F
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys went off-script early, and it cost them a F.
by Jaybeast17 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 6 steals
· 1 reaches
Some picks age like wine; Roydell Williams at slot 2 will need to, sitting 344 spots clear of his grade. The warnings were there, and the F is the bill.
They banked enough surplus on Hurst to cover a lot of smaller sins. They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down. Spending an early pick on edge rusher with offensive lineman, linebacker and other spots open is the decision the grade keeps circling back to.
Leaving offensive lineman unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall. They are betting the present roster is worth a lighter draft next spring.
In the end, a class that has to defy its grades just to matter.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 2 they get a lead back with juice, a steep price for the projection.
In the 20th overall pick they get a bendy edge with upside, outstanding value to boot. More want than need.
Of all the spots to shop, they chose edge rusher. R Mason Thomas in pick No. 92 leaves offensive lineman, linebacker and other spots for later.
Emmett Johnson at Round 4, Pick 12 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Chris McClellan at the Round 5 slot. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Jaishawn Barham at No. 172 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
Circle this one: Ted Hurst at pick 177 is a fall that decides a draft. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
The board fumbled Will Lee III all the way to the Round 5 slot, and they scooped it up. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.