B
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys won the night they stopped Johnson from sliding. Grade: B.
by PEDRO EL VAQUERO ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 5 steals
· 3 reaches
The value of the weekend has a name and a slot: Kaleb Johnson, slot 149, roughly 98 picks past where he belonged.
Reaching for Belton left real value on the table behind him. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped quarterback, which is a strange place to end up.
Nothing here to lose sleep over, and plenty to feel decent about.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 13th pick they get a run-stuffing presence up front at fair value. A clean fit for the roster.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Luther Burden III at Round 2, Pick 10 is the proof. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Value with a capital V on Kenneth Grant in No. 75, a genuine coup. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They barely believed it either: Kaleb Johnson still on the board at the Round 5 slot. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They talked themselves into Miles Frazier at pick 169, and the board did not agree. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Anthony Belton at slot 170 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A linebacker of that caliber at pick No. 171 is the definition of value, full stop. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Jordan Hancock in the 186th overall pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Azareye'h Thomas. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
