As a lead-up to the 2025 NFL draft, we've broken down the current depth chart of every NFL team and identified the biggest draft and team needs for the Dallas Cowboys.
You can find additional team-by-team draft needs articles and other draft content on our 2025 NFL Draft Hub.
Dallas Cowboys Needs: Top Positions of Need in 2025
- Running Back
- Wide Receiver
- Cornerback
What Picks Do the Dallas Cowboys Have in 2025?
The Dallas Cowboys have 10 picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, including:
- Round 1 (12)
- Round 2 (44)
- Round 3 (76)
- Round 5 (149)
- Round 5 (174)
- Round 6 (204)
- Round 6 (211)
- Round 7 (217)
- Round 7 (239)
- Round 7 (247)
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Dallas Cowboys 2025 Draft Capital Stats
The Cowboys have the 15th-most draft capital according to our Sharp Football Draft Value.
Our Sharp Football Draft Value is a valuation of draft capital based on a combination of average performance delivered and average dollars earned on second contracts.
Dallas Cowboys Draft Value vs. Other Teams:
The Cowboys’ draft value is 2% higher than the league average of all 32 teams.
Dallas Cowboys Draft Prediction:
Find out who our top-rated experts expect the Cowboys to draft:
- Brendan Donahue's 2025 NFL Mock Draft – Complete first round breakdown from the #2 most accurate mock drafter over the last five seasons.
- Ryan McCrystal's 2025 NFL Mock Draft – Complete first round breakdown from the #8 most accurate mock drafter over the last five seasons.
Dallas Cowboys Strength of Schedule, 2025
The Dallas Cowboys have the 22nd-easiest NFL strength of schedule for the 2025 NFL season.
Dallas Cowboys Offense: Depth Chart, Analysis & Draft Needs
Rich Hribar breaks down the offensive depth chart by position for the Dallas Cowboys, identifying areas where the team could improve in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft.
Quarterback Depth Chart, Cowboys:
- Dak Prescott
- Joe Milton
- Will Grier
Dak Prescott suffered a torn hamstring during the eighth game of the year, which forced him to miss the remainder of the season.
Dallas was only 3-5 at that point and heading toward a disappointing outcome in 2024, regardless of Prescott’s availability, but Prescott’s injury sapped the little life this offense had.
From that point of the season, Dallas averaged 4.9 yards per play on offense (28th), scored 1.55 points per drive (28th), and scored a touchdown on a league-worst 13.7% of their possessions.
Prescott will turn 32 this July, with four years remaining on his extension signed last offseason.
His cap hit for 2025 is the highest of any player in the league.
Prescott will carry cap hits of $52.9 million, $76.5 million, and $70.8 million over the next three seasons.
Dallas will not use a high-equity draft pick for the position, and this is a better spot to address post-draft with a veteran passer, but a quarterback will indeed be added in some capacity.
The backup quarterback room was depleted this spring with Cooper Rush signing with the Ravens.
Trey Lance is gone, but the Cowboys traded for Joe Milton, adding some upside behind Prescott.
Running Back Depth Chart, Cowboys:
- Javonte Williams
- Miles Sanders
- Deuce Vaughn
- Malik Davis
Losing the leading rusher, Rico Dowdle, in free agency, Dallas is revamping its backfield heading into 2025.
The team signed veteran free agents to one-year contracts in Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders.
Williams has been a shell of his early-career efficiency since suffering a devastating knee injury during the 2022 season.
During his first two seasons in the NFL, Williams led all running backs with a broken tackle per 6.5 rushing attempts.
Over the past two seasons, he ranks 33rd with a broken tackle every 19.7 attempts.
In 2024, Williams averaged 3.7 yards per rush and ranked 42nd out of 46 backs with 100 or more attempts.
His 2.38 yards after contact per rush was dead last on that list.
Dallas hopes that Williams can rebound like J.K. Dobbins did last year, but if not, Williams was a low-leverage signing.
The same is true for Sanders, who is coming off two injury-plagued seasons in Carolina.
Sanders only had 79 touches with the Panthers last season, missing six games with an ankle injury.
He did close the season on a positive note.
In Carolina’s Week 18 game, Sanders had 20 touches for 116 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Dallas would love to see either Williams (who will still only be 25 this April) or Sanders (turning 28 this May) recapture their early-career spark, but this is a hotspot for a rookie running back to land.
Deuce Vaughn, who has had 50 touches through two NFL seasons, is the only running back currently under contract beyond this season.
Wide Receiver Depth Chart, Cowboys:
- CeeDee Lamb
- Jalen Tolbert
- Kavontae Turpin
- Jonathan Mingo
- Parris Campbell
- Jalen Brooks
- Ryan Flournoy
- Kelvin Harmon
- Jalen Moreno-Cropper
- Seth Williams
CeeDee Lamb once again carried the Dallas passing game, catching 101 passes for 1,194 yards and 6 touchdowns over 15 games.
Lamb accounted for 32.3% of the Dallas targets when he was on the field.
He averaged 6.7 receptions (6th) for 79.6 yards per game (8th) despite working for half the year with backup quarterback play.
Lamb was hurt by the absence of Prescott, averaging a career-worst 11.8 yards per catch.
He averaged only 10.9 yards per catch with Prescott out.
His depth of target went from 8.6 yards downfield with Prescott to 7.0 yards without him.
Lamb signed a huge extension last offseason with him on the books through the 2028 season.
He still has a valued cap hit this season ($15.3 million), but that jumps to $38.6 million and $41.6 million over the 2026-2027 seasons.
Dallas has to find cheaper contributors at the position, likely needing to come through the draft.
Lamb missed two games and still had 73 more targets than the next closest wide receiver on the roster.
That was Jalen Tolbert, who did have growth in 2024.
After catching 25 passes for 280 yards and 2 touchdowns over his first two seasons in the NFL, Tolbert caught 49 passes for 610 yards and 7 touchdowns last season.
Tolbert is in the final season of his rookie contract.
Dallas retained Kavontae Turpin as a primary kick returner and manufactured target option on offense.
Turpin had his best year as a pass catcher in 2024, securing 31 of 52 targets for 420 yards and 2 touchdowns.
He rushed 16 times for 92 yards.
Even with his growth as a pass catcher, Turpin still needs to improve as a nuanced receiver.
26.9% of his targets were screens, which was fourth among all wide receivers last season.
Turpin is the only core member of this unit other than Lamb signed beyond this season.
The other wide receivers under contract beyond this season are Jonathan Mingo, Jalen Brooks, and Ryan Flournoy.
Dallas made a head-scratching move in trading for Mingo during the season last year, but he only managed to catch 5 of 16 targets for 46 yards over his 8 games with the team.
Tight End Depth Chart, Cowboys:
- Jake Ferguson
- Luke Schoonmaker
- Brevyn Spann-Ford
- John Stephens
- Princeton Fant
Jake Ferguson was second on the team in targets (86) but was unable to build on his 2023 breakout season.
Ferguson only managed 494 yards on his 59 receptions without a touchdown.
After averaging 10.7 yards per catch in 2023, Ferguson only averaged 8.4 yards per catch last season.
He also missed three games due to an MCL sprain and a concussion.
Impacted by Prescott's loss, Ferguson only averaged 7.4 yards per catch (3.6 air yards per target) with the backup passers.
He managed only 22.9 yards per game after Prescott’s injury after averaging 47.7 yards per game prior.
Prescott's return can help Ferguson get back on track, but he also enters this season in the final season of his rookie contract.
Dallas has Luke Schoonmaker and Brevyn Spann-Ford signed for two more seasons.
With Ferguson off the field last season, Schoonmaker was targeted on 22% of his routes, tied for second on the team in targets (33) on those snaps.
He only averaged 8.7 yards per catch and 3.4 yards after the catch on those opportunities with Ferguson absent.
This is not a “need,” but the current talent in place, paired with Ferguson’s rookie contract expiring, does not prevent Dallas from taking a player they like for the position.
Offensive Line Depth Chart, Cowboys:
LT: Tyler Guyton, Asim Richards, Earl Bostick
LG: Tyler Smith, Robert Jones
C: Cooper Beebe, Dakoda Shepley, Jack Anderson
RG: Brock Hoffman, T.J. Bass
RT: Terence Steele, Matt Waletzko, Nathan Thomas
The Dallas offensive line had an uneven season last year.
At Pro Football Focus, they ranked 23rd in overall pass blocking grade and 19th in run blocking grade.
They ranked 24th in ESPN’s pass block win rate (57%) compared to 5th in run block win rate (73%).
Terence Steele was the only lineman to play in all 17 games.
The most often used combination up front for Dallas was on the field for 39.8% of their offensive snaps.
With Zack Martin retiring this spring, Dallas has an opening at right guard.
Brock Hoffman played 387 snaps at right guard last season and allowed just a 2.1% pressure rate on his snaps, the lowest rate on the team.
Hoffman enters this season signed for only 2024, so we should see competition and contractual depth added to the interior line.
The rest of the line is set to enter 2025.
Steele is signed through 2028.
The team selected Tyler Guyton at the end of the first round last season.
He made 11 starts as a rookie, taking all of his snaps at left tackle.
There were growing pains as expected for a first year left tackle.
Guyton allowed a team-high 5.9% pressure rate (54th among tackles) with 18 penalties. Only two linemen in the NFL had more penalties last season.
The team also selected Cooper Beebe in the third round of the draft last season.
Beebe started 16 games as a rookie, finishing 17th among centers in overall grade per Pro Football Focus.
Tyler Smith will need a new contract, but Dallas will undoubtedly pick up his fifth-year option before the May 1st deadline.
Smith allowed a 3.2% pressure rate (16th among guards with 100-plus snaps in protection) while ranking 16th at the position in run blocking grade per Pro Football Focus.
Dallas Cowboys Defense: Depth Chart, Analysis & Draft Needs
Raymond Summerlin breaks down the defensive depth chart by position for the Dallas Cowboys, identifying areas where the team could improve in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft.
Defensive Line Depth Chart, Cowboys:
- Osa Odighizuwa
- Mazi Smith
- Solomon Thomas
- Justin Rogers
- Denzel Daxon
The Cowboys were midpack against the run in 2024, finishing 21st in yards per carry allowed on running back runs (4.4), though they were worse at creating negative plays.
Dallas was 30th in forcing negative RB runs and 25th in yards before contact allowed on those carries.
One of Dallas’ biggest offseason moves was re-signing Osa Odighizuwa to a four-year contract, keeping him under contract through his prime seasons.
While his 4.5 sacks last season are nothing to write home about, Odighizuwa logged a 12.3% pressure rate.
That ranked 42nd among all qualified pass rushers, not just interior linemen.
The spot next to Odighizuwa is a question mark.
A first-round pick in 2023, Mazi Smith has not lived up to that draft capital through two seasons.
Smith was 69th among qualified linemen in run stuffs last season and 77th in tackle rate per run defense snap.
He did not make up for it as a pass rusher, finishing with a dreadful 3.7% pressure rate.
Free agent addition Solomon Thomas is more of a backup option for Odighizuwa, so he does not really solve the issue if Smith cannot take a step forward.
The best option for the Cowboys is for Smith simply to play better in his third season, but they probably need to add a big body to help against the run.
EDGE Depth Chart, Cowboys:
- Micah Parsons
- Dante Fowler Jr.
- Marshawn Kneeland
- Sam Williams
- Payton Turner
- Tyrus Wheat
- Luiji Vilain
- Earnest Brown IV
Dallas got after the quarterback well in 2024, finishing ninth in pressure rate (36.1%) and third in sacks (52).
They blitzed at the seventh-highest rate, something that is likely to come down under new DC Matt Eberflus, but their non-blitz pressure rate was still good.
Seemingly incapable of getting a deal done at the right time, the Cowboys have let an extension for Micah Parsons linger deep into the offseason.
As it did with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, something will likely get done with Parsons, but he is headed into a contract year.
Though he only played 13 games, Parsons was his usual disruptive self when on the field in 2024, getting 12 sacks and finishing second among qualifying pass rushers in pressure rate (17.7%).
Dallas reunited with Dante Fowler Jr, who logged 10.5 sacks with a 14.1% pressure rate for the division-rival Commanders in 2024.
Fowler is an established veteran who did not show any signs of decline last year.
He is a great No. 2 option behind Parsons.
The Cowboys lost several contributors in free agency including Demarcus Lawrence, so they will need 2024 second-round pick Marshawn Kneeland to take a step forward and Sam Williams to return to form following a missed season due to injury.
They also added Payton Turner to the mix in free agency.
That depth has questions, even though it also carries upside, Fowler is just on a one-year deal, and the Parsons contract situation still needs to be resolved.
All of that said, Dallas is probably fine here in the short term.
Linebacker Depth Chart, Cowboys:
- DeMarvion Overshown
- Marist Liufau
- Kenneth Murray Jr.
- Jack Sanborn
- Damone Clark
- Buddy Johnson
- Brock Mogensen
- Darius Harris
A late-season knee injury to DeMarvion Overshown has created more questions at linebacker than expected.
His recovery is reportedly going well, but it is unlikely Overshown is ready for Week 1 and may have to be eased into the lineup even once he returns.
Dallas acquired something of a contingency plan in free agency, signing Kenneth Murray after his one-season stay with the Titans.
Murray has started a lot of games in his five-year career, but he has never played at a high level.
He allowed a 115 passer rating in coverage last season.
Damone Clark did not fare great in his extended run in 2023, and Jack Sanborn has been more of a special teams option.
Perhaps Dallas could turn back to Eric Kendricks, who remains a free agent as of early April.
A 2024 third-round pick who showed well enough when given extended playing time later in the year, Marist Liufau should play a big role as a sophomore, but the spot next to him remains in question while Dallas waits for Overshown’s healthy return.
Cornerback Depth Chart, Cowboys:
- DaRon Bland
- Trevon Diggs
- Israel Mukuamu
- Caelen Carson
- Kaiir Elam
- C.J. Goodwin
- Andrew Booth
- Kemon Hall
- Josh Butler
- Troy Pride Jr.
- Luq Barcoo
The Cowboys struggled to stop the pass in 2024, allowing 7.9 yards per attempt (31st) and a 5.5% touchdown rate (28th).
Like at linebacker, the corner group is dealing with a serious injury atop the depth chart.
Trevon Diggs underwent knee surgery in January and is expected to miss the start of the season.
It is unclear when he will be back, and he has now had two serious injuries in the last two years.
DaRon Bland missed the start of last season because of a stress fracture in his foot, returning to play the final seven games.
He did well in those contests, and he is healthy heading into the offseason program.
That is good news for Dallas given the uncertainty around Diggs and the fact that they lost Jourdan Lewis in free agency.
Israel Mukuamu was re-signed and has some experience playing the slot for Dallas, but that is a projection.
They traded for former first-round pick Kaiir Elam, but describing a player as a former first-round pick says everything about how their career has gone to this point.
2024 fifth-round pick Caelen Carson also remains in the fold along with Andrew Booth, whom the Cowboys traded for last season.
Even if Diggs were healthy, this would be a primary area of need for the Cowboys.
Safety Depth Chart, Cowboys:
- Malik Hooker
- Donovan Wilson
- Markquese Bell
- Juanyeh Thomas
With both Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson back, the two guys who led the Dallas defense in snaps played last season, there are not many questions in this unit.
Wilson is coming off a rough season, though, and is heading into the final year of his contract.
Markquese Bell showed pretty well when thrust into a linebacker role in 2023, but he was utilized as a special teamer last season.
Perhaps the new coaching staff will get him more work on defense after he signed a three-year contract this offseason.
This unit is probably fine in the short term, but depending on how they view Bell, a depth option with the potential to start in the future makes a lot of sense.