The 2025 NFL Draft has concluded, with the Dallas Cowboys making nine picks. Originally scheduled for ten, the Cowboys went into day three with the bulk of their picks still remaining, and did some wheeling and dealing to move up in the fifth round and target even more defensive help with Florida linebacker Shemar James. Day three was also the point the Cowboys waited until to address running back, which came as a surprise, but they double-dipped with Texas’ Jaydon Blue at 149th overall and Clemson’s Phil Mafah at 239th in the seventh.

The single biggest surprise from this Cowboys draft is that they left wide receiver completely untouched. Some runs on the position ahead of their picks in each round may have forced their hand here, but Dallas did a terrific job sticking to their board and finding high-value players, mainly by trusting first-year DC Matt Eberflus to bulk up his side of the ball. Both of the Cowboys day two picks went to defense, as well as three of their six on day three with another double-dip at defensive tackle in the seventh. Jay Toia and Tommy Akingbesote became something of last-ditch picks to address an underrated position of need, at very least from a depth and bodies standpoint, giving the Cowboys more size on the defensive interior.

One of the great initial things to seemingly come out of this draft is also the way the Cowboys created competition. The Cowboys newest rookies will push existing depth players to the roster bubble, especially those that were brought in under previous coaches, almost none of which are still here. The Cowboys also have some clear winners from the existing roster who seemingly got a vote of confidence based on the team’s drafting.

Let’s take an early look at who some of these Cowboys’ roster winners and losers are following the draft.

Winners: WRs Jalen Tolbert, Jalen Brooks, Ryan Flournoy and Jonathan Mingo

The Cowboys positioning in each round did not fall favorably for them to target a receiver with any of their four picks in the top 150. Tet McMillan was gone before their first round choice, Matthew Golden went later in the first, and Luther Burden was drafted before they pivoted to defense in the second round for Donovan Ezeiruaku. There was a total of 20 wide receivers drafted after the Cowboys third-round selection, but by this point the team must have felt none could play right away and make the impact they need. By doing so, the Cowboys put a lot of faith into an existing receiver group that lost Brandin Cooks this offseason. Obviously they could still add a vet WR through free agency or a trade.

The biggest names to keep in mind here are Jalen Tolbert, Jalen Brooks, Ryan Flournoy, and Jonathan Mingo, because they have all been on the roster for part of the time the Cowboys offensive play caller in Schottenheimer has been on staff.

Tolbert has yet to show much over his three years with the team that inspires confidence he can be much more than a third receiver alongside an established primary and secondary option. The Cowboys have their primary target in CeeDee Lamb, and even drafting a receiver 12th overall wouldn’t have changed this, but having to put Tolbert in the current conversation for WR2 is not the best of circumstances. Still, Tolbert emerges from this draft as a winner, at least because he will have a clear path to see the field and find a new role in Schottenheimer’s offense. This is a player that got better with the most consistent reps of his career a year ago, and still fills an obvious need for speed at the skill positions for Dallas.

From the somewhat limited nuggets of information we have about how Schottenheimer wants to scheme the Cowboys offense moving forward, using consistent formations that look the same but present a wide array of concepts to the defense is a priority. This would align the Cowboys closer to teams in the way they help their quarterbacks with these looks. A staple of playing offense in this way is the ability to dictate the matchups receivers, backs, and tight ends get in coverage. If the Cowboys can hone in on this for Tolbert and get his vertical speed working against linebackers and safeties more consistently, it could be the key to seeing the former third-round pick make another leap.

As for both Jalen Brooks and Ryan Flournoy, the Cowboys may not find a lot of dynamic speed and explosive play ability from either, but these are big targets that present wide catch radiuses for Dak Prescott. Both receivers have their best potential in the red zone, where Dallas was 31st in the league only ahead of the New York Giants in scoring touchdowns last season. If using Prescott’s mobility is going to be another focus for the redesigned offense, moving him out of the pocket to layer throws to the likes of Brooks, Flournoy, and even last year’s trade acquisition Mingo, can become bread and butter plays. This is an offense that will have to work hard to create run-after-the-catch situations for their receivers, but has some of the potential to do so on the depth chart.

The Cowboys also ended the draft without making any of the “substantiated” trades Jerry Jones hinted at coming into it, and wide receiver is a position they’ve shown a propensity to target in trades before. Not just with Mingo a year ago, but obviously Amari Cooper in 2018 when things were looking bleak at receiver prior to that trade. Fans may think things are equally bleak on the current depth chart at WR, but at minimum this team has young talent still on the rise in multiple receivers for the first time in a long time, all of which became winners after the draft without a single new rookie to compete with.

Losers: OL Nathan Thomas, T.J. Bass, and Brock Hoffman

When the Cowboys started off their draft with Alabama’s Tyler Booker, one of the benefits was reshuffling the depth chart along the offensive line to put depth players into backup roles and not over-slotted as potential starters. This equation changed a little bit when the Cowboys took yet another versatile offensive lineman in Ajani Cornelius in the fifth round.

Cornelius was a tackle at Oregon, but is expected to move to guard in the NFL. The Cowboys know better than most teams how to get the most out of linemen transitioning from one position to another in the pros, and do so while still valuing them as an option at all of their capable positions. This is why adding both Booker and Cornelius is not the best news for the likes of Nathan Thomas, T.J. Bass, and Brock Hoffman.

Thomas was a seventh-round pick last year, another collegiate tackle that also projects as a big guard at the pro level. The fact the Cowboys are already putting second-year draft picks on the roster bubble shows how serious they were about recommitting to the offensive line. Thomas could have been a longshot to compete for the right guard rotation before the team drafted Booker, and a backup guard option with swing potential before Cornerlius was picked. Now, Thomas will have to compete with a player coming out of a bigger school with higher draft pedigree.

The player who likely fell out of starting job consideration entirely is Brock Hoffman. This is a player that went from having something of an inside track to the right guard job, to at least being the primary backup at two positions with the ability to play center behind Cooper Beebe, and now by the end of the draft will find himself in a fight with the team’s latest fifth-round pick as well as Robert Jones and Saahdiq Charles to remain a primary backup guard. T.J. Bass also finds himself in a battle to be a backup along the interior line.

The Cowboys have not backed down for even a second under Schottenheimer when it comes to their desire to field one of the best offensive lines in the league again, and may have found the pieces to do so in this draft.

Winners: TEs Jake Ferguson, Luke Schoonmaker

The Cowboys proved throughout the draft they were not afraid to address positions that weren’t necessarily considered top needs, but passed on a dark horse way to still upgrade their skill offensively with their very first pick. Penn State tight end and Swiss army knife Tyler Warren was surprisingly still on the board, after the Bears made Colston Loveland the first TE off the board at 10th overall. With Jake Ferguson going into a contract year after having a down year in 2024, the consideration among fans was strong for Warren. Dallas made it clear they are content to go into another season with Ferguson hopefully staying healthy throughout and catching more passes from Dak Prescott, not any of their backup QBs.

When Dallas was down to their backups last season, and Ferguson was unavailable, they actually saw some flashes from second-year player Luke Schoonmaker as well. Schoonmaker has shown flashes of being a reliable check-down option on the types of bootleg or moving pocket throws that could also help the Cowboys receiving corps greatly, as well as a middle of field seam option. The Cowboys also have blocking tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford with room to grow more as a pass catcher. This trio was enough for the Cowboys to pass on Tyler Warren, and LSU TE Mason Taylor went two picks before their second-round choice. This all but shut the door on the Cowboys upgrading significantly at tight end in this draft, leaving the arrow pointing up for both Ferguson and Schoonmaker.

Loser: LB Damone Clark

The Cowboys overhauling their linebacking room prior to the draft via the trade market was bad enough news for Damone Clark, coming off a season where he played a very limited role in Mike Zimmer’s defense. Dallas did not stop at trading for Kenneth Murray and Jack Sanborn though, they also traded up in the fifth-round to draft Florida LB Shemar James. Matt Eberflus’ influence was felt throughout this draft, and when it comes to being the former LB coach for the Cowboys, he has certainly had his way in rebuilding the position group in his image.

Clark will be one of the few linebackers to play for all three of the recent DCs for the Cowboys in Dan Quinn, Zimmer, and Eberflus, but now more than ever the depth chart is stacked against him with young talent and specific scheme fits. The Cowboys still need additional bodies at the position until DeMarvion Overshown is ready to play this season, which may not happen at all, but Clark will have to outperform one of Sanborn, Murray, James, or Marist Liufau to really find a consistent role on defense.

Winner: DE Micah Parsons

The Cowboys have so many new faces and moving pieces to their defense coming out of this draft, it is almost possible to forget that Micah Parsons is still the star the rest of this entire unit revolves around. Parsons never stopped playing hard for a team out of contention last season, and has been rewarded this offseason with a completely retooled defensive front that should help him thrive in all of the ways he knows how to.

The Cowboys took another pass rusher in the second round with Donovan Ezeiruaku. They’ve added athletic rushers Payton Turner and former Cowboy Dante Fowler Jr. to the group this offseason as well. Sam Williams is set to return after missing all of last season with an ACL and MCL tear. The ability for all of these players to interchange and rush from different positions could be a nightmare for opposing offenses to deal with at the line of scrimmage.

The Cowboys must do everything they can with the rest of the offseason to embrace their pass rush stable being one of the brightest spots on the whole roster, and find ways to maximize their ability to impact the game. Being a great ball control team offensively would go a long way here, and Dallas certainly has their work cut out figuring out what combination of Miles Sanders, Javontae Williams, Deuce Vaughn, Jaydon Blue, and Phil Mafah out of the backfield can help them achieve this.

The Cowboys are in great position to get another all-world season out of Micah Parsons. While this may have been true before the draft, considering we are talking about Micah Parsons here, the way they continued to focus on the front seven and helped Parsons even more was somewhat unexpected – but absolutely welcome.