F
Dallas Cowboys
The steal of the weekend belongs to the Cowboys and James: F.
by JJONESSUX ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 65 picks
· 48 steals
· 9 reaches
The rest of the league will want that one back. Jordan James tumbling to the Cowboys in pick 248 is a gift they did not have to think twice about.
They are betting Caldwell proves the room right and everyone else wrong. The dealing is the wound this class cannot quite close.
Spend now, pay later; the math only works if this class delivers. The Cowboys clearly valued win-now help, adding bodies who have done it before.
There is no spinning it; the board won this weekend going away.
Pick-by-Pick
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Abdul Carter in the Round 1 slot. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
In the 20th pick they get a blindside protector. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In No. 22 they get a bendy edge with upside, outstanding value to boot. Need was not the driver here.
Value with a capital V on Jahdae Barron in pick No. 23, a genuine coup. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
In Round 1, Pick 25 they get an enforcer at safety, and a steal at that. More want than need.
In slot 30 they get a ballhawk on the outside at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
A slide stopped in the 35th overall pick, with Jack Sawyer worth more than the price. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
A quiet steal in pick 37: Kenneth Grant for less than the market said. The roster fit checks out.
A reach on Tyleik Williams in Round 2, Pick 7; the board had better options right there. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They will replay Tre Harris at the Round 2 slot for years; that is how good the value is. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Matthew Golden in pick 50 lands just on the right side of the ledger. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
The board fumbled Isaiah Bond all the way to No. 54, and they scooped it up. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They read the board right and Tyler Warren was the payoff at slot 56. A need, and now a little less of one.
A tidy bit of business in the 57th overall pick, where Xavier Watts graded well above the range. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
Steal is underselling it; Cam Ward at the 58th pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It fills a real need, too.
Ashton Jeanty in pick No. 62 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Trey Amos at Round 3, Pick 12 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Fair-plus on Andrew Mukuba, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Somehow Ashton Gillotte was still sitting there in the Round 3 slot, and they pounced on premier edge rusher value. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
You do not let an offensive lineman like Tyler Booker reach slot 101 and blink. They did not. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They robbed the room for Tate Ratledge here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A top-tier linebacker at a bargain, Jalon Walker in the 107th overall pick, plain and simple. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Jihaad Campbell in No. 109 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Aireontae Ersery at the 112th pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Darien Porter at the 116th overall pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Circle this one: Malachi Moore at slot 118 is a fall that decides a draft. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
They barely believed it either: Jake Majors still on the board at Round 4, Pick 18. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
By-the-book stuff, Will Howard at pick 120 squarely in line with his ranking. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Jordan Burch at pick No. 122 is money in the bank, a edge rusher taken below his worth. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
David Bailey at No. 123 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
Josaiah Stewart in the Round 4 slot should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
No edge and no loss on Hayden Conner in the 134th pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Taking TreVeyon Henderson in the 136th overall pick is close to grand larceny; a running back that good had no business lasting this long. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A wide receiver of that caliber at pick 139 is the definition of value, full stop. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Steal is underselling it; Walter Nolen at the 140th pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
T.J. Sanders at the Round 5 slot is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They robbed the room for Alfred Collins here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Jack Bech at slot 153 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Colston Loveland in pick No. 163 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Miles Frazier in No. 165 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and David Walker at Round 5, Pick 31 is the proof. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
Value said wait; Tyreak Sapp in No. 174 says they were not listening. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
Taking Mason Taylor in pick 177 is close to grand larceny; a tight end that good had no business lasting this long. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Dont'e Thornton Jr. is a better player than slot 178 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They paid sticker price for CJ West in pick No. 182, and that is fine. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Jamaree Caldwell this early at the Round 6 slot. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A linebacker of that caliber at the 184th pick is the definition of value, full stop. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
The board fumbled Dylan Fairchild all the way to the 186th overall pick, and they scooped it up. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They will replay Jack Nelson at the 189th overall pick for years; that is how good the value is. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Circle this one: Logan Brown at pick No. 190 is a fall that decides a draft. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A top-tier interior defensive lineman at a bargain, DeMonte Capehart in the 193rd pick, plain and simple. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Seth McLaughlin in slot 196 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Garrett Dellinger at Round 6, Pick 27 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Somehow Kurtis Rourke was still sitting there in No. 206, and they pounced on premier quarterback value. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Smael Mondon Jr. in the Round 6 slot is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They barely believed it either: Jamon Dumas-Johnson still on the board at pick 219. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
You do not let a wide receiver like Jaylin Noel reach the 220th pick and blink. They did not. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Theo Wease Jr. at Round 7, Pick 6 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Devin Neal in pick No. 233 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They liked J.C. Davis enough to skip the value, taking him in slot 240. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They reached a country mile for Xavier Truss at the 242nd overall pick, and the board is aghast. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Micah Morris well ahead of where he belonged. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Jordan James at the Round 7 slot is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Steal is underselling it; Zy Alexander at No. 251 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They barely believed it either: Kyle Kennard still on the board at pick No. 254. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.