Quick reaction Draft grades

[NoDak]

Round 1 • Pick 12 (12) • G Tyler Booker
Round 2 • Pick 12 (44) • EDGE Donovan Ezeiruaku
Round 3 • Pick 12 (76) • CB Shavon Revel Jr.
Round 5 • Pick 12 (149) • RB Jaydon Blue
Round 5 • Pick 16 (152) • LB Shemar James
Round 6 • Pick 28 (204) • OT Ajani Cornelius
Round 7 • Pick 1 (217) • DT Jay Toia
Round 7 • Pick 23 (239) • RB Phil Mafah
Round 7 • Pick 31 (247) • DT Tommy Akingbesote


At first look, I'd say a B-. No horrible reaches, and got some pretty good value. Would have liked to grade higher, as I love the first three players. They should all three step in as starters and make significant contributions. But can't because our real weaknesses weren't addressed until late. And in the case of WR, not at all. But saying all that, looks to be a decent draft haul. With some guys taken late that have a chance to contribute, in the case of Toia and Mafah. Cornelius and Akingbesote might need a year on the PS, but look to have some attributes worth developing. Not bad for a 6th and 7th round pick, I guess. The only real head scratcher was James. But I guess we have no choice but to defer to Eberflus. Hopefully whatever he sees in this kid will show up.

 

[Smitty]

They will need to add a high end WR a la Amari Cooper if they want any chance to have a real dynamic offense. They didn’t get enough at RB to make me feel like they can lean on that position.

 

[Smitty]

I do like the three guys they got with their first three picks, but, you are also trying to compete and this offense will not be significantly better than last year’s because they didn’t add anyone of consequence besides Javonte Williams and he’d be better with another high end back in tandem.

 

[Bipo]

I'll go with B- as well. Good draft, but still no speed at WR outside of Turpin gadgets.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

C. Just average. Not bad players but didn't fill enough holes.

Maybe that's harsh but these fools running the team ignoring FA are the ones who set this up.

 

[Prodigal_Son]

You forgot Mingo in the 4th.

 

[NoDak]

You forgot Mingo in the 4th.

You're right.

I'm changing from a B- to a solid B. Maybe B+.

 

[Simpleton]

B or B+ sounds right to me, primarily because they largely ignored very obvious needs, although on the flip side they got excellent value on day 2 (in the 2nd especially) and did pretty well on day 3.

If you would've told me that our day 3 haul would include Blue, James and Toia, alongside Mafah and a few other random guys without any context, I'd have said that's very solid. Not mind-blowing, but solid, although I would've assumed that we would've taken a WR in the first 3 rounds.

Eze was a huge steal and Revel was a bit of a steal, so it really comes down to taking Booker and not addressing WR, and only sort of addressing RB.

If you just switch out Booker to Golden and leave everything else the same, I think you'd have a lot of people saying this was an A or A-. RB still wouldn't be ideal, but it's not bad in a scenario where you have a top WR duo.

But then you have to consider that Booker is basically a lock to be a foundational piece on the OL for the next decade and should elevate the average RB talent.

Put all that together and that's why I'm at a B or B+.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

C. Just average. Not bad players but didn't fill enough holes.

Maybe that's harsh but these fools running the team ignoring FA are the ones who set this up.

I'd say B. I feel ok about the holes outside of WR. Corner was filled. I kind of like what we did at RB. DT probably doesn't have the dominant player I wanted but we got a good NT.

We added an elite pass rusher was was a sneaky need.

If I could just switch Golden for Booker it would probably be a great draft. It would also make the OT/Guard feel better on day three.

 

[Sheik]

This is my favorite draft ever and I don’t even know who we picked outside of the first round.

 

[Simpleton]

I'd say B. I feel ok about the holes outside of WR. Corner was filled. I kind of like what we did at RB. DT probably doesn't have the dominant player I wanted but we got a good NT.

We added an elite pass rusher was was a sneaky need.

If I could just switch Golden for Booker it would probably be a great draft. It would also make the OT/Guard feel better on day three.

And that's a timestamp.

At the very least I feel much better about RB than I did this time last year. It's still not a strength but I don't think it's a weakness or something that could tank our season, which was a concern last year.

 

[Smitty]

We desperately need a WR but passing on Golden wasn’t like passing on CD Lamb. I’m not sure there’s any scenario where Golden would have been considered more than a push on value at 12.

 

[Simpleton]

We desperately need a WR but passing on Golden wasn’t like passing on CD Lamb. I’m not sure there’s any scenario where Golden would have been considered more than a push on value at 12.

Yea we didn't pass up a clear cut BPA and ultimately I doubt there was much difference between grades around the league on Golden/Egbuka vs. Booker, and obviously we had a higher grade on Booker.

But WR and adding explosiveness offensively was much more of a need even if I very much like Booker, so that's why I'm at a B or maybe B+.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Yea we didn't pass up a clear cut BPA and ultimately I doubt there was much difference between grades around the league on Golden/Egbuka vs. Booker, and obviously we had a higher grade on Booker.

But WR and adding explosiveness offensively was much more of a need even if I very much like Booker, so that's why I'm at a B or maybe B+.

If the grades were close play maker and position importance should absolutely have won out for Golden or Egbuka.

But hey, we graded him similar to Zach Martin. If they think he is the next Zach Martin I get it. I think they were blinded by his personality if they think he is in the same class as Martin.

 

[Simpleton]

If the grades were close play maker and position importance should absolutely have won out for Golden or Egbuka.

But hey, we graded him similar to Zach Martin. If they think he is the next Zach Martin I get it. I think they were blinded by his personality if they think he is in the same class as Martin.

I don't think it's a stretch to say they were similarly graded prospects. Both are very straightforward evaluations, very rarely lose reps, high floor guys who are pretty much surefire bets to be good players, both were viewed as interior prospects-only mostly although some thought Martin could play C.

Martin wasn't a clear-cut top 10 guy when he came out and was expected to go in the teens, which is pretty similar to Booker.

The fact that he's a 1st ballot HOF'er makes it hard to square that mentally, but purely as prospects coming out I could see it.

 

[bbgun]

If you give a shit about ESPN's Jeff Legwold, he thinks we got three of the top 42 players


22. Tyler Booker, G, Alabama
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 321 | 40 time: 5.38

Booker is a powerful interior presence who plays with quality awareness in pass protection and the strength to wall off rushers. He also finishes with purpose in the run game. He was a team captain as a junior and should start right away in the NFL.

28. Donovan Ezeiruaku, Edge, Boston College
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 248 | 40 time: DNR

Ezeiruaku is arguably the most productive player in a deep edge class, compiling 80 tackles, 16.5 sacks, 20.5 tackles for loss and 3 forced fumbles in 12 games. He moves from speed to power effectively and has the flexibility to get to the corner. He has inside counters and plays with an edge.

42. Shavon Revel Jr., CB, East Carolina
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 194 | 40 time: DNR

Revel tore his left ACL during a mid-September practice, but his doctor has informed teams he is expected to be ready for training camp. He's long and has shown top-level play speed along with an understanding of route concepts.

 

[Simpleton]

Most of the draft media types (Brugler, Jeremiah, etc.) had our top two picks in their top 25-30 and Revel around 50-60, and I'd agree with that.

I truly believe that we got two first round talents with our top two picks and I think the impact Eze could have opposite a guy like Parsons drawing as much attention as he does is being overlooked.

By year 2 or 3 Eze will be the better than anything Parsons has ever had opposite him, throw in Osa on the interior and our pass rush could be very serious (if we can stop the run and force teams into passing situations).

 

[shoop]

Solid B.

I like most of the players we took. Just despise how they go about the process. Our lack of offensive threats will bite us in the ass at some point.

 

[Genghis Khan]

I think a C is fair.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

From PFF

Dallas Cowboys: A+
1 (12): G Tyler Booker, Alabama

Booker — Zack Martin’s retirement in March left a hole on the Cowboys’ interior offensive line. Booker, the 48th-ranked prospect on the PFF Big Board, profiles as a bit of a reach but a talent who fills a definite need up front in Dallas. The Alabama guard earned an 86.5 PFF pass-blocking grade in 2024, which will provide an instant boost to a Cowboys offense that ranked 23rd in PFF pass-blocking grade (62.1) this past season.

2 (44): ED Donovan Ezeiruaku, Boston College

Ezeiruaku — Situated at 17 on the PFF Big Board, Ezeiruaku profiles as a significant value for the Cowboys here. The Boston College standout maintains a solid grading profile, particularly against true pass sets, where he clocked the most snaps of any edge rusher in the 2025 class (196), earning a 90.7 PFF pass-rushing grade and a 25.8% pass rush win rate.

3 (76): CB Shavon Revel, East Carolina

Revel — Shavon Revel was the No. 44 player on the PFF Big Board, so his selection represents great value for the Cowboys at No. 76. Revel is a tall outside corner with back-to-back seasons with coverage grades above 80 (80.5 in 2023 and 84.0 in 2024).

5 (149): RB Jaydon Blue, Texas

Blue — The Cowboys finally address the running back position and get solid value with Jaydon Blue. After two seasons being stuck behind elite running back talent at Texas, Blue got his chance to be the featured back. Blue struggled with fumbles a bit, putting the ball on the ground four times while losing three of them. However, he showcased some elusiveness, forcing 37 missed tackles on 140 rushing attempts.

5 (152): LB Shemar James, Florida

James — The Cowboys have question marks at the linebacker spot, and Shemar James brings a lot of experience to the table, logging over 1,000 career snaps over three seasons, though with mixed results. His PFF coverage grade dropped to 46.5 last season after he posted an impressive 75.2 figure in 2023. On the other hand, he set a career high with a 68.4 PFF run-defense grade in his final year, registering 14 run stops and forcing a fumble.

6 (204): T Ajani Cornelius, Oregon

Cornelius — In three seasons as a starter, Cornelius allowed just four total sacks and 35 pressures on 1,466 pass-blocking snaps.

7 (217): DI Jay Toia, UCLA

Toia — At 6-foot-3 and 325 pounds, Toia is very difficult to move, as evidenced by his 70.0 run-defense grade this past season. He still has work to do as a pass rusher, but his 22 total pressures in 2024 nearly tripled his combined total from the previous three years.

7 (239): RB Phil Mafah, Clemson

Mafah — The Cowboys select a big power back in Mafah, who provides an option in short-yardage situations. He gained 3.24 yards after contact per attempt in 2024.

7 (247): DI Tommy Akingbesote, Maryland