Draft grades. It’s a yearly ritual that comes along with the actual draft. We are going to survey the internet to see how the Dallas Cowboys’ round one went in the eyes of others. Before we move to the media grades for the individual picks, here are a few draft summaries placing the Cowboys among the winners of Day 1.
Frank Schwab of Yahoo writes that Dallas played the first night of the draft better than anyone.
Dallas played the first night of the draft better than anyone. It helped to have two first-round picks, as a result of the debatable decision to trade Micah Parsons, but the Cowboys maximized those selections. It included taking a prospect who might end up being the best player in the draft.
With Downs, the Cowboys got a player some analysts (including Yahoo Sports’ Charles McDonald) thought was the best prospect in the draft. To get Downs without having to give up any valuable draft capital was an absolute steal. We could look back on that as the best pick of this draft, especially in terms of value.
And if that’s all the Cowboys did, it would have been a good night. Dallas wasn’t done. The Cowboys traded down three spots with the Eagles from No. 20 to No. 23, collecting picks 114 and 137 while shipping off a seventh-rounder (218th overall). The Cowboys moved up to No. 11 in the first round and somehow, by the end of the round, ended up with better draft capital than they started with. That’s how you work a draft. With the 23rd pick, the Cowboys drafted UCF defensive end Malachi Lawrence, a big and explosive edge rusher who can help right away.
Dallas hasn’t had ultimate success in a long, long time. Cowboys haters will remind you often that the 1995 season was the last time they reached the conference championship round. But they usually do pretty well in the draft, and they nailed it Thursday night.
Foxsports declares the Cowboys an early draft winner.
The Cowboys may have gotten the best player in this year’s draft. Downs should immediately be one of the best players on a Cowboys’ defense that ranked last in points allowed in 2025.
And Downs wasn’t the only win for the Cowboys Thursday night. They traded back with the Eagles three spots to No. 23, which was used to select UCF edge rusher Malachi Lawrence, and picked up two fourth-round picks in the process. So essentially, Dallas gave up two Day 3 picks in the Downs trade but was later able to replace them, one round up.
To sum up, the Cowboys got two players who should immediately impact their defense. They moved up and down the draft order with prudence. Plus, star wide receiver George Pickens is signing his franchise tender. All in all, Friday night should be viewed as a success at The Star.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper ranks the Cowboys among the biggest winners from Round 1.
Dallas traded two fifth-round picks to move up one spot, but it was worth it. The Cowboys got my No. 6 prospect and a culture-changer for a defense that needed one.
It turns out those traded picks were coming right back, too. Putting aside the fact that it was an in-division move, how about the Cowboys trading back three spots from No. 20 to No. 23 with the Eagles and getting a pair of fourth-rounders in return? The Cowboys turned the No. 23 pick into Lawrence, who has risen very fast over the past few months. As we saw both on tape and at the combine, he can fly off the edge. Lawrence had seven sacks last season and helps a defense that tied for 22nd in that area in its first year without Micah Parsons (35).
Right after the Malachi Lawrence pick, John Breech of CBS Sports speculated that the Cowboys might have already won the draft.
The first round isn’t even over the Cowboys might have already won the draft. This team had a horrible defense last season and they needed to fix that in the first round and they’ve now done that twice over.
NFL.com’s Eric Edholm ranks the Cowboys among the winners of the night.
Dallas was in a great position to add two impact players to its defense, and I think Thursday was a good day for that beleaguered unit.
Caleb Downs at No. 11 is a home-run pick — no other way to say it. You can argue positional value until you’re royal blue in the face for all I care, but I love it. This is the kind of player — think Darren Woodson — whose impact can’t be measured strictly in statistics. He’s instantly going to have a captain-like influence on the secondary.
The Cowboys don’t need Lawrence to become a respectable NFL run defender tomorrow. They do need him to rush the quarterback, and he has the potential to become a more complete defender over time. Even with some overlap with what Donovan Ezeiruaku does, he, Ezeiruaku and Rashan Gary can help Dallas do a better job heating up the edges next season.
CBS Sports ranks Cowboys DC Christian Parker among the happiest NFL players, coaches and GMs.