Cowboys lessons learned from participating in a recent first-round mock draft

What is the number one thing you have learned from mock drafts so far this offseason?

Pro Football Network (PFN) recently reached out to 32 content creators and beat writers across the NFL landscape to make a first-round pick for the team they cover daily. I had the privilege of participating in this group as the representative for the Dallas Cowboys and over the weekend we each made our selection. The end result you can find here.

Being able to take part in this conglomeration of like-minded content creators and beat writers was an interesting exercise that may or may not help shine a little more light as to how things can play out for all 32 teams in the first-round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Here is how it went down.

First 11 players drafted

1. Tennessee Titans - Cam Ward, QB, Miami
2. Cleveland Browns - Sheduer Sanders, QB, Colorado
3. New York Giants- Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado
4. New England Patriots - Abdul Carter, EDGE, Penn State
5. Jacksonville Jaguars - Mason Graham, iDL, Michigan
6. Las Vegas Raiders - Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
7. New York Jets - Armand Membou, Missouri
8. Cincinnati Bengals (Trade with Panthers) - Jalon Walker, EDGE, Georgia
9. New Orleans Saints - Will Campbell, OT/G, LSU
10. Chicago Bears - Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State
11. San Francisco 49ers - Walter Nolen, DT, Ole Miss

Okay, so there were no big surprises with the way the first 11 picks played out in this first-round mock draft amongst a conglomeration of content creators and beat writers. The Bengals wanting to trade up was a little bit of surprise and they were initially interested in Dallas' pick, but eventually worked out a trade with Panthers instead.

I did shop the Cowboys pick, but was unsuccessful in finding a trade partner. The Broncos inquired about potentially swapping first-round picks to acquire WR Courtland Sutton, but nothing ever materialized further. And, with the way the first flight and the 11 picks played out, the top-ranked WR this year was still on the board.

The decision and the thought process behind it

After unsuccessfully trying to trade down, the decision ultimately cane down to Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan or Michigan CB Will Johnson. Both players are significant upgrades at positions of "need" with the Cowboys and both are similarly ranked as the top players available on the consensus big board.

Tetairoa McMillan was the safer and better pick for the Cowboys. He gives them another alpha WR to pair with CeeDee Lamb, and someone who should immediately help upgrade the league's worst red zone offense from a season ago. Plus, in a rather weak WR draft class, Dallas needed to strike early if they wanted to upgrade the WR2 position.

Other random thoughts

• Seeing both RB TreVeyon Henderson and CB Trey Amos being drafted in the latter part of the first-round is a bit of a gut punch for the Cowboys....