B
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys kept it disciplined and banked a B.
by cowboys22220 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 3 steals
· 1 reaches
The war room fell hard for VJ Payne, and it showed at the 152nd pick: 44 picks ahead of a board that had other ideas. They moved the roster forward and banked a B for it.
McAlister falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch. They will regret leaving quarterback for another day if the season turns on it. Wide receiver is handled and the depth chart looks a good deal healthier for it.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 12 they get a sideline-to-sideline linebacker. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In pick 20 they get a lockdown presence outside at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Mike Washington Jr. slid further than he should have, and the 92nd pick is lovely value for the running back. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A quiet steal in the 112th overall pick: Malik Muhammad for less than the market said. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
VJ Payne at the Round 5 slot is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
A clean, defensible pick in Round 5, Pick 37 with a little surplus value in Aamil Wagner. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
By-the-book stuff, Dae'Quan Wright at slot 180 squarely in line with his ranking. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They robbed the room for Eric McAlister here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.