D+
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys let Marks fall into their laps, and walked away with a D+.
by CJAdkison ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 8 steals
· 3 reaches
The Donovan Smith pick is the one that will follow the Cowboys into the fall. They took him 36 spots ahead of his grade, and the board is not shy about saying so. It grades a D+, and the process earned it.
The Marks value carries more weight than any single miss elsewhere. Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere.
They covered a lot of ground and still skipped tight end, which is a strange place to end up.
A rough weekend that leaves the roster with more questions than answers.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 7 they get a long-term starter on the line. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In the 12th pick they get an island corner at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
Good price on Tyleik Williams in the 42nd overall pick, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Malaki Starks in slot 44 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
The board fumbled Isaiah Bond all the way to the 76th overall pick, and they scooped it up. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Quinshon Judkins slipping to the 80th pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Value with a capital V on Devin Neal in the Round 3 slot, a genuine coup. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Circle this one: Donovan Jackson at No. 104 is a fall that decides a draft. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
You do not let a linebacker like Barrett Carter reach slot 105 and blink. They did not. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A conviction pick on Cobee Bryant at pick 172 that the board grades a round light. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Somehow Kyren Lacy was still sitting there in Round 5, Pick 35, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They jumped the gun on Jordan Hancock, taking him earlier than his grade liked. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
Donovan Smith in slot 211 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Steal is underselling it; Woody Marks at pick No. 249 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A need, and now a little less of one.