F
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys let James fall and pounced. Final grade: F.
by JJONESSUX ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 50 picks
· 46 steals
· 0 reaches
The Cowboys did not reach, did not trade up, did not blink. They just waited, and Jordan James fell into the Round 7 slot. A F, plain and simple.
The trade table is where this weekend went wrong. The bill for those future picks comes due whether the class hits or not.
The veteran additions, Theo Johnson chief among them, give the class a floor the rookies alone would not.
There is no spinning it; the board won this weekend going away.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 8 they get a plug-and-play piece up front. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Mason Graham at pick No. 14 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the interior defensive lineman. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
In slot 17 they get protection for the quarterback at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
In the 28th pick they get a potential shutdown corner at a price that makes it sweeter. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In No. 29 they get a cornerstone up front. The biggest hole, addressed.
Princely Umanmielen at the 33rd overall pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Somehow Abdul Carter was still sitting there in pick 35, and they pounced on premier edge rusher value. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
Taking Jahdae Barron in the Round 2 slot is close to grand larceny; a cornerback that good had no business lasting this long. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Circle this one: Shavon Revel Jr. at the 45th overall pick is a fall that decides a draft. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Nick Emmanwori in pick 52 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A minor need, but a need all the same.
A interior defensive lineman of that caliber at pick No. 65 is the definition of value, full stop. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Ashton Gillotte at the Round 3 slot. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
They will replay Tre Harris at Round 3, Pick 29 for years; that is how good the value is. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A top-tier running back at a bargain, Ashton Jeanty in slot 102, plain and simple. A need, and now a little less of one.
Cam Ward in No. 103 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
The board had Jack Bech higher than the 104th pick, and the wide receiver fell to them anyway. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They robbed the room for Walter Nolen here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Steal is underselling it; Dylan Fairchild at the 109th pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Armand Membou in Round 4, Pick 11 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Jake Majors at No. 124 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Josaiah Stewart at pick 125 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
They barely believed it either: Bradyn Swinson still on the board at the 131st overall pick. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
You do not let an edge rusher like Kyle Kennard reach pick No. 135 and blink. They did not. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
The board fumbled Tyler Baron all the way to slot 144, and they scooped it up. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
Jordan Burch at Round 5, Pick 7 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
A slide stopped in No. 151, with Jayden Higgins worth more than the price. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Jihaad Campbell at pick 166 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
You do not let a wide receiver like Xavier Restrepo reach the Round 5 slot and blink. They did not. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
TreVeyon Henderson in the 168th pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A interior defensive lineman of that caliber at pick No. 169 is the definition of value, full stop. The roster fit checks out.
They will replay Colston Loveland at slot 170 for years; that is how good the value is. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Circle this one: Gunnar Helm at the 172nd overall pick is a fall that decides a draft. It fills a real need, too.
Mason Taylor in the Round 5 slot is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Steal is underselling it; Malachi Moore at Round 5, Pick 36 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Taking DeMonte Capehart in No. 177 is close to grand larceny; an interior defensive lineman that good had no business lasting this long. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Kurtis Rourke in pick 181 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
The board fumbled Jaylin Noel all the way to the 184th overall pick, and they scooped it up. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Somehow Tez Johnson was still sitting there in slot 187, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Dont'e Thornton Jr. at pick No. 196 is the proof. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They robbed the room for T.J. Sanders here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It fills a real need, too.
They barely believed it either: Logan Brown still on the board at pick No. 199. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Theo Wease Jr. slipping to the 215th pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A top-tier interior defensive lineman at a bargain, Omarr Norman-Lott in pick 216, plain and simple. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Darien Porter at the Round 7 slot is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They robbed the room for Trey Amos here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Somehow Zy Alexander was still sitting there in the 220th overall pick, and they pounced on premier cornerback value. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Taking Lathan Ransom in slot 227 is close to grand larceny; a safety that good had no business lasting this long. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
The board fumbled Deontae Lawson all the way to Round 7, Pick 15, and they scooped it up. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
You do not let a running back like Jordan James reach slot 232 and blink. They did not. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Logan Jones in pick 250 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.