D+
Dallas Cowboys
A passer of the future in Sanders, and a D+, for the Cowboys.
by Pastor ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 17 picks
· 7 steals
· 3 reaches
There is conviction, and then there is this. The Cowboys took Shemar Turner a full 33 picks ahead of where the board had him, an overdraft steep enough that it colors the whole weekend. Too much went sideways, and the D+ is the honest tally.
They have staked the next five years on Shedeur Sanders, which is the only story that really matters here. They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down. Knight Jr. at that cost is the sort of edge that compounds over a roster.
In the end, a class the front office will want to grow past quickly.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 2 they get a passer to set the clock by. A clean fit for the roster.
In Round 1, Pick 12 they get a lead back with juice, and a steal at that. A real need, handled.
In the 25th overall pick they get a downhill thumper at linebacker at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
A tidy bit of business in pick 33, where Kenneth Grant graded well above the range. It fills a real need, too.
Tyler Warren in the Round 2 slot is fair value, right on his grade. The roster fit checks out.
Jalen Royals at the 58th pick jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
TreVeyon Henderson at the 66th overall pick is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the running back. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Tyler Booker at the 67th pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They liked Danny Stutsman enough to skip the value, taking him in the Round 3 slot. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A linebacker of that caliber at No. 81 is the definition of value, full stop. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A market-rate cornerback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Maxwell Hairston. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
No edge and no loss on Ajani Cornelius in Round 4, Pick 2; it is a wash and a sensible one. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They will replay Andrew Mukuba at pick No. 110 for years; that is how good the value is. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Circle this one: Demetrius Knight Jr. at pick 116 is a fall that decides a draft. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Good price on Cam Skattebo in the Round 4 slot, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Kevin Winston Jr. in the 126th pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Shemar Turner in slot 130, miles early. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.