F
Dallas Cowboys
A weekend the Cowboys spent ahead of the board, for worse: F.
by JWC ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 20 picks
· 7 steals
· 6 reaches
The Barryn Sorrell pick is the one that will follow the Cowboys into the fall. They took him 125 spots ahead of his grade, and the board is not shy about saying so.
The dealing is the wound this class cannot quite close. Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Martinez. The imported veterans give this class a floor the draft picks could not on their own.
The bill for those future picks comes due whether the class hits or not.
There is no soft landing here; this class has to massively overperform just to matter.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get juice off the edge, even if it was a touch early. More want than need.
In slot 26 they get a wrecking ball inside. A clean fit for the roster.
In pick No. 31 they get a red-zone target to build around, outstanding value to boot. A real need, handled.
Steal is underselling it; Jalon Walker at the 39th pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They did well to land Kaleb Johnson in No. 44, just ahead of his grade. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Xavier Watts at the 66th overall pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
By-the-book stuff, Omarr Norman-Lott at slot 72 squarely in line with his ranking. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A big swing on Savion Williams at pick No. 76, well ahead of any board in the building. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They paid a round early for Jack Nelson in the 116th overall pick, more than the board wanted. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They will replay Riley Leonard at the Round 4 slot for years; that is how good the value is. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Jackson Slater at the 150th pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Dorian Strong in No. 172 is fair value, right on his grade. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Good price on Xavier Scott in Round 5, Pick 35, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Damien Martinez at pick 190 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A need, and now a little less of one.
JJ Pegues in Round 6, Pick 16 lands just on the right side of the ledger. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A slide stopped in pick 202, with Dont'e Thornton Jr. worth more than the price. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Barryn Sorrell well ahead of where he belonged. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
They talked themselves into Jaishawn Barham at the 204th pick, and the board did not agree. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Jaylen Reed in the 216th overall pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
They reached a country mile for DJ Campbell at slot 217, and the board is aghast. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.