs, who himself is coming off a season-ending knee injury. Carson has played lights out in training camp, showing the Cowboys can draft the corner position very well. I have no doubt he can play at a high level in the NFL and people will quickly realize it’s a crowded secondary once DaRon Bland returns from injury. Once upset Gilmore wasn’t re-signed, I believe in Caelen Carson.

3rd-round pick Marist Liufau (LB)

The Cowboys lost Leighton Vander Esch this offseason, retiring due to neck injuries. Liufau is currently slated to be in a linebacker rotation of Eric Kendricks, DeMarvion Overshown, and Damone Clark. Liufau showed up in the preseason and has big shoes to fill with Vander Esch gone. Learning from Eric Kendricks, who is familiar with Mike Zimmer’s system, and his quickness displayed at Notre Dame, Liufau could make some big stops for the Cowboys in key moments of the game.

3rd-round pick Cooper Beebe (C)

Beebe is moving to center after playing guard at Kansas State, the former teammate of running back Deuce Vaughn. Beebe wasn’t slated to beat out Brock Hoffman for the starting center job so early, but he did. It wasn’t anything Hoffman didn’t do, but it’s everything Beebe did right. Dallas always drafts offensive linemen well and it’s no surprise they found a gem in Beebe. Could there be a learning curve? Sure, it’s still a new position for Beebe. But the confidence Dallas has in Beebe to go ahead and start Week 1 against the Browns tells me enough. The backyard practice snaps with mom helped Beebe land this job, and the Cowboys should be so excited!

2nd-round pick Marshawn Kneeland (DE)

After losing Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler to the rival Washington Commanders in free agency, to losing Sam Williams to a season-ending ACL in training camp, the Cowboys all of a sudden went from a strong pass rush to ~just~ Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence… until Kneeland reminded everyone why the Cowboys picked him 2nd-round. Kneeland was regarded to have the best training camp and preseason of every rookie on the team, and he’ll need to bring that into the rotation if you can ever convince Lawrence or Parsons to come off the field for a breath. He draws comparisons to teammate Demarcus Lawrence a lot, considering his 80.5 PFF grade in run defense this preseason is 3rd among his rookie class, and an overall 77.6 PFF grade is 6th among all rookie defensive ends.

1st-round pick Tyler Guyton (LT)

When rookies have a signature moment in the preseason that makes you go “WOW!” you can rest assured the team made the right selection. Dak Prescott had that in a preseason game against Miami his rookie year, and Tyler Guyton had his in the Raiders preseason game. Going up against a premier pass rusher Maxx Crosby, from the very first play, Guyton manhandled Crosby and had Crosby backpedaling. The next time, Crosby lined up against the right tackle. Guyton’s dominance and physicality throughout preseason should give fans a sigh of relief heading into Cleveland Week 1.

Of this rookie class, for the Cowboys to still have 7 of their 8 draft picks, and for 6 of those 7 to contribute in some way this season, with 5 being starters or heavy in the rotation… that is immediate impact for the Cowboys – all at a reasonable price. Rather than spending money to retain the likes of Armstrong, Fowler, Tyler Biadasz, Stephon Gilmore and company, the Cowboys were able to replace them all in the Draft and re-sign CeeDee Lamb.

Let’s give Dallas a fair shake about this offseason. It might have turned out better than expected, and we’ll see what it looks like in the 2024 NFL season.