D+
Dallas Cowboys
A costly weekend of dealing drags the Cowboys to a D+.
by Preacher ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 18 picks
· 7 steals
· 5 reaches
You can fall in love with a player. You are not supposed to marry him in the wrong round. The Cowboys did exactly that with Anthony Belton in slot 170. A weekend that fought the value and lost, hence the D+.
On value alone, Carter makes the weekend a net positive. The dealing is the wound this class cannot quite close. Spending an early pick on edge rusher with quarterback open is the decision the grade keeps circling back to.
The quarterback spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even, and quarterback is still a hole.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 8 they get an anchor for the defensive front. A clean fit for the roster.
In the 13th pick they get a centerpiece for the ground game, outstanding value to boot. A real need, handled.
In pick 22 they get a three-down second-level presence at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
The board fumbled Nick Emmanwori all the way to the Round 2 slot, and they scooped it up. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Kyle Kennard in Round 2, Pick 22, miles early. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Tyler Booker at pick No. 55 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A clean, defensible pick in Round 3, Pick 5 with a little surplus value in Alfred Collins. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Danny Stutsman in the 81st pick is fair value, right on his grade. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A want over a need in the 86th overall pick: Antwaun Powell-Ryland adds an edge rusher while quarterback keeps waiting.
A reach for Cam Skattebo in pick No. 106; a little patience would have been rewarded. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A top-tier tight end at a bargain, Gunnar Helm in No. 109, plain and simple. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Daylen Everette at slot 118 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They will replay Tez Johnson at the Round 4 slot for years; that is how good the value is. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A linebacker of that caliber at pick 151 is the definition of value, full stop. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Nicholas Singleton in pick No. 160 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A premium they did not need to pay, Nazir Stackhouse a notch or two before his time. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Anthony Belton at pick 170 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A market-rate linebacker, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Jamon Dumas-Johnson. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.