Dallas Cowboys 2026 Draft Picks & UDFA Thread

[RogtaDru]

#4 has outplayed his draft position. He may be one of the best, if not the best, 4th round picks in Cowboys history. He's a good QB but he's not a franchise QB that can carry the team and take you to the Big Game. It's really that simple.

He's going to cost this team over 70 million in cap space next year. We paid this scrub like a franchise QB that he's not. We didn't take the search for a franchise QB seriously. We've used draft capital on the Lances and the Miltons of the NFL and we can throw in Stephen McGee and others. We should always churn the position and challenge the scrub we have now but he keeps the stands and the bank account full. I understand it from a financial position but not from a football fan position. I just don't see player X or coach Y and claim we have a shot at the SB when I know where any shot starts....with the guy under center. Dallas media sucks ass.

Another aspect is the Cowboy Forbes trophies keep on going. And not in no small part to Jerry having lucked into an undrafted free agent in Romo and an overachieving 4th rounder in Dak at the most important position in football.

So Jerry feels no pressure to change with his annual profits soaring and his QB taking him to "Just good enough, or around the rim" heights to keep them cash registers ringing.

I personally can't imagine this scout team actually hitting on a franchise guy without it being like an obvious, no brainer top 3 or top 5 pick to be honest.

So yeah, I agree with all your saying but Dak has Jerry in a perpetual comfort zone that prolly still has 2 more years on it before Jerry even thinks about a change.
My opinion.

 

[dbair1967]

#4 has outplayed his draft position. He may be one of the best, if not the best, 4th round picks in Cowboys history. He's a good QB but he's not a franchise QB that can carry the team and take you to the Big Game. It's really that simple.

He's going to cost this team over 70 million in cap space next year. We paid this scrub like a franchise QB that he's not. We didn't take the search for a franchise QB seriously. We've used draft capital on the Lances and the Miltons of the NFL and we can throw in Stephen McGee and others. We should always churn the position and challenge the scrub we have now but he keeps the stands and the bank account full. I understand it from a financial position but not from a football fan position. I just don't see player X or coach Y and claim we have a shot at the SB when I know where any shot starts....with the guy under center. Dallas media sucks ass.

Agree, it's time to invest in the position. And not just the "hope we catch lightning in a bottle" investing either. We got incredibly lucky with Romo and Prescott but these are not the norm. Championship QB's. Since the merger, the QBs who make (and win) the most Super Bowls come in the 1st rd. We haven't had a 1st rd pick QB since Troy in 1989.

The 2027 draft is definitely the right time to dip in the 1st rd again. You probably have Prescott for another season and there's no pressure for the new guy to play year one, then he's ready to take over in 2028.

 

[dbair1967]

I personally can't imagine this scout team actually hitting on a franchise guy without it being like an obvious, no brainer top 3 or top 5 pick to be honest.

Don't agree on this.

I do think it would be great to get someone THAT early, but there could be quite a few drafted inside the 1st rd that are well worth it. The scouts here have done a pretty good job for the most part for the last 12-15 yrs. It's just they've spent zero real capital on the position.

 

[RogtaDru]

Don't agree on this.

I do think it would be great to get someone THAT early, but there could be quite a few drafted inside the 1st rd that are well worth it. The scouts here have done a pretty good job for the most part for the last 12-15 yrs. It's just they've spent zero real capital on the position.

You may be right about that but my real or implied emphasis was on Jerry's present comfort zone with Dak. It's a real thing. As you said no real draft capital/other real FA resources has been used towards the position.

My real time concern is a comparison using Jerry as decision maker of the Eagles, Rams or Broncos and considering ALL the circumstances surrounding their previous QBs.
Do you honestly think Jerry being Jerry would not still have Wentz, Goff and Wilson entrenched as his starter?

I'll go a step further and hindsight is 20/20, and I know 10 other teams missed him too, but could you ever picture Jerry investing a 1st rd pick on a QB after his current one had just won 11 games and been to the playoffs? (ie Alex Smith to Mahomes scenario) And the others had Goff going to a recent SB, Wentz had been a pre injury MVP candidate their Foles SB year and Wilsons storied Seahawk past...
Jerry keeps all of 'em.


So I'm basically saying as long as Jerry can get that 8 to 10 wins comfort zone out of the QB position he will remain comfortable riding that profit gravy train Dak has been conducting.
And it seems now he has recently even settled for a 7 win ceiling.

I dont think, barring injury, Jerry is even considering a new QB option bare minimum 2 years.
My opinion.

 

[dbair1967]

You may be right about that but my real or implied emphasis was on Jerry's present comfort zone with Dak. It's a real thing. As you said no real draft capital/other real FA resources has been used towards the position.

My real time concern is a comparison using Jerry as decision maker of the Eagles, Rams or Broncos and considering ALL the circumstances surrounding their previous QBs.
Do you honestly think Jerry being Jerry would not still have Wentz, Goff and Wilson entrenched as his starter?

I'll go a step further and hindsight is 20/20, and I know 10 other teams missed him too, but could you ever picture Jerry investing a 1st rd pick on a QB after his current one had just won 11 games and been to the playoffs? (ie Alex Smith to Mahomes scenario) And the others had Goff going to a recent SB, Wentz had been a pre injury MVP candidate their Foles SB year and Wilsons storied Seahawk past...
Jerry keeps all of 'em.


So I'm basically saying as long as Jerry can get that 8 to 10 wins comfort zone out of the QB position he will remain comfortable riding that profit gravy train Dak has been conducting.
And it seems now he has recently even settled for a 7 win ceiling.

I dont think, barring injury, Jerry is even considering a new QB option bare minimum 2 years.
My opinion.

I don't have much doubt this is how he's acted in the past, although everyone should also remember if Jones had HIS way we'd have drafted Jonny Manziel in 2014 and traded up to Paxton Lynch in 2016. Both were awful players with tons of flaws, but Jones was WILLING to draft somebody early at the position those two yrs. The only reason we didnt end up with one of them was the rest of the FO said no (and in Manziel's case it was a resounding no according to the reports)

So I don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility we'll see them address QB early now with Prescott getting close to the end of another contract, getting up there in age and having not got us over the hump in a decade. I posted a few weeks ago that I think there's a real chance that the big elephant in the room within the Star is going to be so obvious after this year that they can't ignore it anymore. If the defense is average (or hopefully even better) and then we still don't do jackshit in the postseason they've run out of excuses for 4.

 

[RogtaDru]

I don't have much doubt this is how he's acted in the past, although everyone should also remember if Jones had HIS way we'd have drafted Jonny Manziel in 2014 and traded up to Paxton Lynch in 2016. Both were awful players with tons of flaws, but Jones was WILLING to draft somebody early at the position those two yrs. The only reason we didnt end up with one of them was the rest of the FO said no (and in Manziel's case it was a resounding no according to the reports)

So I don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility we'll see them address QB early now with Prescott getting close to the end of another contract, getting up there in age and having not got us over the hump in a decade. I posted a few weeks ago that I think there's a real chance that the big elephant in the room within the Star is going to be so obvious after this year that they can't ignore it anymore. If the defense is average (or hopefully even better) and then we still don't do jackshit in the postseason they've run out of excuses for 4.

Yep, hopefully you're right and Jerry's rule in the war room with that GodFather gavel has been lessened.
Although to see them proactively make a move with the current cap repercussions would literally shock me based on this front office's history.
I thought the dee was definitely good enough in that first 49er playoff loss in 2019 so there's already precedence in seeing how Dak fares when the chips are on the line and he actually does have a supporting defense in my opinion.
And there are just too many other examples of losses to above .500 teams to say that one 49er playoff loss that I mentioned is an outlier. He just isnt a big stage pressure performer at all. Heck, he totally struggles in the regular season against above .500 opponents.

I just don't see him doing the job required even with a supporting dee.
Now, will Jerry address this replacement need in advance?
My opinion Is no.

But I sure hope you're right.

 

[dbair1967]

I just don't see him doing the job required even with a supporting dee.
My opinion.

Unfortunately it's not really an opinion, it's kind of a fact. He hasn't gotten it done. He's basically had two good postseason games and one of those was against a team with a losing record that had checked out completely.

 

[dbair1967]