The Dallas Cowboys will finish the 2024 NFL season either 8-9 or 7-10, meaning they could pick as high as No. 11 or as low as No. 17 in the 2025 NFL Draft.

When Week 18 shakes out, though, it will likely end with Big D somewhere in the 12-14 range. With that selection, Dallas can get an impact player who can help the team in 2025, so let’s take a look at the top five Cowboys’ 2025 NFL draft targets for this first round (and one for Day 2 or 3

The Cowboys have some big general needs heading into the 2025 NFL Draft, but they could also have some new scheme-specific needs that pop up in the next few days and weeks if head coach Mike McCarthy doesn’t return for his sixth season with the franchise.

And while the team is locked into quarterback Dak Prescott — coming off yet another early-season-ending injury — for at least the next two to three seasons and there is no franchise QB that will be available a dozen or more picks in any way, the Cowboys’ 2025 draft targets should include a developmental QB in the later rounds.

So, without further ado, let’s check out the Cowboys’ 2025 NFL draft targets.

Look at almost any 2025 NFL mock draft and you’re likely to see the author predicting that Jerry Jones goes full Jerry Jones, picking the best running back on the board.

Since buying the team in 1989, Jones has taken a running back with his first draft pick five times, to varying results. The owner/general manager has done this in 1990 (Emmitt Smith), 1995 (Sherman Williams), 2004 (Julius Jones), 2008 (Felix Jones), and 2016 (Ezekiel Elliott).

Jeanty rushed for nearly 2,601 yards this season, missing Barry Sanders’ all-time record by just 27. He is a prospect on par with recent high first-round picks like Bijan Robinson, Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, and Elliott.

Dallas needs a RB for sure, but after over-drafting Elliott just shy of a decade ago is Jones really ready to roll that dice again?

WR Luther Burden III, Missouri

When Dak Prescott returns next season, he’ll return to an offense that is relatively devoid of playmakers outside of CeeDee Lamb. Getting a WR2 to go opposite the superstar pass-catcher should be a top priority for the Cowboys in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Luther Burden III is an explosive 5-foot-11, 205-pound wideout from Missouri who specializes in yards after catch. With his big-play ability drawing attention away from Lamb, Prescott could easily have the most dangerous passing game he’s ever had in his decade at the helm of America’s Team.

DT Kenneth Grant, Michigan

The Cowboys have nearly all their defensive linemen hitting free agency this offseason, including starting defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa. This is exactly the type of solid veteran presence that Jones will not be able to pay in the future after paying Prescott and Lamb with Micah Parsons on deck.

So, if the Cowboys are looking for younger, cheaper interior defensive line help, why not pair up Michigan DT Kenneth Grant with his former teammate, Mazi Smith?

Grant is a 6-foot-3, 339-pound space-eater and run-stuffer who could immediately improve the Cowboys’ 31st-ranked defensive unit that gave up the fourth-most rushing yards in the NFL this past season.

EDGE/LB Jalon Walker, Georgia

The Dallas pass rush will also be hit hard in free agency, with Demarcus Lawrence, Carl Lawson, and Chauncey Golston all out of contract after the 2024 campaign. Those players will be 33, 30, and 27, respectively, next season, though, so it is time to get younger across from Parsons either way.

Jalon Walker is an intriguing prospect here because the Georgia defender led the team in sacks this season (6.5) despite primarily playing off-ball linebacker. At 6-foot-3, 245 pounds, some may see Walker as a tweener, but the last time Jones took an uber-athletic off-ball LB with some pass-rushing skills it turned out pretty well.

Walker does have some Micah Parsons in him, and with those two and second-year breakout DeMarvion Overshown holding down the front seven, the D could improve quickly.

QB Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss

Despite backing up the Brink’s truck for Dak Prescott a year too late and locking into a yet-to-accomplish-much, soon-to-be-32-year-old for the next three seasons, Dallas needs to start looking toward the future at the QB position.

The trade for Trey Lance ahead of this past season was a smart dice roll, but it doesn’t seem as if it will pay dividends as the young signal-caller was unable to unseat Cooper Rush when Prescott went out.

Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart is 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, and has all the athleticism and arm strength teams are looking for in a modern NFL signal-caller. The biggest knock on the former USC and Ole Miss passer is that his most success came in Lane Kiffin’s system, which has failed to translate in the NFL (looking at you, Matt Corral) thus far.

With a few years to sit and learn under McCarthy or whoever the next coach is could help develop this mid-round pick into a starter down the line.