B
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys won the night they stopped Smith from sliding. Grade: B.
by cac ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 5 steals
· 3 reaches
The value of the weekend has a name and a slot: Brashard Smith, pick No. 248, roughly 148 picks past where he belonged.
They will need Griffith to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it. For all the activity, cornerback went untouched, which is hard to explain.
On the needs board they went 5 of 8, with wide receiver the one that mattered most.
A competent weekend that does not make headlines and does not need to.
Pick-by-Pick
Ashton Jeanty in No. 12 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Nick Emmanwori in slot 44 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Somehow Jihaad Campbell was still sitting there in Round 3, Pick 12, and they pounced on premier linebacker value. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Taking Quinshon Judkins in the 148th pick is close to grand larceny; a running back that good had no business lasting this long. A need, and now a little less of one.
Dont'e Thornton Jr. in the Round 5 slot is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, CJ West well ahead of where he belonged. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A tidy little value on Connor Colby in pick No. 173, a step better than break-even. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Thor Griffith. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Xavier Truss at Round 6, Pick 34 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A running back of that caliber at the 248th overall pick is the definition of value, full stop. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.