F
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys jumped the board for Jones Jr. and paid for it: F.
by wgarrison ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 54 picks
· 12 steals
· 29 reaches
When the story of this class is written, it opens with Marvin Jones Jr. at slot 254, a reach of 82 spots that the board flatly disagrees with. The board sounded every alarm, and the F is the fallout.
Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere. They banked enough surplus on Lance to cover a lot of smaller sins.
They are betting the present roster is worth a lighter draft next spring.
Bottom line, it will take a lot of luck to make this look better later.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 12 they get a ballhawk on the outside at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In pick No. 26 they get a downhill thumper at linebacker. The biggest hole, addressed.
In slot 29 they get a weapon on the perimeter. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
They read the board right and Anthony Hill Jr. was the payoff at the 47th pick. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A conviction pick on Josiah Trotter at the Round 2 slot that the board grades a round light. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
By-the-book stuff, Jacob Rodriguez at pick 74 squarely in line with his ranking. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A quiet steal in No. 78: Dontay Corleone for less than the market said. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Darrell Jackson Jr. at pick 91 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Mike Washington Jr. in slot 92 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Keylan Rutledge this early at Round 3, Pick 30. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, J.C. Davis well ahead of where he belonged. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A real head-scratcher, Jack Endries in the Round 3 slot is miles ahead of his ranking. The roster fit checks out.
Bud Clark at pick No. 108 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Treydan Stukes at the 111th overall pick is money in the bank, a cornerback taken below his worth. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Gracen Halton at the 112th pick is a conviction pick that outran the value. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Kaleb Proctor in Round 4, Pick 13 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A need, and now a little less of one.
They barely believed it either: Bryce Lance still on the board at pick No. 120. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Nice patience on De'Zhaun Stribling, who had no business lasting to the Round 4 slot. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Dametrious Crownover at pick 127 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Beau Stephens in slot 132, miles early. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Value said wait; Matt Gulbin in No. 133 says they were not listening. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Kevin Coleman Jr. at the 135th overall pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They talked themselves into Keagen Trost at pick 136, and the board did not agree. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for DJ Campbell. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A reach for Mikail Kamara in Round 4, Pick 39; a little patience would have been rewarded. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Chris McClellan at the 146th overall pick is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They took Skyler Gill-Howard at par in slot 148, which is nothing to complain about. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
No drama and no debate, Tim Keenan III went about where he belonged in No. 149. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Albert Regis in the Round 5 slot is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. It fills a real need, too.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Jakobe Thomas at pick No. 154. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
A market-rate safety, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Louis Moore. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
They went early on Bryce Boettcher in pick 159, and the value did not follow. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They jumped the gun on Kaleb Elarms-Orr, taking him earlier than his grade liked. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A slide stopped in Round 5, Pick 22, with Kaytron Allen worth more than the price. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Zane Durant in the Round 5 slot is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. It fills a real need, too.
They reached a country mile for Bobby Jamison-Travis at the 165th pick, and the board is aghast. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Malik Benson in slot 166 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They paid a round early for Josh Cameron in the 168th overall pick, more than the board wanted. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A premium they did not need to pay, Dae'Quan Wright a notch or two before his time. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Taking Charles Demmings in the 172nd overall pick is close to grand larceny; a cornerback that good had no business lasting this long. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A big swing on VJ Payne at the Round 5 slot, well ahead of any board in the building. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Jadon Canady at slot 174 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Value with a capital V on Nate Boerkircher in No. 176, a genuine coup. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A wild overpay on Dalton Johnson in pick No. 177, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
Toriano Pride Jr. at Round 5, Pick 40 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They will replay Tanner Koziol at pick 182 for years; that is how good the value is. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They paid up for Jimmy Rolder at pick 210 when waiting would have done the job. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They liked Aiden Fisher enough to skip the value, taking him in Round 7, Pick 2. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Miles Kitselman in the Round 7 slot is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Robert Spears-Jennings in pick No. 233 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
Xavier Nwankpa in the 235th pick is fair value, right on his grade. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
Terion Stewart in the 236th overall pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A need, and now a little less of one.
Diego Pavia at No. 238 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Marvin Jones Jr. at slot 254 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.