COWBOYS MOCK DRAFT GRADE D

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Dak traded to Raiders D

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Letter grade with a four-component score, written analysis, and a pick-by-pick breakdown for every selection in this saved mock.

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D

Dallas Cowboys

A franchise passer in Mendoza headlines a D weekend for the Cowboys.

by AnthonyA78 · 2026 NFL Draft · 10 picks · 3 steals · 1 reaches
Value B
Need B+
Trades F
Future B-

Somebody took the Cowboys to the cleaners. The deals they made bled real value, and the whole class wears it. A weekend that fought the value and lost, hence the D.

Everything downstream of Fernando Mendoza depends on Fernando Mendoza, and the building knows it. The running back hole is the one line item this class does not answer.

They will need Casey to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it. That is a tight end worth more than the slot they spent on him, plainly.

Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even, and running back is still a hole.

Pick-by-Pick

R1.1 · Pick 1 · Fernando Mendoza · QB · rank 4
In No. 1 they get a long-term answer under center. A real need, handled.
R1.12 · Pick 12 · Arvell Reese · LB · rank 7
In Round 1, Pick 12 they get a three-down second-level presence at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
R1.20 · Pick 20 · Sonny Styles · LB · rank 11
In the 20th pick they get a downhill thumper at linebacker at a price that makes it sweeter. Exactly the need they had to hit.
R2.4 · Pick 36 · Chris Johnson · CB · rank 33
A reasonable price with a little left over, Chris Johnson in the Round 2 slot. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
R3.28 · Pick 92 · Elijah Sarratt · WR · rank 77
A slide stopped in pick No. 92, with Elijah Sarratt worth more than the price. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
R4.12 · Pick 112 · Bud Clark · S · rank 105
A clean, defensible pick in the 112th overall pick with a little surplus value in Bud Clark. A minor itch, scratched.
R5.12 · Pick 152 · Kage Casey · OT · rank 161
Kage Casey at slot 152 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
R5.37 · Pick 177 · Marlin Klein · TE · rank 159
Marlin Klein in pick 177 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
R5.40 · Pick 180 · Matt Gulbin · C · rank 182
No edge and no loss on Matt Gulbin in the 180th overall pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
R7.2 · Pick 218 · Jadon Canady · CB · rank 221
Jadon Canady in slot 218 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
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