The Dallas Cowboys elected to stand pat in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft and came away with former University of Alabama offensive guard Tyler Booker with the No. 12 overall pick, which left some fans slightly less than pleased.
Is it fair for fans to have expected more out of the Cowboys selection with the No. 12 overall pick than for the franchise to have invested it on an interior lineman? Yes, I would say so. Did this decision prohibit Dallas from selecting a skill position player who is capable of making a difference in the second round? It remains to be seen but, at this time, there are still plenty of quality pass catchers available for the Cowboys to choose from entering day two of the draft.
Cowboys Have Perfect Trade Opportunity to Make Up For Round 1 Draft Reach
It is no secret that Dallas would benefit from adding another weapon on the outside to pair with All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. There was plenty of speculation that wide receiver could be the position the Cowboys chose to address first in this year's draft but, as we know, that was not the direction Jerry Jones and company elected to go in.
Fortunately, this year's wide receiver class is rather deep and we have only seen three prospects come off of the board through the first 32 picks. So, Dallas still has a solid opportunity at adding a contributor to the fold to start day two and one prospect in particular sticks out as an ideal fit.
Enter former University of Missouri star Luther Burden III. For those who don't follow SEC football closely, seeing a Missouri Tigers football player bantered about in this way may raise an eyebrow or two. However, Burden is truly an elite talent. As a prospect coming out of East St. Louis, Illinois, Burden was considered to be a five-star prospect, the top wide receiver in his class, and the No. 3 overall player in the class of 2022. He chose Missouri over the likes of Georgia, Alabama, and a host of other blue blood college football programs.
Entering day two, Burden III is considered to be the third-best wide receiver prospect available in this draft with only Jayden Higgins of Iowa State University and Tre Harris of the University of Mississippi ranked ahead of him. The fact of the matter is that any one of these three could be the first receiver selected on Friday evening. Meaning, Dallas could very well have to execute a trade in order to put themselves in a position to add Burden III, who I believe is the most complete wideout of the bunch listed above, to its wide receiver room.
If this is the route that the Cowboys elect to go, it shouldn't take a king's ransom to move up from the No. 44 overall pick to somewhere in the mid-30s. As the draft order currently stands, the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns seem to be the most likely candidates to pursue a wide receiver at the top of the second round so Dallas may have to do business with the Houston Texans if they want to make sure Tennessee or Cleveland don't come away with the type of all-around threat that Burden III would bring to the Cowboys offense.