A thorough assessment of a team’s draft can’t truly be reached for another three years or so. That said, with tighter rosters and larger rookie contracts, a successful draft must yield at least some immediate help. With that in mind, here’s a look at how NFC East teams fared over the weekend—both from a big-picture NFL standpoint as well as a fantasy perspective—taking into account how key needs were (or weren’t) addressed and the impact potential of the players acquired.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys opted for a quantity-over-quality approach, trading out of Day One completely and loading up with multiple selections in every round on the second day. Waiting until 68 players are off the board makes it difficult to find immediate help, but they did acquire some developmental pieces—and those who stick will likely contribute on special teams if not elsewhere. The Cowboys’ first selection, third-round LB Jason Williams, can play inside or outside, while fourth-rounders Victor Butler and Brandon Williams is converting from DE to OLB; sixth-rounder Stephen Hodge played safety at TCU but projects to ILB in the NFL. The secondary also added depth, including both University of Cincinnati cornerbacks DeAngelo Smith (Round 5) and Mike Mickens (Round 7) as well as S Mike Hamlin, who was expected to go much earlier than the fifth round in which the Cowboys grabbed him. All of the picks on the offensive side of the ball are developmental in nature—from third-round OT Robert Brewster, who at 6-4 and 325 may slide inside a la Leonard Davis; to fourth-round QB Stephen McGee, just the second quarterback the Cowboys have drafted in the past 15 years; to sixth-round TE John Phillips and seventh-round WR Manual Johnson.

Fantasy nugget: If any Dallas rookie is to make a splash this year it will most likely be K David Buehler. Not that there’s anything wrong with Nick Folk, as Buehler is more likely to be a kickoff specialist and brings a linebacker background to his coverage; there’s just nothing else here worth keeping an eye on.

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