It’s been almost a month since the NFL draft, and the Dallas Cowboys have done a lot to improve their roster. Leading up to the draft, we expressed some concerns about having several areas of the roster needing attention, but only having so many premium draft resources. That meant some areas would have to go unattended, but we didn’t know which ones.
As we pondered the possibilities of what position groups might be left out in the cold, we proposed the following question...
The Cowboys have limited premium draft resources and can't fix everything. If you had to live with one of these next year, which one would you be most okay with? pic.twitter.com/OlfljKpSyR
— Dan Rogers (@DannyPhantom24) April 20, 2025
Surprisingly, the Cowboys' first two draft picks were spent on positions not shown above, and their third-round pick was used on a cornerback who may not be ready when the season starts. That means none of their premium draft resources were used to address any of these position groups with a player who can step in and immediately help them. Yikes.
But that is not to say that none of these groups were addressed. In fact, all of them were. The question becomes, are we comfortable with what the team has done to this point to get better at each of these areas of the roster?
WR2 - RESOLVED (temporarily)
The interesting thing about this is that when we’re talking about draft picks and rookies, we never know if a player the team selected will be the answer, even if it’s a higher draft pick (albeit, higher draft resources inspiring higher levels of confidence). That said, we can say with a reasonable amount of confidence that the trade for wide receiver George Pickens will immediately bolster the team’s passing game. What Pickens ultimately does remains a bit of a mystery, but this “headache” of a player has demonstrated great production in all three of his years in the league, and we wouldn’t expect him to backslide in an all-important contract year.
One might even suggest that Pickens could flourish this season with so much money on the line and in an offense where defenses can’t smother him like a WR1. The table is set for a strong year from the 24-year-old. The only downside for Dallas is that he is a free agent after this year, meaning the Cowboys will have to re-address this area again, and soon.
CB2 - RESOLVED (eventually)
The Cowboys got a discount on the draft price of Shavon Revel Jr. due to his injury concern, but once he returns to health, he should be a good candidate to hold things down on the outside opposite an All-Pro corner. The team’s cornerback situation is very mysterious, with so many different things going on. Several players are still recovering from a knee injury, while their one healthy corner, DaRon Bland, is entering the final year of his contract.
The team has some immediate concerns at the position. Trevon Diggs probably won’t be ready to start the season. Revel Jr. might not be either. Even last year’s surprise depth gem, Josh Butler, is recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in Week 13 of last year. Three corners, three torn ACLs. That’s not ideal.
With the defense shorthanded, they will try to make do with other depth pieces Kaiir Elam (who they traded for), second-year player Caelen Carson, or possibly rely on safety/corner hybrid Israel Mukuamu, who the team re-signed this offseason. It could be a little rocky early on, but if all things go well in their recovery, the team should receive a boost in depth later in the season.
RB1 - STILL UNCERTAIN
The team insists they love Javonte Williams. There is certainly a range of outcomes that have him being an effective grinder in the backfield, especially if he looks closer to what he did in his rookie season before he suffered his own knee injury. But that’s a big if.
Even though it took them to the fifth round, the Cowboys did finally address the running back position in the draft with the selection of Jaydon Blue. The good news is that this was a deep running back class, so there was still some decent talent that late in the draft. The combo of Williams and Blue offers something to be hopeful of and could prove effective if the additions they made to the offensive line in both coaching (Klayton Adams) and personnel (Tyler Booker) are true difference makers.
NT1 - STILL A PROBLEM
The area that received the least amount of attention was defensive tackle. No free agents. No premium draft resources. No big trades. It’s still just Mazi Smith. The good news, however, is that’s the position fans felt the best about leaving unattended.
The team was close to selecting defensive tackle Walter Nolan with their first-round pick, but Booker was the clear choice at 12, and the team couldn’t get the trade-back deal they were looking for in the draft. Plus, Nolan is under 300 pounds. While he would be a good interior piece, he wouldn’t add much to the nose tackle group.
The Cowboys did do something, though. They used two of their seventh-round picks to select nose tackles Jay Toia and Tommy Akingbesote. Will either of these guys challenge Smith for key reps? Probably not, but it could provide some good competition for the NT2 job. And let’s not just toss Smith out with the bath water. While he’s been disappointing thus far, he did show some improvement last year, and he could be even better this season. For a player who’s likely to be the team’s worst starter, it could be a lot worse.