ESPN's Mel Kiper Gives Cowboys “C” for 2016 Draft

Kiper believes Dallas stretched on their second round pick of Jaylon Smith

The initial draft grades are in from ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. and, from where he’s standing, the Dallas Cowboys did not fare so well.

The Cowboys received a “C” for their draft, which started with the selection of Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott with the fourth overall pick and ended with the selection of Baylor basketball player turned tight end project, Rico Gathers—which Kiper actually called “a great coin-flip late”—in the sixth.

Kiper’s main quibble with the Cowboys’ draft was their selection of Jaylon Smith, who will not play until 2017 (if then), in the second round. It’s not that he dislikes Smith as a player, when healthy, but he believes the Cowboys could have traded back if they wanted the injured Notre Dame product.

We don't know what Jaylon Smith is going to be in two years,”  Kiper wrote, via the Dallas Morning News. “I thought that was high. Trade back a little bit if you're going to take Jaylon Smith. They could've. There were a lot of deals made in the second round. You could've gotten into the early to middle portion. They were at 34. They could've gotten down to 38 to 45 and probably still got him.”

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