D+
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys got the worse of every deal, and it shows in the D+.
by wgarrison ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 29 picks
· 4 steals
· 14 reaches
The Cowboys did not so much draft Mikail Kamara as overpay for him, 43 picks clear of his grade. It sets an uneasy tone for the weekend. The board pushed back all weekend, and the D+ is the result.
The trade table is where this weekend went wrong. If one pick saves this weekend, it is Taaffe. They are betting the present roster is worth a lighter draft next spring.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 20th overall pick they get the heartbeat of the defense. The biggest hole, addressed.
Anthony Hill Jr. at the 27th pick is a conviction pick that outran the value. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Dillon Thieneman at pick 39 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the safety. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Value with a capital V on A.J. Haulcy in Round 3, Pick 2, a genuine coup. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
The board fumbled Michael Taaffe all the way to slot 92, and they scooped it up. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
The board had cheaper options than Jack Endries at pick No. 107, and it noticed. The roster fit checks out.
They reached a country mile for Jaishawn Barham at the Round 4 slot, and the board is aghast. A minor itch, scratched.
Mikail Kamara at pick No. 109 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Darrell Jackson Jr. in No. 111. A need, and now a little less of one.
A reach for Gracen Halton in pick 112; a little patience would have been rewarded. It fills a real need, too.
Kaleb Proctor at the 118th overall pick jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A quiet steal in slot 126: Markel Bell for less than the market said. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
J.C. Davis in Round 4, Pick 27 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They went early on Chris McClellan in the 131st pick, and the value did not follow. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They paid up for Dametrious Crownover at the 132nd pick when waiting would have done the job. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Malik Benson at the 133rd overall pick is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
CJ Daniels at the Round 4 slot is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Kevin Coleman Jr. in slot 139 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Mason Reiger in No. 140 is fair value, right on his grade. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
They took Kaytron Allen at par in pick No. 146, which is nothing to complain about. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
No drama and no debate, Tim Keenan III went about where he belonged in pick 149. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Beau Stephens in Round 5, Pick 12 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Matt Gulbin at No. 157 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Keagen Trost at Round 5, Pick 18 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They talked themselves into Bobby Jamison-Travis at the 189th pick, and the board did not agree. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They paid sticker price for Toriano Pride Jr. in the 199th overall pick, and that is fine. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Zavion Thomas at pick 218 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Good price on Jaren Kanak in slot 227, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A tidy little value on Diego Pavia in pick No. 238, a step better than break-even. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.