F
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys found their guy under center in Sanders: F.
by JJONESSUX ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 51 picks
· 47 steals
· 0 reaches
This is the pick they will still be bragging about in July: Darien Porter, the No. 81 name on the board, stolen at the Round 7 slot. The board sounded every alarm, and the F is the fallout.
The trade table is where this weekend went wrong. The whole projection now runs through Shedeur Sanders; hit there and everything else looks smarter.
They are betting the present roster is worth a lighter draft next spring.
In the end, a class that has to defy its grades just to matter.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 6 they get their quarterback of the future. A real need, handled.
In pick No. 12 they get a lockdown presence outside, outstanding value to boot. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In the 25th overall pick they get an anchor for the offensive line at a price that makes it sweeter. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In Round 1, Pick 28 they get a building block for the line at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
Somehow Princely Umanmielen was still sitting there in slot 34, and they pounced on premier edge rusher value. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Circle this one: Jahdae Barron at pick No. 35 is a fall that decides a draft. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Kenneth Grant in the 45th pick. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A safety of that caliber at No. 50 is the definition of value, full stop. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Tyler Warren slipping to pick 55 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Tre Harris in the Round 2 slot should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Malaki Starks at pick 61 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
Tate Ratledge in the 65th overall pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Tyleik Williams in the 69th pick is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. The roster fit checks out.
They barely believed it either: Ashton Jeanty still on the board at Round 3, Pick 8. A need, and now a little less of one.
Steal is underselling it; Isaiah Bond at slot 73 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
You do not let a quarterback like Cam Ward reach pick No. 74 and blink. They did not. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
The board had Armand Membou higher than No. 86, and the offensive lineman fell to them anyway. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
By-the-book stuff, Jack Bech at the Round 3 slot squarely in line with his ranking. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Josaiah Stewart at Round 4, Pick 1 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
They robbed the room for Ashton Gillotte here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
They will replay Walter Nolen at slot 105 for years; that is how good the value is. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Taking TreVeyon Henderson in pick No. 110 is close to grand larceny; a running back that good had no business lasting this long. It fills a real need, too.
They let Mason Taylor come to them and pounced at the 119th pick. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A top-tier offensive lineman at a bargain, Jake Majors in the Round 4 slot, plain and simple. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Tez Johnson is a better player than the 125th overall pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
The board fumbled Jihaad Campbell all the way to pick 126, and they scooped it up. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Chris Paul Jr. at pick 130 is money in the bank, a linebacker taken below his worth. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Dylan Fairchild in slot 136 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Jalon Walker at No. 139 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They paid sticker price for Jayden Higgins in the 145th overall pick, and that is fine. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Taking Nicholas Singleton in the Round 5 slot is close to grand larceny; a running back that good had no business lasting this long. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Zy Alexander at pick No. 154 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Malachi Moore at the 155th pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Xavier Restrepo at Round 5, Pick 29 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Circle this one: T.J. Sanders at the 173rd pick is a fall that decides a draft. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Colston Loveland in slot 191 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A top-tier interior defensive lineman at a bargain, DeMonte Capehart in the Round 6 slot, plain and simple. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
The board fumbled Kyle Kennard all the way to No. 209, and they scooped it up. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
Somehow Alfred Collins was still sitting there in Round 6, Pick 38, and they pounced on premier interior defensive lineman value. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Steal is underselling it; Jordan James at the 220th overall pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. The roster fit checks out.
They robbed the room for Logan Brown here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Logan Jones in pick No. 228 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
You do not let a cornerback like Trey Amos reach the Round 7 slot and blink. They did not. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They will replay Jonah Coleman at pick 233 for years; that is how good the value is. A need, and now a little less of one.
They barely believed it either: Phil Mafah still on the board at the 235th pick. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A interior defensive lineman of that caliber at the 238th overall pick is the definition of value, full stop. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Omarr Norman-Lott in No. 247 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They barely believed it either: Antwaun Powell-Ryland still on the board at pick No. 248. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
Circle this one: Bryce Foster at slot 249 is a fall that decides a draft. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Steal is underselling it; Simeon Barrow Jr. at Round 7, Pick 37 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
You do not let a cornerback like Darien Porter reach pick 254 and blink. They did not. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.