Are you concerned with how little this year's draft class is contributing? I realize it's still early and that DeMarvion Overshown would have been contributing significantly, but I still feel like this draft may have been a miss overall? – H. Melvin/Ocean City, NJ
Nick Eatman: While I'd like to say that it's too early to judge, because it really is, that's what we do here. We judge. And we do it from the start when the rookies are drafted that weekend and then after the first mini-camp and then during the OTAs and again at training camp and so on. So here we are after six games and this 2023 Cowboys draft class really isn't contributing at all. That's where we stand right now. If you go through the entire class top to bottom, there's not one guy that is making a real difference. Mazi Smith hasn't been a factor and the same goes for Luke Schoonmaker. After that, the injury to Overshown was unfortunate because it felt like he would make a difference. But then after that, most of the guys are barely even active on game day. Now, it's still too early to write them off. I've said it before - sometimes we are quick to think the draft class is going to be amazing and it fizzles out. Maybe this one will go the other way. But as we sit right now, it's not a big factor. But don't forget this part and oftentimes fans and media will overlook it. But the Cowboys were 12-5 two years in a row and picking near the bottom of the league. This is a talented roster already so it shouldn't be farfetched to think these late-round picks would have a hard time contributing. But the first two picks should be playing a little more than they are.
Kurt: Although it's way too early to pass any kind of judgement on the 2023 draft class, this is a question that a lot of fans have been asking. Would you like your first-round pick to have made a bigger impact by now? Your second-rounder? Of course. But that doesn't mean this draft is going to be a miss in the end. There are two things I think the Cowboys have going for them here. One, because they have solid depth overall, it was going to be hard for the draft's Day 3 guys to find opportunities to begin with. Their time will hopefully come. And though the learning curve for Mazi Smith has proven to be steeper than maybe hoped, that same depth is allowing him to develop at his own pace … and he is developing. Smith is steadily improving each week while playing a position that is never going to fill up the stat sheet. Sure, the offense could use more from Luke Schoonmaker, but he too doesn't have to carry the entire load with Jake Ferguson on hand. In addition, once Peyton Hendershot returns, that tight end depth may also take some pressure off Schoonmaker in his transition to the NFL game. And the second of those two things the Cowboys have going for them? Will McClay. He and his staff are some of the best talent evaluators in the business. Given his track record, he deserves the benefit of the doubt that there is more to come from this class than just what these first six games may or may not have shown.
