Thirty-one other rooms let TreVeyon Henderson slide, and the Cowboys were the ones holding the card at the Round 5 slot. Highway robbery. A D that will need time and luck to look better.
They handed away value on the phones that the picks cannot earn back. The McLaughlin reach is the anchor dragging on the value grade.
So much rides on Shedeur Sanders that the rest of the class almost grades on a curve behind him.
It is a steep hill from here, and the grade knows it.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.1
· Pick 1
· Shedeur Sanders
· QB
· rank 4
In Round 1, Pick 1 they get the arm they will build around at fair value.
R1.4
· Pick 4
· Tetairoa McMillan
· WR
· rank 5
In pick No. 4 they get a home-run threat at receiver at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
R1.6
· Pick 6
· Mason Graham
· DT
· rank 6
In the 6th overall pick they get a wrecking ball inside. A real need, handled.
R2.6
· Pick 38
· Omarion Hampton
· RB
· rank 18
Circle this one: Omarion Hampton at the 38th pick is a fall that decides a draft. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
R3.12
· Pick 76
· Jalon Walker
· LB
· rank 22
You do not let a linebacker like Jalon Walker reach No. 76 and blink. They did not. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
R3.37
· Pick 101
· Gunnar Helm
· TE
· rank 69
Gunnar Helm in the Round 3 slot is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
R4.3
· Pick 104
· Quinshon Judkins
· RB
· rank 72
Somehow Quinshon Judkins was still sitting there in pick No. 104, and they pounced on premier running back value. It fills a real need, too.
R4.25
· Pick 126
· Rylie Mills
· DL
· rank 129
They took Rylie Mills at par in slot 126, which is nothing to complain about. A need, and now a little less of one.
R5.3
· Pick 140
· Azareye'h Thomas
· CB
· rank 97
The board fumbled Azareye'h Thomas all the way to pick 140, and they scooped it up. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
R5.11
· Pick 148
· TreVeyon Henderson
· RB
· rank 60
TreVeyon Henderson at Round 5, Pick 11 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
R5.29
· Pick 166
· Jaeden Roberts
· OG
· rank 155
Jaeden Roberts in No. 166 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
R5.31
· Pick 168
· Danny Stutsman
· LB
· rank 84
They will replay Danny Stutsman at the 168th pick for years; that is how good the value is. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
R5.33
· Pick 170
· JJ Pegues
· DT
· rank 172
No drama and no debate, JJ Pegues went about where he belonged in the 170th overall pick. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
R5.36
· Pick 173
· Seth McLaughlin
· C
· rank 198
Seth McLaughlin at Round 5, Pick 36 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.