D+
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys bet the future on Ward. The board says D+.
by Boke ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 20 picks
· 9 steals
· 7 reaches
The tape said wait; the Cowboys did not. Jay Toia went at Round 7, Pick 32, a good 60 picks before the board was ready. The board pushed back all weekend, and the D+ is the result.
That Skattebo pick is the receipt they will wave around later. The dealing is the wound this class cannot quite close. Cam Ward is the bet, and the class will be judged on how it pays off.
Spending an early pick on safety with cornerback and tight end open is the decision the grade keeps circling back to. That cornerback hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall.
A rough weekend that leaves the roster with more questions than answers.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 3 they get their guy under center for the next decade. A real need, handled.
In the 17th overall pick they get a matchup problem out wide at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Kenneth Grant in the Round 2 slot is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Nick Emmanwori at pick 44 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
They reached a country mile for Donovan Jackson at slot 49, and the board is aghast. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Ajani Cornelius in the 65th pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Jayden Higgins in No. 74 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They talked themselves into Jordan Burch at pick No. 76, and the board did not agree. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
They zigged when the board said zag, taking Xavier Watts at safety with cornerback and tight end open.
TreVeyon Henderson at pick 103 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Savion Williams in slot 109 is fair value, right on his grade. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A big swing on Emery Jones Jr. at the 112th pick, well ahead of any board in the building. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A real head-scratcher, Jaxson Dart in Round 4, Pick 16 is miles ahead of his ranking. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They barely believed it either: Smael Mondon Jr. still on the board at the 148th overall pick. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Nazir Stackhouse at pick 168 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
You do not let a running back like Cam Skattebo reach slot 170 and blink. They did not. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Steal is underselling it; Kobe King at Round 5, Pick 36 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They robbed the room for Raheim Sanders here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. The roster fit checks out.
A top-tier linebacker at a bargain, Jack Kiser in the Round 6 slot, plain and simple. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Jay Toia at the 248th overall pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.