B+
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys cashed the board's mistake on McAlister: B+.
by wilduno66 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 1 steals
· 4 reaches
Somewhere a general manager is explaining how Eric McAlister got past him. The Cowboys do not have to explain a thing at No. 218. No fireworks, but a solid B+.
Perkins Jr. has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through offensive lineman. Adding Drue Tranquill by trade rounds out the weekend beyond the rookies.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 20 they get a potential shutdown corner. The biggest hole, addressed.
In pick No. 29 they get a disruptor off the edge, even if it was a touch early. Need was not the driver here.
They jumped the gun on Darrell Jackson Jr., taking him earlier than his grade liked. The roster fit checks out.
Harold Perkins Jr. in pick 112 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They took Skyler Gill-Howard at par in the Round 5 slot, which is nothing to complain about. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A real head-scratcher, VJ Payne in the 177th overall pick is miles ahead of his ranking. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Taylen Green at the 180th pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
You do not let a wide receiver like Eric McAlister reach Round 7, Pick 2 and blink. They did not. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.