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Grade The Cowboys' Draft: A For Effort?

The good news: The Dallas Cowboys likely drafted the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year and a linebacker who will signal the end of the Bobby Carpenter era. The bad news: The Dallas Cowboys still don't have a play-making free safety or any depth along the offensive line. The Cowboys...
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The good news: The Dallas Cowboys likely drafted the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year and a linebacker who will signal the end of the Bobby Carpenter era.

The bad news: The Dallas Cowboys still don't have a play-making free safety or any depth along the offensive line.

The Cowboys picked only six players over the three-day NFL Draft, fewest in 10 years. After Dez Bryant and Penn State linebacker Sean Lee, they selected safety Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, Notre Dame offensive tackle Sam Young, Texas Tech cornerback Jamar Wall and defensive tackle Sean Lissemore.

Hard not to call the draft a success when the Cowboys (who began with picks No. 27 and 59) nabbed two players rated among the top 16 on their draft board.

And with Bryant, the Cowboys not only have a more talented team, but an arsenal of offensive weapons that rivals the group that won three of four Super Bowls in the 1990s. Granted, Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Irvin are Hall of Famers, but quarterback Tony Romo can now hand the football to Felix Jones, Tashard Choice and Marion Barber or throw it long to Miles Austin and Bryant or short to Williams and Jason Witten. So stockpiled is Dallas' lineup that receivers Patrick Crayton and Sam Hurd are seeking trades.

The Cowboys are a better team, with players who will make positive impacts right here, right now. But they failed to address their two most glaring needs.

Add it all up and I give Dallas' draft an A-minus. You?

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