C-
Dallas Cowboys
The steal of the weekend belongs to the Cowboys and Branch: C-.
by wgarrison ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 29 picks
· 10 steals
· 8 reaches
The Cowboys did not reach, did not trade up, did not blink. They just waited, and Zachariah Branch fell into pick 136.
The cost of the Jamison-Travis reach is exactly the players who went right after him. The dealing is the wound this class cannot quite close.
The Mesidor pick is fine in a vacuum, less so with quarterback and running back still on the board. The quarterback spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at.
In the end, a coin-flip class: fine today, with a wide range of outcomes ahead.
Pick-by-Pick
Cashius Howell at pick 22 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
A surprising call. With quarterback and running back still to address, they spent slot 24 on Akheem Mesidor, an edge rusher they were not short of.
In the Round 1 slot they get a downhill thumper at linebacker. Exactly the need they had to hit.
They read the board right and Colton Hood was the payoff at the 39th pick. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Josiah Trotter at Round 3, Pick 6 is the proof. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Christen Miller at pick No. 89 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It fills a real need, too.
They barely believed it either: Dontay Corleone still on the board at the 92nd overall pick. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A quiet steal in No. 107: Malik Muhammad for less than the market said. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Darrell Jackson Jr. in slot 108 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They let Bud Clark come to them and pounced at the Round 4 slot. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
A conviction pick on Jack Endries at pick No. 112 that the board grades a round light. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They took Kaleb Proctor at par in No. 127, which is nothing to complain about. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Of all the spots to shop, they chose safety. Bishop Fitzgerald in pick 129 leaves quarterback and running back for later.
A reach for Dametrious Crownover in the 132nd pick; a little patience would have been rewarded. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Beau Stephens in Round 4, Pick 33, miles early. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
You do not let a wide receiver like Zachariah Branch reach the 136th overall pick and blink. They did not. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Steal is underselling it; Brenen Thompson at pick No. 138 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Taking Tacario Davis in Round 4, Pick 39 is close to grand larceny; a cornerback that good had no business lasting this long. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Keagen Trost at No. 152 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Bryce Boettcher in pick 154 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
By-the-book stuff, Kevin Coleman Jr. at the 158th overall pick squarely in line with his ranking. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They reached into another round for Josh Cameron, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A slide stopped in slot 162, with Skyler Gill-Howard worth more than the price. A need, and now a little less of one.
No edge and no loss on Zane Durant in the 170th pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. The roster fit checks out.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Bobby Jamison-Travis this early at pick No. 173. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Trey Moore at No. 174 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
A straight-up fair deal on Matt Gulbin at Round 5, Pick 37, value and slot in agreement. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
No drama and no debate, DJ Campbell went about where he belonged in the 180th pick. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Jimmy Rolder in the Round 7 slot is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.