B
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys won the night they stopped Mondon Jr. from sliding. Grade: B.
by [email protected] ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 5 steals
· 4 reaches
Somewhere a general manager is explaining how Smael Mondon Jr. got past him. The Cowboys do not have to explain a thing at No. 173. More right than wrong, and a B to match.
If Parrish pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped quarterback, which is a strange place to end up. On the needs board they went 7 of 8, with wide receiver the one that mattered most.
Value over need was the throughline, for better and worse.
All told, a draft that does its job without fuss, and there is real value in that.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 12th overall pick they get a centerpiece for the ground game, and a steal at that. A clean fit for the roster.
Nick Emmanwori in the 44th pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A minor need, but a need all the same.
You do not let a linebacker like Jihaad Campbell reach Round 3, Pick 12 and blink. They did not. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They robbed the room for Danny Stutsman here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Jacob Parrish at slot 168 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They went early on Nazir Stackhouse in pick No. 170, and the value did not follow. A need, and now a little less of one.
A top-tier linebacker at a bargain, Smael Mondon Jr. in pick 173, plain and simple. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Terrance Ferguson in the Round 6 slot is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
By-the-book stuff, Seth McLaughlin at the 209th pick squarely in line with his ranking. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
De'Corian Clark at slot 248 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.