FRISCO, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys' offseason has been unpopular, filled with free agent losses such as Tyron Smith, Tony Pollard, Dorance Armstrong and Tyler Biadasz. The only addition has been veteran linebacker Eric Kendricks.
A fan base starved for its first Super Bowl in 28 years is as vocal with its feelings as it has ever been after expecting an "all-in" approach from owner Jerry Jones.
While free agency has not ended -- the Cowboys could still add valuable, if inexpensive, players -- the immediate focus is on the draft.
The Cowboys have seven picks, one selection in every round but the fourth, and there is pressure to hit on the draft because of their quiet free agency. The Cowboys need to (must?) find help on the offensive line, a full-time tailback and likely more linebacker, wide receiver, defensive line and cornerback help.
"For me, I'm always thinking, 'How can we do our part better to help us get us to where we want to go?'" vice president of player personnel Will McClay said from the scouting combine before free agency began. "That means finding the right players. Do we know the information? Is there another way to get to know them? Something that we've not thought about?
"There's a great amount of pressure, because for me and my group, the personnel side, it's not about the X's and the O's. It's the Jimmys and the Joes. We've got to execute the X's and the O's, but you've got to have the Jimmys and the Joes."
Cowboys stars like Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Micah Parsons, Zack Martin and DeMarcus Lawrence are well known, but it's the 24-person personnel staff with more than 200 years of combined experience -- led by McClay, college scouting director Mitch LaPoint and assistant college director Chris Vaughn -- that is the most important part of the franchise at the moment.
How do McClay and his team prepare the front office to make the best picks? Here is a look at the Cowboys' scouting process ahead of the draft in Detroit, April 25-27 (ESPN, ABC, ESPN App).
The stacking of the board started this week with scouts, coaches and front office personnel going through hours of meetings each day, to make sure they have the players ranked correctly. Or at least as close to correct as they see it.
In the fall, the Cowboys had about 280 draftable prospects. Through more research and medical reports, that number got down to about 200 players before the draft meetings began. The final draft board will have fewer players than that. And the players they really want will be anywhere from 80 to 100.
"Ours is a continuous study, like, 'Hey, let the all-star games, the combine and the pro days play out,'" LaPoint said. "We don't want a guy to go from the sixth round to the first round, but if a guy is in the sixth round and ends up in the back of the fourth because of all of this you did, the more games you watch, we're good with that."
While Jones is the ultimate decision-maker as owner and general manager, the process is collaborative.
"I tell our area guys that I want them to be the GM of their areas," McClay said.
An area scout is part talent evaluator, part reporter, having to know what to look for skill-wise from the player, but also which questions to ask, and maybe more importantly, who to ask, from head coaches to assistants to strength coaches to secretaries.
"You've got to know your source," Vaughn said. "I'm really, really close with a guy at a school. We worked together, but I know he's ultra ultra-positive, so everything he says, I'm always looking for something he says that makes me say, 'OK, I need to dig in on this,' because he's not going to tell me, even as close as we are."
By the end of the season, an area scout will watch at least nine games on a prospect. That will be followed by a look from the team's national scouts, Klein Kubiak and Ross Wuensche. Tweaks are made throughout the process, but as the draft meetings start, the area scout will make up a highlight reel for the draft meetings.
"We call it our final tapes," LaPoint said. "How does a player help us win? Show five plays in each category that's, 'This is what this guy does best.' Then show us three plays on two areas of concern.
"So if it's a receiver, 'Hey, he's got to get stronger to get off press or he drops contested balls.' Then we finish the tape with about nine plays of positives just to get, again, this is why we like the guy."
McClay believes the profile tapes give the scout more chances to study the player. If the scout can't find enough plays to push the positives, then maybe the grade should not be as high.
Another difference in Dallas' operation is how involved the area scouts are at the end of the process. Some teams prefer to keep the final draft talks tight among upper management. The Cowboys' scouts present the information in front of Jerry Jones, executive vice president Stephen Jones, coach Mike McCarthy and the coordinators.
"We don't want to have groupthink," Vaughn said.
It's difficult to argue with the Cowboys' draft success since 2014, when McClay began to head up the scouting department. They have selected 15 Pro Bowlers, starting with Martin (first round, 2014) through cornerback DaRon Bland (fifth round, 2022).
So far, the 2023 draft class is an unknown.
First-round pick Mazi Smith, a defensive tackle, and second-rounder Luke Schoonmaker, a tight end, did not play large roles, and both are coming off offseason shoulder surgery. Third-round linebacker DeMarvion Overshown missed the season with a knee injury. The Cowboys did not get any snaps from their fourth- (defensive lineman Viliami Fehoko Jr.) and sixth-rounders (cornerback Eric Scott Jr.) last season, while sixth-round tackle Asim Richards and running back Deuce Vaughn, Chris' son, and seventh-round wide receiver Jalen Brooks saw only spot duty.
"When we talk about playing time or production of young guys, they are young guys, but the other part is when you have a team that's won 12 games and is a good team, it's harder for young guys to get playing time," McClay said. "If you've got your team that way, there's [good] people in front of them.
"It's the leap from the first to the second year that's most paramount. You want all your draft picks to contribute, but that's not the way it works all the time."
McCarthy often mentions the second-year jump that players make as critical to a team's success.
"I get what the [free agent] numbers say, but the reality of it is, from my experience, you've got to really develop from within," McCarthy said.
But given how the offseason has played out so far, the Class of 2024 must contribute immediately if the Cowboys are going to make the playoffs for a fourth straight season.
The 11-month scouting process is hitting its zenith. The scouting reports are mostly locked in after the college season and all-star games have been played. The scouting combine has come and gone, and pro days and personal workouts are close to being done. Last week, the Cowboys held their Dallas Day workouts for local prospects and used most of their 30 visits with national prospects.
The Cowboys feel they will be ready.
"I tell my wife this all the time: I literally could work 24 hours a day until the draft, and there's still stuff you could do," LaPoint said. "There's still more tape you could watch. But at some point, you've got to believe in what you see."