F
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys overdrafted Howard and paid the price. Grade: F.
by JJONESSUX ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 46 picks
· 15 steals
· 21 reaches
The Cowboys put a flag in the ground for Will Howard, 120 picks before anyone else would have, and the value took the hit. The warnings were there, and the F is the bill.
Paul Jr. falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch. They handed away value on the phones that the picks cannot earn back. Spend now, pay later; the math only works if this class delivers.
There is no soft landing here; this class has to massively overperform just to matter.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 13 they get a weapon on the perimeter at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In pick 16 they get a press-man option on the boundary. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In the 22nd overall pick they get a cornerstone up front. The biggest hole, addressed.
In slot 30 they get an anchor for the defensive front at fair value. A real need, handled.
They let Nick Emmanwori come to them and pounced at Round 2, Pick 1. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Tate Ratledge at No. 37 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They paid a round early for Tyleik Williams in the Round 2 slot, more than the board wanted. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Ashton Gillotte at the 47th overall pick jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
JT Tuimoloau at pick 50 is a conviction pick that outran the value. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
They read the board right and Tyler Warren was the payoff at pick No. 61. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A quiet steal in Round 2, Pick 30: Xavier Watts for less than the market said. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
They barely believed it either: Jihaad Campbell still on the board at slot 70. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Deone Walker slipping to the 78th pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A reach for Tez Johnson in No. 82; a little patience would have been rewarded. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A straight-up fair deal on Jack Bech at the Round 3 slot, value and slot in agreement. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Jake Majors at the 101st overall pick is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Luke Kandra in the 107th pick is fair value, right on his grade. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Will Howard in pick No. 117 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Circle this one: TreVeyon Henderson at Round 4, Pick 22 is a fall that decides a draft. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They will replay Nicholas Singleton at No. 134 for years; that is how good the value is. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Fair-plus on Oronde Gadsden II, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They robbed the room for Lathan Ransom here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Thor Griffith in pick 170 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. The roster fit checks out.
Steal is underselling it; Cam Skattebo at pick No. 171 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It fills a real need, too.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Tim Smith in Round 6, Pick 8, miles early. A need, and now a little less of one.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Jamaree Caldwell this early at the 189th overall pick. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Jared Wilson at slot 197 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Chris Paul Jr. at the Round 6 slot is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Jay Higgins in No. 200 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Tyler Batty well ahead of where he belonged. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
A real head-scratcher, Akheem Mesidor in pick 206 is miles ahead of his ranking. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
Rod Moore at the 208th overall pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
Taking Jordan Hancock in slot 209 is close to grand larceny; a safety that good had no business lasting this long. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
Raheim Sanders in Round 6, Pick 38 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A need, and now a little less of one.
They did well to land Clay Webb in No. 214, just ahead of his grade. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Garrett Dellinger. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Elijhah Badger at the Round 7 slot is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They reached a country mile for J.C. Davis at pick No. 220, and the board is aghast. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A big swing on Micah Morris at the 221st overall pick, well ahead of any board in the building. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Javontez Spraggins at slot 230 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They reached into another round for Oscar Delp, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They talked themselves into Mitchell Evans at Round 7, Pick 22, and the board did not agree. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Jimmy Horn Jr. at No. 246 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Value said wait; Will Sheppard in the 248th pick says they were not listening. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
TJ Ferguson at pick 249 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A wild overpay on John Campbell Jr. in pick No. 254, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.