A-
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys won the night they stopped Johnson from sliding. Grade: A-.
by Draft ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 21 picks
· 19 steals
· 0 reaches
When a board-topper like Tez Johnson slides to No. 174, you do not overthink it, and the Cowboys did not. This is how you run a draft, and the A- reflects it.
The phones were where this weekend was really won. Leaving tight end unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
The veteran additions, Joe Mixon chief among them, give the class a floor the rookies alone would not. The hoard sets up next April more than it helps this September.
In the end it comes back to Ashton Jeanty, and a haul good enough to build on right away.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 19 they get a featured back, outstanding value to boot. A clean fit for the roster.
In the 25th pick they get a weapon on the perimeter at a price that makes it sweeter. The biggest hole, addressed.
Fair-plus on Tyleik Williams, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. It fills a real need, too.
They did well to land Tre Harris in pick 53, just ahead of his grade. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Azareye'h Thomas is a better player than No. 76 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A cornerback of that caliber at the 97th overall pick is the definition of value, full stop. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Carson Schwesinger at pick No. 111 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Quinn Ewers in slot 114 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. The roster fit checks out.
Ozzy Trapilo at the 119th pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
You do not let a running back like Cam Skattebo reach the Round 4 slot and blink. They did not. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They robbed the room for Hollin Pierce here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Jeffrey Bassa at pick No. 172 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Somehow Tez Johnson was still sitting there in pick 174, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Taking Emery Jones Jr. in slot 179 is close to grand larceny; an offensive lineman that good had no business lasting this long. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Cobee Bryant at Round 6, Pick 12 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Steal is underselling it; Quincy Riley at the 193rd overall pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Circle this one: Pat Bryant at slot 211 is a fall that decides a draft. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Jaylen Reed in the 216th pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
The board fumbled Jonas Sanker all the way to pick No. 234, and they scooped it up. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
They will replay R.J. Mickens at No. 243 for years; that is how good the value is. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
A top-tier cornerback at a bargain, Alijah Huzzie in the 247th overall pick, plain and simple. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.