4 draft mistakes that continue to haunt the Cowboys in 2024

4. Almost the entire 2023 NFL Draft class

When you go into an NFL Draft almost exclusively looking to cross off positional needs one by one, you set yourself up for failure in a lot of ways.

Drafting for need isn't always a bad thing depending on the quality of the depth at each position group going into a particular draft class, and sometimes having limited free agent spending cash will force you into this type of strategy.

With that said, the Cowboys entered the 2023 NFL Draft looking to fill one need after the other, and it didn't work out for them. At least, not in year one.

The Cowboys' 2023 NFL Draft class featured two Michigan Wolverines back-to-back to kick things off -- DL Mazi Smith and TE Luke Schoonmaker -- and Cowboys fans were lamenting the team's decision to pass on Iowa TE Sam LaPorta almost the entire 2023 season. Not to mention, at the slot where the Cowboys drafted Schoonmaker, they could have landed Houston WR Tank Dell.

DeMarvion Overshown could still be a factor, but he missed his entire rookie season due to injury. The Cowboys picked Eric Scott Jr. just one slot after Puka Nacua went to the Los Angeles Rams in the 5th round.

Getting virtually no impact from a rookie class is not common in the NFL. The Cowboys have to be wondering where they went wrong in some of their assessments last year, or holding out hope that these players can truly take that step forward in year two. They desperately need them to. This is a Dallas roster that is facing a lot of loss in 2024 in free agency, and these young guys will have to prove that their rookie season was somewhat of a fluke to be chalked up to development.

More Cowboys analysis