The Dallas Cowboys are not going to fix their roster only with first-round picks. This draft has real value hiding in the middle rounds. With the combine finished and pro days underway, rankings are still moving, and several of the best value prospects in the class either were not on major top-50 boards before Indianapolis, or are still being talked about like niche players instead of legitimate NFL starters. To help navigate all this, here’s a list of the top underrated prospects Cowboys fans should
know heading into the draft.
1. Jake Slaughter, C, Florida
Most evaluators have him anywhere from the best center in the class to C5, and PFF noted he posted three straight seasons with a 75.0-plus overall grade, allowed only four pressures in 2025, and finished with a 99.4 pass-blocking efficiency mark. That is not a fringe draftable center, that is plug-and-play NFL starter language, especially for teams that valus intelligence, leverage, and line-call reliability.
2. Avieon Terrell, CB, Clemson
The size conversation has made people talk about Terrell like he is only a specialist, and that undersells the tape. Field Yates has him 31st overall and highlighted that Terrell logged 210 press-coverage snaps over the last two seasons while forcing eight fumbles, and most see him as CB3 in this class. But here’s why, even as the third best cornerback in the class he’s underrated. Corners who can live in press, disrupt the catch point, and attack the football with intelligent violence are not role players; they are winning players that translate extremely well in the NFL. This guy could and should go in the first round.
3. D’Angelo Ponds, CB, Indiana
In a league that lives in nickel, Ponds should be treated like a starting-caliber defender, not a consolation prize. He is pound-for-pound one of the best players in the class, and his 43.5-inch vertical at the combine was historically rare for a corner his size. The height will scare some teams off, but the instincts, twitch, competitiveness, and ability to play much bigger than 5-foot-9 are exactly why he is underrated.
4. Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech
So for most this name doesn’t make sense on this list, but there are a few that feel he’s being overlooked and his consensus overall ranking at 42nd is testament to that. Rodriguez is one of the clearest examples of the market catching up late. He jumped to 42 after leading the linebackers in both the shuttle and three-cone, while also running 4.57s in the forty time at the combine. If a linebacker is that fluid in space and that explosive while already showing real instincts, he is not just a solid prospect, he is the kind of second-level defender modern NFL teams need. That’s not the description of a second-round linebacker.
5. Kyle Louis, LB/S, Pittsburgh
Louis is the sort of hybrid defender the league keeps valuing more than the draft community does. At the Senior Bowl, Louis was one of the week’s big winners and showed off his high motor, fitting runs with solid aggressiveness, and played in zone coverage very well. He posted 24 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, six interceptions, and a pick-six over the last two seasons. That is absurd production for a player whose selling point is versatility. He plays like a chaos piece, and defenses need more of those, not fewer. His value is greater than just around the top 100.
6. Bryce Lance, WR, North Dakota State
Here’s where small-school stigma is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Lance left Indianapolis with the top post-combine draft score among participating receivers, paired with a maxed-out 99 athleticism grade after a 4.34s forty time, 41.5-inch vertical, and 11-foot-1 broad jump. That’s athleticism to play with and definitely not a camp-body profile. That is the profile of a vertical threat with real explosion who should be climbing much faster than he is rather than hovering around the 90’s in the consensus rankings.
7. Sam Roush, TE, Stanford
Roush feels like the kind of tight end NFL coaches will like more than the internet does. He entered the combine 22nd out of 27 invited tight ends, and left seventh among participants, with his 6-foot-6, 267-pound frame standing out as a real in-line blocking asset. For teams that still care about real edge-setting tight ends, that is valuable football. His consensus ranking has him as a late third/early fourth-round pick.
8. Malachi Lawrence, EDGE, UCF
Lawrence is exactly the kind of edge rusher whose stock should keep rising once teams stop overthinking it. He ran 4.52s in the forty, posted a 40-inch vertical and a 10-foot-10 broad, earned the best athleticism score among edge defenders, and went from unranked at the end of December to number 49 on the consensus rankings after the combine. That is a Day 2 edge profile with legitimate rush upside, and those guys do not stay sleepers for long.
9. Enrique Cruz Jr., OT, Kansas
Cruz is a developmental tackle, but developmental does not mean ordinary. He’s another player that entered the combine with a projection of going undrafted, then jumped to 182 overall after running 4.94s in the forty with the top vertical and broad jump numbers among tackles, plus an elite athleticism score. If you are betting on traits, movement skills, and upside at a premium position, this is the exact sort of swing worth taking earlier than consensus wants you to.
10. Charles Demmings, CB, Stephen F. Austin
Demmings is the kind of small-school corner who becomes mysteriously well-liked by NFL teams in April after the public barely talks about him in February. He finished the combine with the second-best draft score among corners and the top athleticism score at the position after a 4.41s forty, 42-inch vertical, and 11-foot broad. When the tools look like that, the school helmet should not be the first thing people mention.
11. David Gusta, DT, Kentucky
Interior defenders who can really move are always worth attention, and Gusta has been treated like an afterthought for too long. He made the biggest post-combine jump of any defensive tackle and was the only tackle in the group to earn an elite athleticism score, helped by a 4.88s forty that ranked fifth at the position. For teams hunting rotational disruption and one-gap juice, that is a much more interesting profile than the buzz would suggest as an undrafted free agent projection.
12. Jeff Caldwell, WR, Cincinnati
Caldwell might be the best pure traits bet on this list. He ran 4.31s in the forty (wow), posted a 42-inch vertical and 11-foot-2 broad jump, earned a 99 athleticism score, and also happens to be the tallest receiver in the class at 6-foot-5. So wait, we’re talking about a height, speed, explosion combination like that can create real noise, with a sixth-round projection? This is a sign the market is sleeping on this kind of prospect.
Who is your favorite underrated prospect in the draft?
