B-
Dallas Cowboys
A sensible, unshowy class lands the Cowboys a B-.
by Davidssson ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 2 steals
· 5 reaches
The Cowboys clearly saw something nobody else did in Patrick Payton, taking him 77 picks ahead of his grade. The board is not convinced.
The Lance steal is the beam this whole class leans on. The cornerback hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
They left with wide receiver solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off. The trenches got the money picks, top to bottom.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but cornerback.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get an anchor for the offensive line. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In the 20th pick they get juice off the edge, a steep price for the projection. More want than need.
Nicholas Singleton at No. 92 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Bryce Lance in Round 4, Pick 12 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Bryce Boettcher this early at slot 152. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Louis Moore at pick 177. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
A real head-scratcher, Patrick Payton in the 180th pick is miles ahead of his ranking. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
They talked themselves into Fa'alili Fa'amoe at No. 218, and the board did not agree. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.