B+
Dallas Cowboys
Grand theft in the Round 3 slot: the Cowboys steal Ponds and grade out a B+.
by House ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 7 steals
· 0 reaches
The Cowboys ran the phones like sharks, prying loose value on deal after deal until the ledger was lopsided. The bottom line is a respectable B+.
Getting Ponds where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class. Leaving quarterback unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
Good work on the whole, with quarterback the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 18 they get a coverage-and-run second-level piece, outstanding value to boot. The biggest hole, addressed.
In Round 1, Pick 24 they get a three-down second-level presence. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Keith Abney II at the 49th pick is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Somehow D'Angelo Ponds was still sitting there in the 70th overall pick, and they pounced on premier cornerback value. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A tidy bit of business in pick No. 92, where Domonique Orange graded well above the range. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Bud Clark in pick 112 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, CJ Daniels at the Round 5 slot. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Kage Casey in slot 152 is fair value, right on his grade. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Bryce Boettcher at pick 177 is money in the bank, a linebacker taken below his worth. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Zane Durant in the 180th overall pick is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Harrison Wallace III is a better player than the 218th pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.