D-
Dallas Cowboys
Best value of the weekend goes to the Cowboys for Miller: D-.
by wgarrison ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 40 picks
· 14 steals
· 17 reaches
If confidence were a draft strategy, the Cowboys would have aced it. Nyjalik Kelly at Round 5, Pick 22 is 39 spots clear of where he belonged.
The trades bled value they could not afford to lose. That Miller pick is the receipt they will wave around later.
In short, the board sent warnings, and they will be hoping it was wrong.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 22 they get a coverage-and-run second-level piece. The biggest hole, addressed.
In pick No. 26 they get a downhill thumper at linebacker, and a steal at that. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In the 27th pick they get a three-down second-level presence, even if it was a touch early. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Value with a capital V on Dillon Thieneman in the Round 2 slot, a genuine coup. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Lee Hunter in No. 70 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
D'Angelo Ponds at the 82nd pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Jacob Rodriguez at Round 3, Pick 28 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They barely believed it either: Christen Miller still on the board at slot 96. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They reached into another round for Tyreak Sapp, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Kaleb Proctor at the 127th overall pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A need, and now a little less of one.
A straight-up fair deal on J.C. Davis at pick No. 133, value and slot in agreement. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
By-the-book stuff, Dametrious Crownover at pick 138 squarely in line with his ranking. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Beau Stephens at pick 139 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
You do not let a tight end like Joe Royer reach No. 149 and blink. They did not. It fills a real need, too.
Matt Gulbin at pick No. 152 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
CJ Daniels at Round 5, Pick 14 is money in the bank, a wide receiver taken below his worth. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
No edge and no loss on Kevin Coleman Jr. in the 158th overall pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A slide stopped in slot 159, with Skyler Gill-Howard worth more than the price. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Nyjalik Kelly in the Round 5 slot, miles early. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
Zane Durant at the 164th pick is a conviction pick that outran the value. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Kaleb Elarms-Orr in pick No. 166 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Louis Moore is a better player than the 173rd overall pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
They liked DJ Campbell enough to skip the value, taking him in slot 174. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Dae'Quan Wright at pick 177 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Bobby Jamison-Travis in No. 180 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A wild overpay on Jaren Kanak in Round 6, Pick 1, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A tidy little value on Josh Cameron in the Round 6 slot, a step better than break-even. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Keagen Trost slipping to the 196th pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They read the board right and Eric McAlister was the payoff at the Round 6 slot. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A market-rate cornerback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Jadon Canady. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Kaelon Black in slot 211 is fair value, right on his grade. The roster fit checks out.
A premium they did not need to pay, Diego Pavia a notch or two before his time. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Noah Whittington at pick 232. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They let Aiden Fisher come to them and pounced at No. 239. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A real head-scratcher, Caleb Douglas in the 241st pick is miles ahead of his ranking. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
J. Michael Sturdivant at Round 7, Pick 32 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Hykeem Williams. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A big swing on Fernando Carmona at No. 251, well ahead of any board in the building. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A reach on Riley Nowakowski in the 252nd pick; the board had better options right there. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They paid up for Josh Moten at the Round 7 slot when waiting would have done the job. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.