F
Dallas Cowboys
The Randall reach set a tone the Cowboys could not shake: F.
by wgarrison ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 43 picks
· 8 steals
· 20 reaches
The Cowboys did not so much draft Adam Randall as overpay for him, 57 picks clear of his grade. It sets an uneasy tone for the weekend. The board sounded every alarm, and the F is the fallout.
They handed away value on the phones that the picks cannot earn back. It is not that Fitzgerald is a bad player; it is that the Cowboys had louder needs to answer first.
The quarterback spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. It is a win-now wager, and the future is the stake.
The Boerkircher value carries more weight than any single miss elsewhere.
There is no soft landing here: they fought the board and left quarterback open, and the grade is the bill.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 12 they get a ballhawk on the outside. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In Round 1, Pick 27 they get a green-dot type in the middle at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
In No. 28 they get an enforcer at safety at fair value. More want than need.
Nice patience on Anthony Hill Jr., who had no business lasting to the 49th overall pick. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Jacob Rodriguez in slot 92 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Fair-plus on Darrell Jackson Jr., a quiet win that adds up over a draft. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
J.C. Davis in the 111th overall pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They read the board right and Treydan Stukes was the payoff at the 112th pick. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Nothing to complain about; Jack Endries went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. The roster fit checks out.
A want over a need in No. 127: Bishop Fitzgerald adds a safety while quarterback keeps waiting.
Dametrious Crownover at the Round 4 slot is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Malik Benson in slot 133 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Kevin Coleman Jr. in pick 136 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Chris McClellan at pick No. 138 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A reach for Skyler Gill-Howard in Round 4, Pick 39; a little patience would have been rewarded. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
By-the-book stuff, Tim Keenan III at slot 152 squarely in line with his ranking. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Kaytron Allen in the Round 5 slot lands just on the right side of the ledger. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Kaleb Elarms-Orr at pick No. 154 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Value with a capital V on Charles Demmings in the 158th pick, a genuine coup. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A market-rate safety, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Louis Moore. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
No drama and no debate, Beau Stephens went about where he belonged in pick 161. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A real head-scratcher, Keagen Trost in the 162nd overall pick is miles ahead of his ranking. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Matt Gulbin at Round 5, Pick 24 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They talked themselves into DJ Campbell at the Round 5 slot, and the board did not agree. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Rayshaun Benny in the 166th overall pick. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Dae'Quan Wright at slot 167 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They reached into another round for Jadon Canady, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for VJ Payne. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
They reached a country mile for Dalton Johnson at the 173rd pick, and the board is aghast. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Josh Cameron in No. 174 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They took Zane Durant at par in the Round 5 slot, which is nothing to complain about. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Albert Regis at the 177th overall pick nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. A need, and now a little less of one.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Bobby Jamison-Travis this early at No. 180. It fills a real need, too.
The board fumbled Nate Boerkircher all the way to Round 6, Pick 1, and they scooped it up. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Red Murdock in pick 190 is fair value, right on his grade. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Jimmy Rolder at pick No. 191 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Aiden Fisher well ahead of where he belonged. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They liked Kaelon Black enough to skip the value, taking him in the 202nd pick. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Eric McAlister at No. 212 is the proof. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Value said wait; Adam Randall in the 218th pick says they were not listening. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Zavion Thomas at pick 223 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A big swing on Eli Heidenreich at the Round 7 slot, well ahead of any board in the building. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A slide stopped in Round 7, Pick 31, with Andre Fuller worth more than the price. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.