Did the Dallas Cowboys get better as a result of their NFL Draft haul? Maybe. Did they get better thanks to trades? Definitely. Does that get them up and over the hump as a Super Bowl contender? We note here that Dallas might have the sixth-best roster in football right now ... but that we said the same thing three months ago and three weeks ago as well.
How much deeper in talent is the depth chart? We make our very early depth chart projections here, offense first ... defense later.
Quarterback: Dak Prescott, Cooper Rush, Will Grier - The Cowboys were locked in on the idea of drafting a developmental QB, but that circumstance never really came around.
Still, said Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said, “It's a very healthy room.”
Running back: Tony Pollard, Ronald Jones, Malik Davis, Deuce Vaughn, Rico Dowdle, Hunter Luepke - Is that the right order? Davis and Vaughn will surely be given the chance to rise. Luepke is a UDFA fullback. Oh, and what about the recently-cut Ezekiel Elliott?
Said Cowboys owner Jerry Jones: “The ship hasn’t sailed there ... I haven’t ruled out (re-signing) Zeke.”
Wide receiver: CeeDee Lamb, Brandin Cooks, Michael Gallup, Jalen Tolbert, Simi Fehoko, KaVontae Turpin, Jalen Brooks - If Tolbert can play, this is a fine group.
Tight end: Jake Ferguson, Luke Schoonmaker, Peyton Hendershot, Sean McKeon - If Schoonmaker fails to step into a starting role, the use of a second-round pick on him will be a failure.
Offensive line: Zack Martin, Tyler Smith, Tyron Smith, Tyler Biadasz, Terence Steele, Chuma Edoga, Matt Waletzko, Asim Richards, Josh Ball, Matt Farniok - We've assembled these names in semi-priority order. O-line coach Mike Solari insists he generally believes in a "Best 5'' approach, and if that's true, it's an easy call: Tyron Smith at left tackle, Tyler Smith at left guard, Biadasz at center, Martin at right guard and Steele at right tackle.
But Dallas seems reluctant to move Tyler inside, and so that, along with some premium-pick controversy - Mazi Smith over O-lineman Matthew Bergeron in Round 1 and Schoonmaker over O-lineman O’Cyrus Torrence in Round 2 - is an issue that will linger for a while.
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