The Cowboys treated their own grade as gospel and everyone else's as noise, spending the 209th overall pick on KJ Jefferson a full 79 spots early.
Stutsman falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch. Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere. Whatever Cam Ward becomes, the front office has tied its fortunes to the answer.
The cornerback spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. Spending an early pick on safety with cornerback and tight end open is the decision the grade keeps circling back to.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even, and cornerback is still a hole.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.4
· Pick 4
· Cam Ward
· QB
· rank 8
In No. 4 they get a passer to set the clock by at fair value. A real need, handled.
R1.12
· Pick 12
· Tetairoa McMillan
· WR
· rank 5
In the Round 1 slot they get a home-run threat at receiver. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
R2.2
· Pick 34
· Donovan Jackson
· OT
· rank 84
A big swing on Donovan Jackson at pick No. 34, well ahead of any board in the building. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
R2.12
· Pick 44
· Nick Emmanwori
· S
· rank 16
The board fumbled Nick Emmanwori all the way to the 44th pick, and they scooped it up. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
R2.25
· Pick 57
· JT Tuimoloau
· DE-EDGE
· rank 56
No edge and no loss on JT Tuimoloau in pick 57; it is a wash and a sensible one. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
R3.1
· Pick 65
· Ajani Cornelius
· OT
· rank 103
They reached into another round for Ajani Cornelius, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
R3.12
· Pick 76
· Tez Johnson
· WR
· rank 93
Tez Johnson in the 76th overall pick is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
R3.13
· Pick 77
· Andrew Mukuba
· S
· rank 71
The eyebrow-raiser of the weekend. They went safety with Andrew Mukuba while clear needs at cornerback and tight end sat open.
R3.17
· Pick 81
· Omarr Norman-Lott
· DT
· rank 76
They did well to land Omarr Norman-Lott in No. 81, just ahead of his grade. A need, and now a little less of one.
R4.2
· Pick 103
· TreVeyon Henderson
· RB
· rank 60
TreVeyon Henderson in Round 4, Pick 2 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
R4.8
· Pick 109
· Barrett Carter
· LB
· rank 81
Barrett Carter at slot 109 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
R4.11
· Pick 112
· Emery Jones Jr.
· OT
· rank 170
This one needs a full-page explanation: Emery Jones Jr. in pick 112, miles early. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
R4.16
· Pick 117
· Elic Ayomanor
· WR
· rank 95
A top-tier wide receiver at a bargain, Elic Ayomanor in the 117th pick, plain and simple. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
R5.11
· Pick 148
· Danny Stutsman
· LB
· rank 85
Danny Stutsman at pick No. 148 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
R5.31
· Pick 168
· Cam Skattebo
· RB
· rank 110
A running back of that caliber at the Round 5 slot is the definition of value, full stop. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
R5.33
· Pick 170
· Tonka Hemingway
· DT
· rank 219
A wild overpay on Tonka Hemingway in pick No. 170, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
R5.36
· Pick 173
· Kobe King
· LB
· rank 123
They will replay Kobe King at the 173rd overall pick for years; that is how good the value is. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
R6.11
· Pick 186
· Ja'Quinden Jackson
· RB
· rank 154
Circle this one: Ja'Quinden Jackson at pick 186 is a fall that decides a draft. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
R6.34
· Pick 209
· KJ Jefferson
· QB
· rank 288
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for KJ Jefferson. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
R7.32
· Pick 248
· Jamaree Caldwell
· DL
· rank 280
They left a pile of value on the table to take Jamaree Caldwell this early at slot 248. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
