Have you ever clicked on an NFL draft grades piece, scrolled down to your favorite team and been stunned by the terrible grade given to your squad? Doesn't the analyst get that all these picks will hit?!
Well, I have the solution for you -- a draft grades file comprised of only A+ marks! Never again will you have to worry about your team's likely busts or bad trades, because they did everything right this time.
Of course, to achieve such a piece, I had to write it a week before the NFL draft and make all the draft strategy and trades myself. This isn't a mock draft -- I don't make every pick for every team. Instead, it's a rubric each team should follow to address their particular short- and long-term needs while acknowledging their likelihood of competitiveness in 2026 and beyond.
It's a fun exercise made totally null by April 23, when one surprising faller can shake up the entire board and all the draft strategies hit the fan. Until then, this is how every team get "A" grades from me when the dust finally settles.
Jump to a team: ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND JAX | KC | LAC | LAR | LV | MIA | MIN NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SF SEA | TB | TEN | WSH
NFC EAST
Dallas Cowboys
Picks: Nos. 12, 20, 92, 112, 152, 177, 180, 218
The Cowboys fielded the league's worst defense last season (by EPA per play, explosive plays allowed and points per drive), but an A+ draft class should change that.
Let's start in the trenches and work backward. They need an additional pass rusher badly, as Rashan Gary and Donovan Ezeiruaku are useful players but not every-down dominators. Could the Cowboys package pick Nos. 12 and 20 to move up into the top five for Arvell Reese (Ohio State) or David Bailey (Texas Tech)? Or would they instead play the patient game, either to wait for Rueben Bain Jr. (Miami) or go another direction in Caleb Downs (Ohio State safety) or Sonny Styles (Ohio State linebacker)?