D+
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys finally solved quarterback, and it carried them to a D+.
by Boke ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 6 steals
· 4 reaches
The Cowboys clearly saw something nobody else did in Caden Curry, taking him 57 picks ahead of his grade. The board is not convinced. A D+ that will need time and luck to look better.
Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere. So much rides on Fernando Mendoza that the rest of the class almost grades on a curve behind him. The Trotter pick is the one they will point to when this weekend is judged.
The verdict is not kind, and fairly so; this class has a hill to climb.
Pick-by-Pick
Fernando Mendoza at No. 1 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
In the 12th overall pick they get a sideline-to-sideline linebacker at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In pick 28 they get a potential shutdown corner at a price that makes it sweeter. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
A straight-up fair deal on Emmanuel McNeil-Warren at pick No. 36, value and slot in agreement. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Lee Hunter at the 59th pick is the proof. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A quiet steal in Round 3, Pick 3: Eli Stowers for less than the market said. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A big swing on Caden Curry at slot 75, well ahead of any board in the building. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
They robbed the room for Jake Slaughter here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Josiah Trotter at the 92nd overall pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Ja'Kobi Lane in the 112th pick is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Mason Reiger at pick 113 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
Good price on Kaytron Allen in pick No. 152, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They jumped the gun on Ephesians Prysock, taking him earlier than his grade liked. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
This one needs a full-page explanation: VJ Payne in No. 180, miles early. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.