B
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys robbed the room for Howard. Final grade: B.
by Chuckjsb ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 7 steals
· 0 reaches
When a board-topper like Will Howard slides to the 172nd pick, you do not overthink it, and the Cowboys did not. Nothing here to lose sleep over; call it a B.
The tight end spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. On the needs board they went 7 of 8, with wide receiver the one that mattered most.
The skill positions did well by the weekend.
Good work on the whole, with tight end the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 12 they get a true top target at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Kaleb Johnson in No. 44 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Zy Alexander slipping to the 76th overall pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Steal is underselling it; Smael Mondon Jr. at the Round 5 slot is a heist with the alarm still ringing. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They barely believed it either: Jeffrey Bassa still on the board at slot 170. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Will Howard in pick No. 172 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Good price on Willie Lampkin in pick 174, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They read the board right and JJ Pegues was the payoff at the 190th pick. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
The board fumbled Jaylen Reed all the way to No. 211, and they scooped it up. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Ja'Quinden Jackson in pick No. 249 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.