F
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys went off-script early, and it cost them a F.
by JJONESSUX ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 62 picks
· 18 steals
· 33 reaches
The tape said wait; the Cowboys did not. Tyreak Sapp went at slot 116, a good 158 picks before the board was ready.
Getting Neal where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class. The trade table is where this weekend went wrong. It is a win-now wager, and the future is the stake.
Bottom line, it will take a lot of luck to make this look better later.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get an anchor for the offensive line, reach and all. The biggest hole, addressed.
Fair-plus on James Pearce Jr., a quiet win that adds up over a draft. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
In the 30th pick they get a run-stuffing presence up front. A real need, handled.
A straight-up fair deal on Isaiah Bond at the 34th overall pick, value and slot in agreement. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They paid up for Dylan Fairchild at slot 41 when waiting would have done the job. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Circle this one: Nick Emmanwori at No. 44 is a fall that decides a draft. A minor itch, scratched.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Ashton Gillotte this early at the Round 2 slot. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
Tyleik Williams at the 50th pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Xavier Watts at No. 51 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the safety. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
They took Trey Amos at par in pick 54, which is nothing to complain about. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Jordan Burch well ahead of where he belonged. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
David Bailey at Round 2, Pick 30 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
They reached a country mile for Dani Dennis-Sutton at slot 65, and the board is aghast. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Andrew Mukuba slipping to the 81st overall pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Malachi Moore at No. 83 is the proof. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
Will Howard at the Round 3 slot is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It fills a real need, too.
Alfred Collins at the 87th overall pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Deone Walker in pick No. 88 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. The roster fit checks out.
David Walker at pick 90 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
Tez Johnson in Round 3, Pick 29 is fair value, right on his grade. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Jack Bech in slot 98 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A conviction pick on Luke Kandra at the 99th pick that the board grades a round light. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A clean, defensible pick in pick No. 102 with a little surplus value in Mason Taylor. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Maxwell Hairston is a better player than the Round 4 slot suggests; smart patience, rewarded. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
TreVeyon Henderson in pick 108 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A need, and now a little less of one.
Nicholas Singleton at slot 109 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Nazir Stackhouse in the 114th pick, miles early. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A big swing on Tyreak Sapp at the 116th overall pick, well ahead of any board in the building. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
They robbed the room for Deontae Lawson here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A wild overpay on Thor Griffith in Round 4, Pick 21, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Jaeden Roberts in No. 128 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Barrett Carter at slot 130 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Jaylin Noel at the 141st overall pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Oronde Gadsden II in pick No. 144. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Somehow Chris Paul Jr. was still sitting there in Round 5, Pick 9, and they pounced on premier linebacker value. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Steal is underselling it; Jay Higgins at pick 148 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Lathan Ransom at the 165th pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Taking Sonny Styles in the Round 5 slot is close to grand larceny; a safety that good had no business lasting this long. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Miles Frazier. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Value said wait; Seth McLaughlin in pick 168 says they were not listening. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A real head-scratcher, DJ Campbell in the 169th overall pick is miles ahead of his ranking. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Gabe Jacas in slot 170 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
No edge and no loss on Dont'e Thornton Jr. in the Round 5 slot; it is a wash and a sensible one. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They reached into another round for Kevin Jennings, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Cam Skattebo in Round 6, Pick 1 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A need, and now a little less of one.
They will replay Devin Neal at pick No. 178 for years; that is how good the value is. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They talked themselves into Jared Wilson at pick No. 189, and the board did not agree. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Clay Webb at No. 190 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They jumped the gun on Theo Wease Jr., taking him earlier than his grade liked. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Terrance Ferguson at pick 204 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. It fills a real need, too.
A real head-scratcher, Anthony Belton in Round 6, Pick 30 is miles ahead of his ranking. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
J.C. Davis at the 206th pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Garrett Dellinger. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Jasheen Davis at the 224th overall pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
Tyler Batty at pick 227 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
Akheem Mesidor in pick No. 231 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Micah Morris at Round 7, Pick 21 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They reached into another round for Elijhah Badger, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They barely believed it either: Jamon Dumas-Johnson still on the board at slot 248. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Mitchell Evans in the 249th pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Tim Smith in No. 254, miles early. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A big swing on Javontez Spraggins at the 256th overall pick, well ahead of any board in the building. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.