FRISCO, Texas 鈥 The first draft of the Brian Schottenheimer era of the Cowboys franchise is in the books. He's been in plenty of draft rooms in the past, but Dallas hadn't seen him in this position before, and he passed the test.
"It was great to see [Brian Schottenheimer] and the confidence that we have with Will [McClay] and the scouts, and it was just great鈥" Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. "To see that come together of Schotty taking these new guys, the approach to them, Will working the scouts鈥 this was a good draft."
After trading one pick away, the Cowboys made nine selections in the 2025 class, with their first pick being dedicated to the offensive line in Alabama guard Tyler Booker. Their full draft class is as follows:
- Round 1 (Pick 12) - Tyler Booker, G, Alabama
- 2 (44) Donovan Ezeiruaku, EDGE, Boston College
- 3 (76) Shavon Revel Jr., CB, East Carolina
- 5 (149) Jaydon Blue, RB, Texas
- 5 (152) Shemar James, LB, Florida
- 6 (204) Ajani Cornelius, OL, Oregon
- 7 (217) Jay Toia, DT, UCLA
- 7 (239) Phil Mafah, RB, Clemson
- 7 (247) Tommy Akingbesote, DT, Maryland
Jones and the front office were open about the fact that they had gotten their prospect board set up a little bit later along in the process than normal because of Schottenheimer and his staff getting acclimated to new roles and getting up to speed. Even still, COO and co-owner Stephen Jones was pleased with how much they leaned on their board.
"The best thing we may have done it better than we have ever done it is stick to it," Jones said. "There were opportunities there where we had to go away from needs and just take the best player鈥 I think it all came together well and it worked out good for us."
In the fifth and seventh rounds, the Cowboys were able to kill two birds with one stone by addressing needs in running back and defensive tackle by double dipping at both positions. At the running back spot, the team likes how Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah compliment one another.
"At the end of the day in the NFL, you're looking for explosive playmakers. [Jaydon Blue] is an explosive playmaker," Cowboys VP of Player Personnel Will McClay said. "You put him in the backfield behind what we've built on the line, it gives you an opportunity to be explosive."
Blue brings the speed and home-run ability in the run and passing game, and Mafah brings a more physical running style. Schottenheimer said that Mafah did a lot of the same things on tape at Clemson that Cardinals running back James Connner did, and while not comparing the two as players, likes the fit Mafah brings to Dallas schematically.
"Some of the things we can do from the gap schemes and things like that are things we saw Phil do at Clemson, and we really like that." Schottenheimer said.
Dallas was very open about how deep they felt this year's running backs class was leading up to the draft, and Jerry Jones even admitted they would've picked a running back earlier in the draft had they not been so fond of the position group's depth. Instead, they got two players late that they feel confident can compete for either a starting job, or a place in a running back by committee approach alongside other backs currently in the room like free agent additions Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders.
"Still too early to say that," Schottenheimer said when asked if Dallas would go by committee at running back in 2025. "I think what we definitely did was we improved the competition in that room.
"I would think that both Javonte and Miles will not be intimidated by these two guys, I think Jayden and Phil will both come in, they've got a big learning curve, but they're both the right type of guys that will pick the system up fast."
With only five defensive tackles on the roster heading into the draft, it was a position that many thought Dallas would take early on but instead, they doubled up in the seventh round with Jay Toia and Tommy Akingbesote. McClay didn't label them as one-techniques or three-techniques, instead as just defensive linemen who they want to be strong up front.
"What we tried to do with Jay Toia and [Tommy] Akingbesote is to get bigger, more physical, add more competition in there. The way that [Matt] Eberflus has come in and talked about playing defense, is we're going to be running after the football."
"We're going to be playing aggressive, physical football, and we're going to ask guys to run and play fast, so we try to get guys that were able to do that.
Schottenheimer, a University of Florida alum, added a Gator to his inaugural draft class when the team selected linebacker Shemar James. James of course wasn't drafted because of Schottenheimer's days in Gainesville, but instead to get a chance to develop under Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, who has a strong track record with linebackers.
"He's a young player, instincts鈥 really like his ability to rush the passer," Schottenheimer said. "He's got great disengagement skills with his hands, obviously linebackers in Matt Eberflus' defense are going to be tasked with doing a lot of different things, but really just a good strong player at different levels for us."
Last but not least, the Cowboys doubled up on offensive linemen as well with Booker being their 12th overall pick, and Ajani Cornelius being added in the fifth-round. He played right tackle in college at his stops at Rhode Island and Oregon, and Dallas views him as a versatile piece in the room.
"He's an offensive lineman that has the ability to swing," McClay said. "I think that in the NFL nowadays, we really cross train guys to give you flexibility on the offense, you've got to have the ability to do that. We think he can go on inside as well as play outside."
For the first time since 2020, the Cowboys did not draft a wide receiver, a spot where Dallas has admitted they've been looking for an "explosive" second option to pair with CeeDee Lamb. The front office has reiterated time and time again that player acquisition is a cycle that is always ongoing for Dallas, and the addition of a receiver via trade or free agency is still on the table.
"It was definitely a big time thought," Jerry Jones said when asked if wide receiver was the subject of a "substantive trade" Jones had mentioned earlier in the week. "The train has not left the station if improvement is needed from what we've got on campus."
What they have on campus is Jalen Tolbert, Parris Campbell, Ryan Flournoy, Jalen Brooks and Jonathan Mingo, who the team traded for a fourth-round pick to the Carolina Panthers that turned into Georgia running back Trevor Etienne being selected earlier on Saturday. It'll be a position to monitor in the coming weeks as the Cowboys get close to the start of OTAs on May 19.
