The Dallas Cowboys are longshots to make the 2024 NFL playoffs at 4-7 and starting quarterback Dak Prescott down for the rest of the season. That puts them much closer to earning the No. 1 pick in 2025 than getting to the Super Bowl.
For now, with six games left, through Week 18 the Cowboys are sitting on the No. 11 overall pick. A bad finish can put their draft position firmly in the top 10, maybe even top five based on tiebreakers.
Beyond Prescott's hamstring injury, the Cowboys had some major issues with the defense and running game from which they couldn't recover to show their NFC East-winning form of last season. They also have dealt with limited depth on the offensive line and receiving corps.
Jerry Jones can go in many directions in the first round next year. Whatever the position Dallas considers its most pressing need, it must land an immediate impact rookie in the vein of Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Micah Parsons, or Tyler Smith. Here's an early exploration of the Cowboys' most interesting scenarios in the 2025 draft.
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Cowboys' mock draft 2025: Best first-round pick options
Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Colorado
Deion Sanders would love if Hunter could take his prime-time skills to Dallas, which needs both some cornerback help and a second dynamic wide receiver to complement CeeDee Lamb. Hunter is trending toward going No. 1 overall, so either the Cowboys need to freefall for that pick or make an aggressive trade-up.
The latter scenario can be further prompted if there's a package deal to land Sanders as the team's next head coach. For all non-QB-desperate teams picking early in 2025, Hunter should be the no-brainer top choice.
Mason Graham, DT, Michigan
The Cowboys have a literal massive hole on their defensive front, and it's contributed to some run-stopping woes and limitations on the interior pass rush. Graham can beef up the defensive line and disrupt on both fronts. Dallas might end up in clear range to draft him, and it would be an excellent pick to complement Parsons.
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Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
Jeanty would not be a crazy pick in the top 10, but this would be more likely if the Cowboys end up picking closer to the middle of the first round. Given the multiple needs in their reload, Dallas also could trade down a few spots to set up this selection.
Jerry Jones took Ezekiel Elliott No. 4 overall in 2016, and it paid off big-time when the Cowboys also stole Prescott in the fourth round. Jeanty can be the explosive workhorse to create needed balance and take a lot more pressure off Prescott.
Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona
McMillan is a big-bodied, big-play outside receiver in the mold of Mike Evans. He can form an awesome dynamic duo with Lamb, but he would require a top-five pick. Prescott could use an essential co-No.1 to better stretch the field.
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Malaki Starks, S, Georgia
The Cowboys also could use a clean-up safety, and Starks is a standout playmaker in every regard. He also could flank Parsons well with his ability to fly around the field.
Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama
Would the Cowboys consider getting Prescott's successor or a high-upside developmental backup with Cooper Rush and Trey Lance as pending free agents? If he uses a first-round selection on a quarterback, Jones would need to think more that way and not about trading and replacing Prescott.
Milroe would be only a consideration for the Cowboys in the second half of the first round. There's also a chance he slips to the second round, where the Cowboys might be picking early. That could cause them to mimic the Eagles' strategy in 2020 when they took Jalen Hurts in the second round (No. 53 overall) despite extending Carson Wentz on a lucrative contract the offseason prior. Milroe has the makeup of another winning athletic leader out of Alabama, sharing more than a first name with Hurts.
