C+
Dallas Cowboys
Flashes of a plan, unevenly executed. Cowboys: C+.
by Kadyn ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 3 steals
· 5 reaches
Nobody else had Lee Hunter anywhere near slot 209. The Cowboys did, by 160 spots, and that gap is the whole story.
Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Mondon Jr.. They will regret leaving cornerback for another day if the season turns on it.
If Kaleb Johnson and a couple of the gambles land, hindsight will be kinder than this grade.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 13th overall pick they get a three-down runner, a steep price for the projection.
James Pearce Jr. at pick 44 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Smael Mondon Jr. at the Round 3 slot is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They talked themselves into Tory Horton at the 150th pick, and the board did not agree. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A slide stopped in slot 169, with Mykel Williams worth more than the price. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
Nothing to complain about; Connor Colby went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson in the Round 5 slot, miles early. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Value said wait; Tim Smith in slot 190 says they were not listening. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Lee Hunter this early at Round 6, Pick 34. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.