B+
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys won the night they stopped James from sliding. Grade: B+.
by casey ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 13 picks
· 9 steals
· 1 reaches
This is the pick they will still be bragging about in July: Jordan James, the No. 119 name on the board, stolen at slot 193. A sturdy weekend that grades out a B+.
They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast. Every board in the league had Jackson lower, and that gap is the story. They punted on offensive lineman, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
Nothing here to lose sleep over, and plenty to feel decent about.
Pick-by-Pick
A clean, defensible pick in slot 17 with a little surplus value in Matthew Golden. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Omarion Hampton at No. 44 is money in the bank, a running back taken below his worth. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
The board had Jihaad Campbell higher than the 49th pick, and the linebacker fell to them anyway. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A tidy bit of business in the 76th overall pick, where Azareye'h Thomas graded well above the range. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Circle this one: Denzel Burke at Round 4, Pick 17 is a fall that decides a draft. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
You do not let a quarterback like Riley Leonard reach the Round 5 slot and blink. They did not. The roster fit checks out.
By-the-book stuff, JJ Pegues at pick No. 171 squarely in line with his ranking. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They took Upton Stout at par in pick 174, which is nothing to complain about. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
A top-tier running back at a bargain, Jordan James in Round 6, Pick 17, plain and simple. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A reach on Cam Jackson in pick No. 204; the board had better options right there. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Somehow Pat Bryant was still sitting there in slot 211, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Karene Reid in the 239th overall pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Mac McWilliams slipping to the 247th pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.