Here is an updated look at Dallas Cowboys draft capital.
The Dallas Cowboys have been very busy throughout free agency to this point as they have added seven new names to their roster by Wednesday’s conclusion. The team took several avenues towards acquiring players as they negotiated a couple of deals in the legal tampering period, brought in a couple once the new league year hit, and even negotiated a couple of trades for some veterans.
The two veterans were Kaiir Elam and Kenneth Murray of the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans, respectively, and part of why the trades were executed in all likelihood was because the NFL awarded compensatory picks on Tuesday which gave the Cowboys more ammunition to play around with.
The Cowboys held 10 selections in the 2025 NFL Draft before the trades, and still hold 10 picks but the selections changed a bit with the trades.
Here is an updated list of Dallas Cowboys draft picks
As noted, the Cowboys made two trades on Wednesday and sent away two draft picks to get them done. While they received players in return the Cowboys also received picks as well, which meant they only dropped spots on their selections.
In the Kaiir Elam trade, the Cowboys picked up a 2026 sixth-rounder from Buffalo that comes in at number 204 overall, but they also gave up their first fifth-round compensatory pick which is 170 overall. For what it’s worth, Dallas also gave up their seventh-round pick next year so keep that in mind, but that means Dallas received Elam for dropping 34 spots from the selection that they gave up.
Shortly after in the Kenneth Murray trade, the Cowboys gave up a sixth-round pick that was different from the one that they got from Buffalo. It was number 188 overall, but Dallas did pick up another seventh-rounder this year that comes in at 235 overall. That is a drop of 47 spots in order to acquire Murray.
2025 Dallas Cowboys Draft Picks, Updated After Wednesday’s Trades
- 1st Round (12th overall)
- 2nd Round (44th overall)
- 3rd Round (76th overall)
- 5th Round (149th overall)
- 5th Round (171st overall) [compensatory pick]
- 5th Round (174th overall) [compensatory pick]
- 6th Round (204 overall) [from Kaiir Elam trade]
- 6th Round (211th overall) [compensatory pick]
- 7th Round (239th overall) [from Kenneth Murray trade]
- 7th Round (247th overall) [from Jonathan Mingo trade]
The first four picks that Dallas has were all their original selections, but after that things get a little interesting from an explanation standpoint.
Dallas still holds three of their four compensatory picks and now has the selections acquired in the Elam and Murray trades as well. You will recall that the Cowboys gave up their original seventh-round selection back in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft when they made a trade during the first round with the Detroit Lions. Dallas sent the seventh-rounder in question at that point, but they picked one back up from the Carolina Panthers in the Jonathan Mingo trade.
The Cowboys still hold 10 picks in the draft and dropped down 34 and 47 spots with Day 3 selections in order to land both Kaiir Elam and Kenneth Murray. That is solid business and logic and to be quite honest, exactly what we wanted to see them do the moment that the compensatory picks were awarded. They did it the very next day.
