C-
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys drew a line under the quarterback search with Sanders: C-.
by [email protected] ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 17 picks
· 17 steals
· 0 reaches
The value of the weekend has a name and a slot: Cam Ward, slot 153, roughly 146 picks past where he belonged. A weekend of give and take that grades a C-.
They have staked the next five years on Shedeur Sanders, which is the only story that really matters here. They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down.
The Cowboys indulged a want in Burch while a need in tight end stayed open. That tight end hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall.
Hit on Shedeur Sanders and the swing picks, and this ages a lot better than it grades today.
Pick-by-Pick
A tidy bit of business in No. 11, where Ashton Jeanty graded well above the range. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
In the 20th pick they get their quarterback of the future at a price that makes it sweeter. A clean fit for the roster.
The board fumbled Walter Nolen all the way to the 42nd pick, and they scooped it up. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Princely Umanmielen in pick No. 52 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
A want over a need in pick 87: Jordan Burch adds an edge rusher while tight end keeps waiting.
Bear Alexander in No. 88 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They barely believed it either: Kenneth Grant still on the board at the 120th overall pick. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Tyler Booker in Round 4, Pick 20 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Steal is underselling it; Cam Ward at the Round 5 slot is a heist with the alarm still ringing. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Circle this one: Wyatt Milum at slot 154 is a fall that decides a draft. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
You do not let a linebacker like Deontae Lawson reach Round 5, Pick 17 and blink. They did not. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A top-tier wide receiver at a bargain, Xavier Restrepo in the 161st pick, plain and simple. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They will replay Tre Harris at the 162nd overall pick for years; that is how good the value is. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
T.J. Sanders at pick No. 166 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Taking Jahdae Barron in No. 169 is close to grand larceny; a safety that good had no business lasting this long. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Jordan Hancock at the Round 5 slot is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Somehow Jason Marshall Jr. was still sitting there in pick 171, and they pounced on premier cornerback value. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.