B-
Dallas Cowboys
Brooks should have been long gone. The Cowboys pounced, and earned a B-.
by chadsatcher ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 11 steals
· 0 reaches
The Cowboys did not reach, did not trade up, did not blink. They just waited, and Tahj Brooks fell into No. 204. It does the job without flash, and the B- reflects it.
The trades bled value they could not afford to lose. They punted on quarterback, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest. They left with wide receiver solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off.
Solid rather than spectacular, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 19 they get a true top target, and a steal at that. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Omarion Hampton at No. 44 is the proof. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Deone Walker at the 76th overall pick is money in the bank, a interior defensive lineman taken below his worth. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A clean, defensible pick in Round 3, Pick 20 with a little surplus value in Barrett Carter. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Ozzy Trapilo at the 105th pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They will replay Gunnar Helm at the Round 5 slot for years; that is how good the value is. It fills a real need, too.
Mello Dotson in pick No. 171 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Cody Simon in slot 174 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Taking Tahj Brooks in pick No. 204 is close to grand larceny; a running back that good had no business lasting this long. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A interior defensive lineman of that caliber at slot 211 is the definition of value, full stop. A need, and now a little less of one.
The board fumbled KeAndre Lambert-Smith all the way to Round 7, Pick 23, and they scooped it up. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Somehow Akili Arnold was still sitting there in the Round 7 slot, and they pounced on premier safety value. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.