B-
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys did the meat-and-potatoes work well: B-.
by LARAMS ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 6 steals
· 6 reaches
There was a run on nobody at that position, and the Cowboys started one anyway for Patrick Payton, 81 picks ahead of schedule. Nothing here to lose sleep over; call it a B-.
Getting Orange where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through cornerback.
The Cowboys clearly valued win-now help, adding bodies who have done it before.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but cornerback.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get the heartbeat of the defense, and a steal at that. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In pick No. 20 they get a three-down second-level presence at a price that makes it sweeter. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Gennings Dunker in the 49th overall pick is fair value, right on his grade. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Caden Curry at slot 70 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Somehow Domonique Orange was still sitting there in Round 3, Pick 28, and they pounced on premier interior defensive lineman value. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Jonah Coleman at No. 112. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Amare Thomas slid further than he should have, and pick No. 152 is lovely value for the wide receiver. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Patrick Payton at No. 177 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Nick Barrett this early at Round 5, Pick 40. It fills a real need, too.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and J'Mari Taylor at the 210th overall pick is the proof. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A big swing on Eric O'Neill at the 218th pick, well ahead of any board in the building. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
A reach for Fa'alili Fa'amoe in the Round 7 slot; a little patience would have been rewarded. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They liked Jack Kelly enough to skip the value, taking him in slot 256. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Diego Pavia in pick 257. It patches a soft spot without any drama.