B+
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys worked the phones like thieves and earned a B+.
by D.HAWK ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 5 steals
· 1 reaches
The Cowboys treated their own grade as gospel and everyone else's as noise, spending slot 112 on Max Llewellyn a full 37 spots early. Call it a sensible B+, earned the boring way.
Golday falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch. The phones were where this weekend was really won.
With quarterback, running back and other spots unsolved, spending premium capital on edge rusher is the choice that costs them. The quarterback spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at.
A competent weekend that does not make headlines and does not need to.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 18 they get a ballhawk on the outside at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In the Round 1 slot they get a green-dot type in the middle. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
No drama and no debate, A.J. Haulcy went about where he belonged in Round 2, Pick 17. A minor itch, scratched.
Somehow Jake Golday was still sitting there in No. 92, and they pounced on premier edge rusher value. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
They zigged when the board said zag, taking Max Llewellyn at edge rusher with quarterback, running back and other spots open.
A slide stopped in the 152nd overall pick, with CJ Daniels worth more than the price. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
The board had Aamil Wagner higher than the 177th pick, and the offensive lineman fell to them anyway. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Marlin Klein in Round 5, Pick 40. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
VJ Payne at the 196th overall pick is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the safety. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
Eric McAlister at slot 218 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.