B-
Dallas Cowboys
A solid, sensible weekend for the Cowboys: B-.
by jzaNe1949 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 2 steals
· 4 reaches
There is conviction, and then there is this. The Cowboys took Patrick Payton a full 78 picks ahead of where the board had him, an overdraft steep enough that it colors the whole weekend. Good, not great, and the B- says as much.
For all the activity, cornerback went untouched, which is hard to explain. However the rest shakes out, Lance at that price is a win they earned.
Wide receiver was the priority and it is no longer a question, which is most of the job.
Good work on the whole, with cornerback the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Jeremiyah Love in the 12th pick. It fills a real need, too.
In Round 1, Pick 20 they get a premier pass rusher, though the board says they badly overpaid. More want than need.
Taurean York at No. 92 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Value with a capital V on Bryce Lance in pick No. 112, a genuine coup. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Nadame Tucker in slot 152, miles early. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
Ar'maj Reed-Adams at the Round 5 slot is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Patrick Payton at the 180th pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
Bobby Jamison-Travis at pick 218 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. The roster fit checks out.