Our latest Cowboys roundtable asking the team to give their final takes on this year’s NFL Draft.
Every week, we gather the latest news about the Dallas Cowboys and seek our writer’s perspective on each headline. Welcome back to the roundtable. This week we have Jess Haynie, David Howman, Tom Ryle, LP Cruz, and Brian Martin.
Who do you want Dallas to take at pick 12, and who do you think Dallas will take at pick 12?
The speculation is almost over on who the Cowboys will take at pick number 12 this Thursday. From Luther Burden, Tetairoa McMillan, Omarion Hampton and Matthew Golden, the speculation has been rife this year on who Jerry Jones will pick on Day 1.
Jess: Of the realistic options, I want Tet McMillan. Hoping for a Year 4 leap from Jalen Tolbert is too scary for me and I don’t trust any second-tier WR to immediately challenge him. The CBs and RBs available further down the board are way more appealing than the receivers. As for what Dallas will do, that depends on 11 other teams. But I do think they’ll be prioritizing receiver.
Brian: I really want the Cowboys to trade back, but if they stay at 12 I think they pick WR Matthew Golden. I think they view him as a better fit than Tetairoa McMillan. As to who I want them to draft, it’s whoever is the best player available (BPA). I personally like the idea of Mike Green paired with Micah Parsons rushing off the edge for the Cowboys.
RJ: At this point I am well aboard the Tet McMillan train. This feels like the best utilization of the most premium resource that the team has had all offseason and it will significantly help the offense find their footing. CeeDee Lamb is remarkable, but he has not had a proper running-mate since Amari Cooper despite some solid moments from Brandin Cooks over the last few years. This checks that box.
Howman: There’s a lot of guys I want the Cowboys to pick at 12, honestly. I’d be happy with McMillan but also really like the idea of Shemar Stewart. If McMillan is available, I do believe he’ll be the pick. If not, though, I have a hunch they pivot to Michigan CB Will Johnson.
LP: You can’t teach speed. I’d go crazy if the Cowboys took Matthew Golden with the 12th pick. While Tetairoa McMillan is a better prospect, he won’t be there by 12 and the negative talk around him is a smokescreen. Dallas needs to stretch the field vertically and Golden has that ability. However, I feel that Dallas reaches for Michigan’s Will Johnson. Johnson’s still a great choice and addresses a big need for the Cowboys.
If QB Shedeur Sanders (Colorado) becomes available at pick 12, should Dallas pull that trigger?
Sanders has been quite the enigma in this year’s draft cycle. He was touted as the the best quarterback in this year’s class by some. For others (like PFF.com), Sanders doesn’t even break the top-30 of their rankings. This leaves the question on what happens if Sanders was available when Dallas comes to pick.
Jess: If Sanders falls to #12 then that means some teams who need a QB way more than the Cowboys decided he wasn’t the right fit. Dallas needs a win-now player at that spot, and Sanders isn’t a good enough prospect that you just can’t afford to pass on him. There will be other, better QBs between now and when Prescott’s done.
Brian: Sanders still being on the board at 12 could be the ideal scenario for them to trade back with a QB-needy team like the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Cowboys already traded for their developmental QB and don’t need another one. Plus, I’m not too sure Sheduer Sanders is any better than Joe Milton.
RJ: Like Jess and Brian, I would absolutely love for Sanders to fall this far to give the Cowboys a potential trade-back option. There is no logical reason why Dallas themselves should consider drafting him. It feels like everybody understands this.
Howman: I don’t even have a first-round grade on Shedeur Sanders, but even if I did I wouldn’t want the Cowboys to draft him. It would obviously be great for the odds of trading back, but it would be a waste of draft capital to add Sanders when Dak Prescott is in place for the next few years, at least.
LP: No. It wouldn’t make sense. Although I like Sanders more than most people and believe he’s easily a top-15 pick, the team has too many other area of improvement to make a luxury pick on Shedeur Sanders. Dak Prescott was just paid to large contract and Joe Milton is the backup plan. Adding Sanders would add more of a distraction for a player that there’s no plan or place to put him in action.
Over or under on two running backs taken in the first round?
This year’s running back draft class is well stacked with talent and with so much on offer it lowers the panic on supply and demand with the position. Some feel with that being the case we may only see one, maybe two, running backs going in the first round. Ashton Jeanty and Omarion Hampton are the likely ones. But there is a chance we see three go if teams feel they won’t get their guy in Day 2 and miss on getting a high-caliber back by their second pick. That could see running backs TreVeyon Henderson, Kaleb Johnson, and Quinshon Judkins getting their name called on the first day. It seems unlikely, but there is a chance.
Jess: I think it’s a push; two exactly with Jeanty and Hampton. But I’d lean closer to the under because it’s more likely Hampton falls to Day 2 than one of the other RB prospects moving up.
Brian: I think I’ll take the over here. Ashton Jeanty and Omarion Hampton will probably go in the first and I think we could possibly see TreVeyon Henderson be a surprise first-round selection. I wouldn’t be completely surprised though if Jeanty is the only RB to be drafted in the first though.
RJ: Ultimately I agree with Jess in that a push is most likely with the under being my next guess. It is so hard to see three backs going, especially with how likely everybody believes it is that they will be able to find one on the second or even third day.
Howman: I have three running backs going in the first round. Ashton Jeanty obviously, and Omarion Hampton has become a bit of a lock too. But I know a lot of scouts really like Quinshon Judkins too, and I can see a team snatching him up late in the first round.
LP: Over. Jahmyr Gibbs made it cool to take first-round running backs again. In my book, Jeanty is a Raider, Hampton is a Bronco. From picks 29-32 is where a championship-caliber team could think they’re in a good position to add a weapon to their offense that could put them over the top. TreyVeyon Henderson landing with either one of the Washington Commanders, Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, or Philadelphia Eagles is a gut feeling I think happens. The latter would make me sick but its possible.
Give one hot take you have on this year’s draft?
The 2025 NFL Draft is now inches away with Lambeau Field hosting the event over three days. On Thursday, April 24, Round 1 will begin at 8 p.m. ET. Then, on Friday, April 25, Rounds 2 and 3 will kick off at 7 p.m. ET. Finally, on Saturday, April 26, Rounds 4 through 7 will start at noon ET.
Jess: Unless someone like Abdul Carter or Mason Graham falls to the 12th pick, I think Dallas will be aggressive in trying to trade back. This is a year when you want extra picks to take advantage of all that extra depth at certain positions like RB and DT. Not having a fourth-round pick stings every time I do a mock. So despite the WR need I mentioned before, I think the Cowboys could even pass on McMillan and Golden if it means trading back for additional draft capital.
Brian: I think the Cowboys are going to find some way to recoup this year’s fourth-round draft pick they used to acquire WR Jonathan Mingo via trade last year. There’s just too much talent that will be on the board between when they pick 76th overall in the third round and 149th in the fifth to just sit back and do nothing.
RJ: It may not be much of a hot take, but I actually think the Cowboys are probably going to sit and pick with all 10 of their selections. We should never put too much stock in one year in terms of comparing things, but think back to when they picked this many times in 2021. We thought they would surely move around a bit, but they wound up not doing so.
Howman: My hot take is the hottest Cowboys hot take I can possibly give, which is that their second-round pick will end up being a really productive player for them. I think this year’s draft class is short on top end talent but filled with really good talent, which means there will be lots of great prospects to pick from.
LP: Think I already spilled the tea but Henderson going to the Eagles. The Eagles have a great line, great receivers, and Saquon Barkley but they could always get faster. Henderson is a upgrade over Kenneth Gainwell and would be a great complement to spell Barkley. Maybe even a hotter take, the Giants don’t take a quarterback in the first round.
