Mel Kiper Jr. gives Cowboys surprising grade for 2026 draft haul

Yahoo Sports1h ago13 min readOriginal source →

TL;DR

Mel Kiper Jr. has given the Dallas Cowboys a surprising grade for their 2026 draft haul, highlighting their effective trading and selection strategy. The Cowboys' draft class is receiving positive reviews from analysts.

Key points

Mel Kiper Jr. issued grades for the 2026 NFL draft.
The Cowboys were active traders during the draft.
They made strategic selections with late-round picks.
The Cowboys' draft class is receiving positive reviews.
Kiper's grades are influential in the NFL community.

Mentioned in this story

Mel Kiper Jr.

Dallas Cowboys

Mel Kiper Jr. gives Cowboys surprising grade for 2026 draft haul

The dust is still settling from 257 picks worth of drama, but the top draft guru Mel Kiper has already issued his draft grades for the entire league.

And the Cowboys came out toward the head of the class.

Entering the weekend with a host of needs, the Cowboys were active traders in the first round, patiently waited their turn on Day 2, and the made the most of a quartet of late-round picks to put together a draft class that is earning positive reviews from most analysts.

But Kiper's grade always means just a little bit more. And he's given Dallas a solid A, tied with three others clubs (Cleveland, Las Vegas, and Philadelphia) for the highest mark across the league.

That grade is an improvement over previous report cards from Kiper. Last year, he gave Dallas a B. In 2024, it was a B-. In 2023, another B. And in 2022, he gave the Cowboys the worst grade in the NFL.

But the godfather of draft analysis- like seemingly the rest of Cowboys Nation- is impressed with what he saw the team do over the weekend.

Here's what Kiper had to say about how the Cowboys fared with their seven selections of 2026.

Mel Kiper's grade: A

(Top needs identified: EDGE, LB, CB)

"You'll notice the only top needs listed here are on defense. The 2025 unit was outrageously bad: 6.1 yards allowed per play (31st), 30.1 points allowed per game (32nd), minus-153 EPA (32nd), 58.4 opponent QBR (29th), 47.3% opponent third-down rate (32nd) ... the list just keeps going. Big plays had an especially big role in the Cowboys' defensive shortcomings, as they allowed a league-high 54 plays of 25 or more yards.

"So it's no surprise that the Cowboys' first three picks -- and five of their seven total -- came on that side of the ball. They made splashes in Round 1, trading up for and trading down for Malachi Lawrence.