The Dallas Cowboys took a dagger to the center of the heart when the Carolina Panthers selected Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan with the No. 8 pick in the NFL Draft.
Many fans thought they would pivot to Texas wideout Matthew Golden. The two sides were very flirtacious throughout the draft process. Jerry Jones even FaceTime'd Golden's mom during his 30 visit with the Cowboys.
While Golden was available to Dallas at No. 12 overall, they selected Alabama guard Tyler Booker to bolster the offensive line. In what has been a very predictable draft in terms of the order that players have come off the board, Booker is comfortably the worst pick so far.
Cowboys questionably select Alabama G Tyler Booker 12th overall in NFL Draft
Booker was a late reported 30 visit with the Cowboys. His name started picking up steam over the last 72 hours. ESPN's Peter Schrager was the only draft analyst to mock Booker to Dallas. Seemingly every other mock draft projected the team to take McMillan or Golden.
Fans wanted to believe the Booker buzz was a smokescreen for McMillan/Golden or a potential trade-down, but ultimately Booker is not a surprising pick.
If you want the glass half-full approach, the interior of the offensive line is set for the foreseeable future. Tyler Smith is one of the best guards in the game and Cooper Beebe is well on his way to making a Pro Bowl at the center position.
In terms of value, though, Dallas definitely could have done better.
Dane Brugler of The Athletic has Booker as his top-ranked guard, but he's a player the Cowboys could have gotten in a potential trade back. Maybe they heard whispers that teams behind them were interested or wanted Georgia EDGE Mykel Williams, who went a pick earlier to the 49ers. Regardless, they would have been better off taking Golden or their top-ranked defender.
Booker would be a great pick if the front office addressed wide receiver and cornerback in free agency. Those were always bigger needs than guard and now fans are left wondering who will start opposite CeeDee Lamb and DaRon Bland in September.
Hard to blame them.