D+
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys lost the trade table, and the D+ tells the story.
by JJONESSUX ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 38 picks
· 14 steals
· 21 reaches
The Cowboys clearly saw something nobody else did in Akheem Mesidor, taking him 113 picks ahead of his grade. The board is not convinced. The process wobbled, and the D+ is where it lands.
The Sanders steal is the beam this whole class leans on. The dealing is the wound this class cannot quite close.
They covered a lot of ground and still skipped cornerback, which is a strange place to end up. The Cowboys indulged a want in Moore while a need in cornerback stayed open.
Add it up and it is a weekend the front office will hope everyone forgets, cornerback very much included.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 19th pick they get a disruptor off the edge at fair value. Need was not the driver here.
Tyleik Williams in pick No. 44 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. The roster fit checks out.
A slide stopped in slot 87, with Andrew Mukuba worth more than the price. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Of all the spots to shop, they chose safety. Malachi Moore in the 88th overall pick leaves cornerback for later.
They liked Luke Kandra enough to skip the value, taking him in Round 3, Pick 34. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Nothing to complain about; Tez Johnson went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A big swing on Jaylin Noel at the 116th overall pick, well ahead of any board in the building. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A top-tier running back at a bargain, TreVeyon Henderson in pick No. 123, plain and simple. It fills a real need, too.
Circle this one: Mason Taylor at pick 125 is a fall that decides a draft. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
DeMonte Capehart at slot 148 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A wild overpay on Nazir Stackhouse in No. 159, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A reach for JJ Pegues in Round 5, Pick 24; a little patience would have been rewarded. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A real head-scratcher, Thor Griffith in the 163rd pick is miles ahead of his ranking. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Nicholas Singleton in the Round 5 slot is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A running back of that caliber at No. 170 is the definition of value, full stop. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
DJ Campbell at slot 171 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Chris Paul Jr. in the 172nd pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They will replay Jay Higgins at pick 175 for years; that is how good the value is. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Kyle McCord. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A conviction pick on Jared Wilson at the 189th overall pick that the board grades a round light. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Taking Lathan Ransom in Round 6, Pick 15 is close to grand larceny; a safety that good had no business lasting this long. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
Jasheen Davis at pick No. 195 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
They talked themselves into Akheem Mesidor at the 211th pick, and the board did not agree. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
They left a pile of value on the table to take J.C. Davis this early at the 214th overall pick. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Micah Morris at pick 215 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They reached into another round for Javontez Spraggins, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Raheim Sanders in pick No. 232 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A need, and now a little less of one.
They barely believed it either: Cam Skattebo still on the board at No. 236. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They reached a country mile for Jamaree Caldwell at Round 7, Pick 21, and the board is aghast. A need, and now a little less of one.
They jumped the gun on Oscar Delp, taking him earlier than his grade liked. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Mitchell Evans well ahead of where he belonged. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They robbed the room for Jack Kiser here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
The board fumbled Jaishawn Barham all the way to the 244th pick, and they scooped it up. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They paid a round early for Elijhah Badger in the Round 7 slot, more than the board wanted. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
This one needs a full-page explanation: John Campbell Jr. in pick 248, miles early. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Jimmy Horn Jr. in No. 249 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Value with a capital V on Shilo Sanders in pick No. 250, a genuine coup. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
Value said wait; J.J. Weaver in Round 7, Pick 38 says they were not listening. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.