D
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys lost the trade table, and the D tells the story.
by Pastor ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 19 picks
· 5 steals
· 7 reaches
The Cowboys bet big and early on Will Lee III, 76 picks ahead of the board. Bold does not always mean right.
The trades bled value they could not afford to lose. The Williams pick reads as want over need, and the roster will feel it at quarterback and tight end.
That quarterback hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. Landing Hampton that late papers over a lot of smaller sins.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even, and quarterback is still a hole.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 12th overall pick they get a disruptive interior force. A real need, handled.
Abdul Carter at No. 19 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. A minor itch, scratched.
In the 22nd pick they get a downhill thumper at linebacker at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In Round 1, Pick 28 they get an enforcer at safety at a price that makes it sweeter. Need was not the driver here.
No edge and no loss on Tate Ratledge in the Round 2 slot; it is a wash and a sensible one. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Grey Zabel in pick No. 35 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.
You do not let a running back like Omarion Hampton reach slot 48 and blink. They did not. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They bypassed pressing needs at quarterback and tight end to take Mykel Williams, an edge rusher that was not the priority.
A straight-up fair deal on Deone Walker at pick 65, value and slot in agreement. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They zigged when the board said zag, taking Andrew Mukuba at safety with quarterback and tight end open.
Danny Stutsman in Round 3, Pick 21 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A big swing on Dontay Corleone at No. 86, well ahead of any board in the building. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Daylen Everette. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A conviction pick on Elic Ayomanor at the Round 3 slot that the board grades a round light. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Donovan Jackson at the 90th pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Antwaun Powell-Ryland at Round 4, Pick 25 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A tidy bit of business in pick No. 165, where Raheim Sanders graded well above the range. It fills a real need, too.
Will Lee III at pick 173 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A premium they did not need to pay, Shilo Sanders a notch or two before his time. Stacking talent where they were already deep.