They weren’t reaches according to the draft boards. They were misses!!!
Bobby Carpenter over Antonio Cromartie, Jonathan Joseph, Nick Mangold, and Tamba Hali.
Morris Claiborne over Luke Kuechly, Stephon Gilmore, Fletcher Cox, and Dont’a Hightower.
Taco Charlton over T.J. Watt, Ryan Ramczyk, Budda Baker, and Alvin Kamara.
The issue wasn’t whether they were reaches. The issue was the Cowboys repeatedly failed to identify the better NFL players.
I’m not a scout, but Morris Claiborne’s college tape never screamed “trade up and give away a second-round pick” to me. And most of the people I knew had T.J. Watt graded higher than Taco Charlton, regardless of scheme fit.
Hindsight is always 20/20, but those decisions still sting. 😬