D+
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys won the night they stopped Burnip from sliding. Grade: D+.
by CJAdkison ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 15 picks
· 13 steals
· 1 reaches
The best pick of the weekend was also the simplest. The Cowboys watched James Burnip slide 81 picks past his grade and did not hesitate.
They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down. Leaving cornerback unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall. Reaching for West left real value on the table behind him.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even, and cornerback is still a hole.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 26 they get protection for the quarterback at a price that makes it sweeter. Exactly the need they had to hit.
They barely believed it either: Malaki Starks still on the board at pick 37. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Nice patience on Jihaad Campbell, who had no business lasting to the 56th pick. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Circle this one: TreVeyon Henderson at No. 76 is a fall that decides a draft. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They will replay Gunnar Helm at the 107th overall pick for years; that is how good the value is. It fills a real need, too.
Jared Wilson slipping to pick No. 118 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
The board had Joshua Farmer higher than Round 4, Pick 31, and the interior defensive lineman fell to them anyway. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Quinshon Judkins in the Round 5 slot is a gift, value that borders on unfair. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A wide receiver of that caliber at slot 170 is the definition of value, full stop. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They robbed the room for Smael Mondon Jr. here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Tyler Cooper in No. 174 is fair value, right on his grade. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Robert Spears-Jennings at pick No. 190 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
CJ West at the 192nd pick jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. The roster fit checks out.
Kobe Hudson at Round 6, Pick 33 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
James Burnip at the 249th overall pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.