B
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys won the night they stopped Mondon Jr. from sliding. Grade: B.
by Daunte61 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 13 picks
· 6 steals
· 5 reaches
You build a draft on nights like this. Smael Mondon Jr. had no business being available in the Round 6 slot, and the Cowboys did the only sane thing and turned in the card. Call it a sensible B, earned the boring way.
They are betting Campbell proves the room right and everyone else wrong. Leaving tight end unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall. The dealing nudged the ledger their way without much fuss.
The roster is better shaped than it was, with wide receiver chief among the fixes.
All told, a draft that does its job without fuss, and there is real value in that.
Pick-by-Pick
Somehow Omarion Hampton was still sitting there in Round 2, Pick 11, and they pounced on premier running back value. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Kenneth Grant in the 46th pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It fills a real need, too.
A straight-up fair deal on Jayden Higgins at pick No. 75, value and slot in agreement. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Nicholas Singleton. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
No drama and no debate, Charles Grant went about where he belonged in slot 84. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They reached into another round for Hollin Pierce, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Darien Porter in No. 100 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Jake Majors at the 113th overall pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Kurtis Rourke in pick No. 121 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Savion Williams at pick 127 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Dont'e Thornton Jr. in the Round 5 slot, miles early. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They left a pile of value on the table to take DJ Campbell this early at No. 168. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Taking Smael Mondon Jr. in Round 6, Pick 15 is close to grand larceny; a linebacker that good had no business lasting this long. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.