After fumbling, stumbling, bumbling, and reaching their way through the first two days of the NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys got one thing right on the third and final day.
They didn’t draft a tight end. After an overall middle-grade draft, we’ll take whatever victories we can get.
See, Ron, I can write something positive about the Cowboys. You’re welcome.
Dallas entered the draft needing major upgrades at both running back and wide receiver.
After the first two nights, they still needed major upgrades at running back and receiver.
The Cowboys front office would have you believe that the fourth-round pick in this draft that they gave up last season addressed the wide receiver issue.
But the need to upgrade had already taken into account the presence of Jonathan Mingo. He was already on the roster at the end of last year.
Despite the Jones’ insistence that they had a second-round grade on Mingo in the 2023 draft, making him a “great value” as their “fourth round non-pick” two years later, the Cowboys needed to draft a serious WR2.
This they did not do on Saturday. Nor did they improve the running back room that much either, despite making two picks at the position.
Day 3 Picks
- 5. Jaydon Blue, RB
- 5. Shemar James, LB
- 6. Ajani Cornelius, OT
- 7. Jay Toia, DT
- 7. Phil Mafah, RB
- 7. Tommy Akingbesote, DT
Is former Texas Longhorns’ player Jaydon Blue a good running back? Yes.
Like the picks Dallas made in the first three rounds, Blue will probably be a good player.
But that’s not what the Cowboys needed, not coming into the draft, and especially on Day 3 of the draft. By the time Dallas finally turned its attention to the position, the great backs were gone.
That only makes their egregious decision to pass on Omarion Hampton in the first round all the more boneheaded.
Passing on Cam Skattebo in the third round, taking instead a cornerback who will begin camp on the PUP list, is inexplicable and inexcusable.
The pick of Blue in the fifth round, along with the seventh-round pick of running back Phil Mafah smacks of desperation.
They will join a running back room of: Javonte Williams, Miles Sanders, Deuce Vaughn, Malik Davis, and Hunter Luepke. Do any of those players scare you?
I guarantee you, they aren’t scaring any NFL defensive coordinators.
We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Receivers
At least the Cowboys (finally) addressed the running backs.
Dallas apparently boarded the good ship Denial and sailed on down the river Denial when it came to the receiver room.
They entered the draft with no solid WR2. They left the draft with no solid WR2.
The Cowboys certainly let some solid WR2 players pass them by on Thursday and Friday.
There will be no WR2 showing up at The Star as an undrafted free agent either.
CeeDee Lamb is going to be double-teamed with no one there to draw the coverage away in 2025. Because Jones Inc.’s draft strategy appears to be based on a whole lot of Hopium.
Two Positions That Were Improved
The Cowboys did help out the linebacker room on Saturday. Grabbing Florida’s Shemar James may prove to be the best pick of the draft for Dallas.
The Cowboys grabbed a pair of defensive tackles in the seventh round.
If either Jay Toia or Tommy Akingbesote are able help plug the gaping hole in the defensive line when it came to stopping the run, they would be the steals of the draft.
The selection of yet another offensive lineman in the sixth round, Ajani Cornelius, will likely be the worst of the Saturday picks.
After Friday’s picks, I graded the Cowboys’ draft as an “F”. As in, it was an absolute failure to address the team’s greatest needs.
Many readers, and pundits, praised the “value picks” by the Cowboys in this draft.
Value picks don’t win championships. Game-changing, difference makers do.
Dallas didn’t get any of those in this draft.
But after Saturday’s haul, the final overall grade for Dallas’ 2025 draft class is: C. A middle grade for a mid-draft.
The National Nightmare Ended
Much was made of Shedeur Sanders’ free fall from Top 3 pick to “will he even get drafted?”
He finally did. In the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns.
Despite the silly claims that his race was behind his fall from NFL grace – seriously, who were the first picks of the 2024 & 2025 drafts, again? Who was the second overall pick last year?
What were the positions and races of all three players?
Yeah, miss all of us with that ridiculousness.
Sanders, and Sanders Inc., shot themselves in the foot several times over the past few months. They burned up millions of dollars doing it too.
Now, Sanders has a chance to prove he is a starting NFL quarterback.
Hopefully, his draft free fall will get his mindset right, and he will prove all the rest of us wrong.
But his free fall came with some collateral damage.
ESPN’s draft guru Mel Kiper’s reputation is now fused to the bottom of an eternal dumpster fire. His three-day meltdown as Sanders tumbled was epically sad.
Expect Kiper’s days at ESPN to come to an end soon.
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