The 2026 NFL Draft kicks off live from Pittsburgh on Thursday, April 23 and the latest crop of rookies will be hearing their names called all weekend long. For the Dallas Cowboys, the biggest need is an obvious one: Inside linebacker.
The Cowboys are extremely thin at inside linebacker, where DeMarvion Overshown is the team's only viable starter. Dallas owns three picks in the top 100, including two in the first round. Look for the Cowboys to address the position early in the draft.
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Here's everything you need to know about the Dallas Cowboys for this year's draft, including a round-by-round look at picks and a potential trade candidate already on the roster:
Speaking of competence on defense, Styles would be an incredible fit for the Cowboys. This unit needs more overhaul from 2025 than most any in the league and dropping one of the most dynamic defensive players in the class would go a long way to remedy that. Styles would immediately turn around a weakness on the Cowboys' defense and maybe make it a strength.
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In 2023, Cowboys team owner/general manager Jerry Jones traded a Day 3 pick for an unproven young backup quarterback with intriguing tools in Trey Lance. In 2025, he did it again, sending a fifth-round pick to the Patriots for Joe Milton. Milton has a cannon for an arm but has struggled with developing the other necessary tools to be an NFL starter - or even a top-end backup. Dallas has already signed veteran free agent Sam Howell to compete with Milton for the QB2 job. They could benefit from trading an enticing-yet-raw quarterback like Milton for some extra draft capital to build up the defense rather than potentially cutting him after training camp.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dallas Cowboys 2026 NFL Draft: Picks, team needs, trade candidates