D
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys bled value on every deal, hence the D.
by Pastor ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 21 picks
· 4 steals
· 10 reaches
Boards are made to be trusted, and the Cowboys shredded theirs for Anthony Belton. He came off 140 spots early, and the room will hear about it.
The trades bled value they could not afford to lose. Spending an early pick on edge rusher with quarterback and tight end open is the decision the grade keeps circling back to. A whole weekend of picks and quarterback is somehow still a want.
If one pick saves this weekend, it is Carter.
Add it up and it is a weekend the front office will hope everyone forgets, quarterback very much included.
Pick-by-Pick
Mason Graham in Round 1, Pick 12 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
In pick 14 they get a bell-cow for the offense, outstanding value to boot. A real need, handled.
Abdul Carter at slot 22 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Jalon Walker slid further than he should have, and the Round 2 slot is lovely value for the linebacker. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Hard to square with the roster. With positions of obvious need still on the board, Mykel Williams adds an edge rusher and leaves quarterback and tight end untouched.
They jumped the gun on Alfred Collins, taking him earlier than his grade liked. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Benjamin Morrison at the 53rd overall pick is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Jaeden Roberts at the 66th pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Andrew Mukuba at No. 74 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
They talked themselves into Blake Miller at the Round 3 slot, and the board did not agree. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A tidy little value on Danny Stutsman in pick 94, a step better than break-even. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A market-rate interior defensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Dontay Corleone. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
No drama and no debate, Luke Kandra went about where he belonged in slot 114. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Anthony Belton well ahead of where he belonged. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Raheim Sanders. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A straight-up fair deal on Lander Barton at Round 4, Pick 35, value and slot in agreement. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Savion Williams at pick No. 148 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Davison Igbinosun at pick 168 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Value said wait; Jamon Dumas-Johnson in No. 170 says they were not listening. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They went early on Connor Colby in the Round 5 slot, and the value did not follow. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A big swing on Thor Griffith at the 229th pick, well ahead of any board in the building. The roster fit checks out.