The Morning After - The '25 Cowboys Draft
It looks like Dallas did a great job, but with the admission that nobody knows just yet.
It was a long, long weekend, but I do believe I bring good news.
In all my years covering the NFL Draft, I am hard-pressed to remember a time when they seemed so patient and logical, picking off players who were too good to pass up and adding quality to their roster.
This requires discipline, because nothing fights these impulses like the immediacy of needs. But if you simply purpose in your war room that you are going to evaluate every position and attempt your fresh start under a new coaching staff by selecting the best-graded player again and again, the long-term payoff should be handsome.
It leaves plenty of questions and concerns about the spots that were unaddressed, but when we are talking about four- and five-year contracts for new players at rookie wages, we really should attempt to understand that these decisions must be made with a global view of the roster—until the time comes when you feel you are pushing your chips in on a Super Bowl-or-bust season. And, folks, after 30 years in the wilderness, it might be a good idea to stop trying to convince yourself (as a front office) that every season is that season.
I believe the Cowboys used their first three picks to improve their football team as much as they could. I think the plan at No. 12 was to get WR Tetairoa McMillan if he was available, but once he disappeared, they moved to Best Player Available—and that, for them, came up as Tyler Booker.
Then, Day 2 was more of the same. I think they wanted RB TreVeyon Henderson and WR Luther Burden when the day began, but when they both went off the board, they grabbed a premium edge rusher in Donovan Ezeiruaku in Round 2. In Round 3, they could not believe a player who was in their conversations in Round 2 was still there. They wanted to improve at corner, so when Shavon Revel fell to them, they saw the blinking light they could not ignore.
Again, great process and logic, grabbing first-round talents at “premium five” positions that just fall into your lap.
Now, let’s talk about Day 3.