Mel Kiper's re-grade of Cowboys draft

Last April, ESPN's Mel Kiper gave the Dallas Cowboys a C+ for their draft grade. After seeing the season play out, Kiper bumped them up to a B in his re-grade.

To paraphrase, Kiper liked what Travis Frederick did, even if he felt the Cowboys could have gotten him in the second round. Technically, that was just two picks later since they moved down to No. 31. And in the Cowboys' draft grades, Frederick was a second round pick because they had only 18 players with first-round grades. He was also a big fan of the Terrance Williams' pick in the third round.

He still has faith that second rounder Gavin Escobar will be a starter. As I wrote over the weekend, it will be the No. 1 job of new tight ends coach Mike Pope to make sure Escobar develops. Will he ever be a true on-the-line tight end? I'm not sure of that.

Kiper said J.J. Wilcox was not ready to start but has value. To me, it's a little disconcerting that the coaches would not insert Wilcox into the starting lineup late in the season for Jeff Heath, an undrafted free agent. Joseph Randle has the "upside of a No. 1 back," according to Kiper, which might be strong. I like Randle, but there's a lot to improve upon. Kiper didn't seem too impressed with DeVonte Holloman, but I would say he had his best game in the finale versus the Philadelphia Eagles.

If it were me, I would've kept the Cowboys at a C+ but there is one thing we do agree upon and Kiper hits it with his final sentence: "It's just still hard for me to believe a defensive lineman wasn't a part of the haul, given the age of that group