The following is an excerpt from Warren Sharp's 2025 Football Preview book. In addition to Warren's deep, detailed write-up on all 32 NFL teams, each chapter features page after page of full-color charts, stats, and heatmaps as well as draft class analysis from Ryan McCrystal. Click here for a full FREE chapter from the 2025 Football Preview.
With 2025 NFL training camps on the horizon, we’re starting to understand how 2025 NFL draft classes will impact each roster this season.
Let's look at the Dallas Cowboys, breaking down the most likely instant-impact rookies from each class, while also providing some insight into why certain early picks may not see the field.
Who are the Dallas Cowboys rookies?
- Tyler Booker (OL, Alabama)
- Donovan Ezeiruaku (EDGE, Boston College)
- Shavon Revel Jr. (CB, East Carolina)
- Jaydon Blue (RB, Texas)
- Shemar James (LB, Florida)
- Ajani Cornelius (OT, Oregon)
- Jay Tola (DL, UCLA)
- Phil Mafah (RB, Clemson)
- Tommy Akingbesote (DL, Maryland)
Dallas Cowboys Draft Class Grade:
The Dallas Cowboys received a B+ draft grade from Sharp Football.
Which Cowboys Rookies Will Make An Impact?
Dallas made an uncharacteristic decision to prioritize immediate needs and select Tyler Booker (first round).
For the last decade or so, Dallas has been one of the more successful franchises at drafting in the first round due to the team’s patience and willingness to bypass needs in favor of the best available player.
In this case, Dallas passed over a handful of players 一 most notably Tyler Warren 一 who would have fit its best-available trend in favor of Booker.
Booker should start immediately at right guard and, despite the surprise selection, is probably a safe bet to have a solid career in Dallas. Booker is lacking athletic traits and wouldn’t have been a fit in every system, but he should immediately help Dallas’ run game.
Cowboys running backs ranked 27th in yards before contact gained per attempt (1.1 yards), and Booker should help solve that issue. Whether he’s athletic enough to hold up in pass protection remains to be seen.
Donovan Ezeiruaku (second round) was more of a best-available selection and gives Dallas incredible depth on the edge.
Ezeiruaku will join Micah Parsons, Dante Fowler Jr., Sam Williams, and Marshawn Kneeland to give Dallas one of the deepest pass-rush units in the league.
Since he won’t be forced into action before he’s ready, Ezeiruaku will have time to add to his strength and improve his run defense, as he is viewed as a one-dimensional player at this stage of his development.
Dallas went with a best-available pick again with Shavon Revel Jr. (third round). Once viewed as a potential first-round selection, Revel slid down the board due to a season-ending ACL injury.
Revel flashed elite ball-hawk skills during his last full season in 2023, generating a ball-hawk rate 54% above expected based on route adjusted data.
Jaydon Blue (fifth round) will have an opportunity to compete for playing time immediately and should see action on passing downs at a minimum.
Blue is an explosive weapon in the open field, but he’s also a more physical runner than his 5-foot-9, 196-pound frame would indicate.
After accounting for defenders in the box and the direction of the run, Blue gained 39% more yards after contact than expected, the second-best rate among Power Four running backs.
If that skill set translates to the league, Blue will push Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders for the starting job.
Blue will be joined in the backfield by 234-pound Phil Mafah (seventh round).
Despite his superior size, Mafah gained 3.8% fewer yards than expected based on that box/direction adjusted metric.
If Dallas carries four running backs on the roster, Mafah will have a chance to compete with Deuce Vaughn for a job.
Ajani Cornelius (sixth round) made 50 career starts at right tackle but has the traits to play guard as well. There’s a chance he could be the swing tackle, but if he proves capable of playing guard, he could provide depth at four positions on the line.
Shemar James (fifth round) was just 20 years old on draft day and is still learning the nuances of the linebacker position, but he’s the ideal Day 3 developmental prospect.
James might have a chance to earn some playing time early due to DeMarvion Overshown’s injury, but otherwise will likely spend his rookie year on special teams duty.
Jay Toia (seventh round) is a space-eating nose tackle who offers virtually no pass-rush potential.
Mazi Smith has been underwhelming as Dallas’ nose tackle during his first two years in the league, so it’s not out of the question that Toia could push him for playing time, though last year’s seventh-round pick Justin Rogers could be part of the competition as well.
Tommy Akingbesote (seventh round) will also compete for a job on the interior defensive line. He’s a former four-star recruit who never developed at Maryland, and Dallas will try to figure out what went wrong.
For a player who frequently lined up in the three- and four-tech spots, Akingbesote’s 2.9% pressure rate raises serious doubts about his ability to win a roster spot.
This was a strong draft class for Dallas, especially if Ezeiruaku and Revel reach their ceilings and turn into Day 2 steals.
That said, the perception of this draft class will hinge on Booker’s ability to revive the Cowboys run game and make everyone forget the team reached for an interior lineman while offensive weapons like Tyler Warren and Emeka Egbuka were on the board.
This analysis continues in the 2025 Football Preview
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