D
Dallas Cowboys
Larceny in No. 249 lands the Cowboys a D, Giddens and all.
by daunte61 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 18 picks
· 9 steals
· 2 reaches
You build a draft on nights like this. DJ Giddens had no business being available in pick 249, and the Cowboys did the only sane thing and turned in the card. A weekend that fought the value and lost, hence the D.
They handed away value on the phones that the picks cannot earn back. If West pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about.
If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through tight end. Spend now, pay later; the math only works if this class delivers.
It is a steep hill from here, and the grade knows it.
Pick-by-Pick
They let Ashton Jeanty come to them and pounced at pick 12. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They did well to land Luther Burden III in slot 20, just ahead of his grade. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Taking Jalon Walker in pick No. 44 is close to grand larceny; a linebacker that good had no business lasting this long. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Alfred Collins in No. 76 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. The roster fit checks out.
A straight-up fair deal on Ozzy Trapilo at the Round 3 slot, value and slot in agreement. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Savion Williams at Round 3, Pick 35 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Charles Grant at the 112th overall pick. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
O'Donnell Fortune slipping to the 138th pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A clean, defensible pick in slot 139 with a little surplus value in Cody Simon. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Bhayshul Tuten at No. 150 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. A need, and now a little less of one.
A tidy bit of business in the Round 5 slot, where Tyler Shough graded well above the range. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Nothing to complain about; Ja'Quinden Jackson went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
The board had Vernon Broughton higher than Round 5, Pick 33, and the interior defensive lineman fell to them anyway. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A wild overpay on Addison West in pick No. 174, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Dont'e Thornton Jr. at the 189th overall pick is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the wide receiver. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Good price on JJ Pegues in pick 190, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Robert Spears-Jennings at pick 211 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
DJ Giddens at slot 249 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It fills a real need, too.