D+
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys lost the trade table, and the D+ tells the story.
by Daunte61 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 16 picks
· 6 steals
· 5 reaches
The Thor Griffith selection is the head-turner. The Cowboys reached 61 spots for him, and it will define how this weekend is remembered. Hard to defend, and the D+ reflects that.
They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down. They will regret leaving cornerback for another day if the season turns on it. The Winston Jr. pick is fine in a vacuum, less so with cornerback still on the board.
Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Slater. They are betting the present roster is worth a lighter draft next spring.
In the end, a class the front office will want to grow past quickly.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 12th pick they get a home-run threat at receiver. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In the Round 1 slot they get a featured back, even if it was a touch early. A clean fit for the roster.
Malaki Starks at No. 44 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
They let Demetrius Knight Jr. come to them and pounced at Round 3, Pick 12. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Jack Bech in the 84th overall pick is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They paid sticker price for Cam Skattebo in pick No. 99, and that is fine. The roster fit checks out.
Of all the spots to shop, they chose safety. Kevin Winston Jr. in slot 112 leaves cornerback for later.
No edge and no loss on Oronde Gadsden II in Round 4, Pick 37; it is a wash and a sensible one. It fills a real need, too.
They took Kurtis Rourke at par in pick 139, which is nothing to complain about. A need, and now a little less of one.
They paid up for Bhayshul Tuten at No. 150 when waiting would have done the job. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A conviction pick on Dont'e Thornton Jr. at the Round 5 slot that the board grades a round light. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They will replay Jackson Slater at pick No. 172 for years; that is how good the value is. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A straight-up fair deal on Chase Lundt at the 174th pick, value and slot in agreement. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A slide stopped in the 190th overall pick, with DJ Giddens worth more than the price. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Tonka Hemingway at slot 211 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Thor Griffith in pick 249 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.