A-
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys worked the phones like thieves and earned a A-.
by HR ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 4 steals
· 1 reaches
Nobody else had Dayon Hayes anywhere near slot 211. The Cowboys did, by 85 spots, and that gap is the whole story.
The phones were where this weekend was really won. Getting Rourke where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class.
Adding Adonai Mitchell by trade rounds out the weekend beyond the rookies.
It is a haul that will look even better come September.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 14 they get a true top target. Exactly the need they had to hit.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Omarion Hampton in the Round 2 slot. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
By-the-book stuff, Carson Schwesinger at pick No. 76 squarely in line with his ranking. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Good price on Jordan Phillips in slot 116, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. The roster fit checks out.
Somehow Billy Bowman Jr. was still sitting there in Round 5, Pick 11, and they pounced on premier safety value. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Nice patience on Tommi Hill, who had no business lasting to the 170th pick. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A quarterback of that caliber at the Round 5 slot is the definition of value, full stop. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A straight-up fair deal on Oronde Gadsden II at slot 174, value and slot in agreement. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Joshua Gray at pick 190 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Dayon Hayes in pick No. 211, miles early. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
John Williams in Round 7, Pick 31 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.