D
Dallas Cowboys
Simpson is the plan now, and the Cowboys grade out a D.
by Boke ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 16 picks
· 4 steals
· 5 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. The process wobbled, and the D is where it lands.
So much rides on Ty Simpson that the rest of the class almost grades on a curve behind him. The trades bled value they could not afford to lose. Landing Golday that late papers over a lot of smaller sins.
A rough weekend that leaves the roster with more questions than answers.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 2nd pick they get a three-down second-level presence, though they paid up to get him. The biggest hole, addressed.
In the 10th overall pick they get a ballhawk on the outside. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In the Round 1 slot they get the arm they will build around, even if it was a touch early. A clean fit for the roster.
In No. 20 they get a home-run threat at receiver at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
No edge and no loss on Emmanuel McNeil-Warren in slot 33; it is a wash and a sensible one. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
A market-rate interior defensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Caleb Banks. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Caden Curry at pick 75 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Tyreak Sapp in Round 3, Pick 23, miles early. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
Somehow Jake Golday was still sitting there in pick No. 92, and they pounced on premier edge rusher value. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
No drama and no debate, Bud Clark went about where he belonged in the 103rd overall pick. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Nicholas Singleton in No. 112 is fair value, right on his grade. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Julian Neal in slot 132. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
By-the-book stuff, Jaeden Roberts at the 152nd pick squarely in line with his ranking. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Zxavian Harris at the Round 5 slot is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They talked themselves into Dallen Bentley at No. 180, and the board did not agree. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Value with a capital V on Eric McAlister in the 218th overall pick, a genuine coup. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.