A-
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys let Riley fall and pounced. Final grade: A-.
by Boom1 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 18 picks
· 11 steals
· 1 reaches
The board owed the Cowboys one, and it paid up: Quincy Riley, the No. 173 name on the board, sitting there at pick 249 like a gift left on the doorstep.
The phones were where this weekend was really won. The Phillips pick is the one the value grade keeps tripping over.
In the end it comes back to Ashton Jeanty, and a haul good enough to build on right away.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 18 they get a centerpiece for the ground game, outstanding value to boot.
In the 20th overall pick they get a go-to option on the outside at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
They did well to land Benjamin Morrison in No. 49, just ahead of his grade. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They paid sticker price for Alfred Collins in pick 59, and that is fine. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Aireontae Ersery at pick No. 76 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A straight-up fair deal on Donovan Jackson at the Round 3 slot, value and slot in agreement. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Carson Schwesinger in Round 3, Pick 25 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Jordan Phillips at the 91st pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
By-the-book stuff, Cody Simon at No. 127 squarely in line with his ranking. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Taking Kevin Winston Jr. in the Round 4 slot is close to grand larceny; a safety that good had no business lasting this long. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Somehow Cam Skattebo was still sitting there in pick No. 150, and they pounced on premier running back value. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Tez Johnson in slot 170 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
You do not let a quarterback like Dillon Gabriel reach the 172nd pick and blink. They did not. A need, and now a little less of one.
They will replay Mitchell Evans at Round 5, Pick 35 for years; that is how good the value is. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A offensive lineman of that caliber at pick 190 is the definition of value, full stop. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Circle this one: Cobee Bryant at the 210th overall pick is a fall that decides a draft. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Ajani Cornelius at No. 211 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.
Quincy Riley in pick No. 249 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.