Dallas Cowboys’ 2026 NFL draft picks: Full list, analysis – Todd Archer, ESPN.comHere’s how the Cowboys did during the the draft.
Round 1, No. 11 overall: Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State
My take: Some personnel people considered Downs, 21, the best player in the draft, even though he does not play one of the pivotal positions. He was a great player at Alabama and Ohio State. Last season for the Buckeyes, he played for coordinator Matt Patricia, who oversaw some of the Patriots’ Super Bowl defenses. Downs was able to understand Patricia’s defense quickly and excelled. The Cowboys added safeties Jalen Thompson and P.J. Locke in free agency, but Downs can fill a different role as a slot player. He is more than willing to be physical. He can stay with running backs and tight ends. He knows how to communicate to bridge the differences between the front seven and back end. He was one of the 12 players the Cowboys had a first-round grade on entering the draft.
Will he start as a rookie?: It depends on the definition of starter but remember coach Brian Schottenheimer listed nickel defender as the Cowboys’ biggest need when asked at the recent NFL league meeting. New coordinator Christian Parker will use a sub package more than a base defense, so there will be plenty of snaps for Downs as a rookie. With Thompson and Malik Hooker, Downs doesn’t need to “start” at safety, but there will be plenty of snaps for him to play in 2026 regardless of where he lines up on the field.
What we’re hearing about Downs: Speaking on “The Pat McAfee Show” this week, Nick Saban, who was Downs’ coach at Alabama, said, “The guy is so instinctive, he’s got really good ability. He’s a phenomenal person, and he is a football junkie.” In 2023, as a freshman, Downs led Alabama’s defense in tackles (107).
With their final pick of the draft, the Cowboys added a high upside talent with terrific speed.
The Cowboys ticked off a majority of of their most-frequently-cited needs with their first six picks in the 2026 NFL draft using five of those selections to bolster the much-aligned defense.
Safety? They got the best one in the class. Edge rusher? Dallas picked three of them, though one projects to be used more like a linebacker and another should play more on the interior. High-potential cornerback? Got one of those, too.
Linebacker was the only Cowboys roster slot not addressed through the first six rounds. But with the team’s final pick being a seventh-rounder, it was always going to be a dart throw at best. (Even more so when LSU’s Harold Perkins Jr., the best ‘backer left on the board, was taken by the Falcons just three spots before Dallas came on the clock.)
Sometimes a pick in the seventh lands a player who goes on to make a meaningful contribution. Current swing tackle Nathan Thomas was a seventh-rounder in 2024; Noah Brown, Jay Ratliff, Patrick Crayton, Brock Marion, and Leon Lett have all been taken there during the Jerry Jones era. Heck, Hall of Famers Bob Hayes and Rayfield Wright were both seventh-round selections once upon a time.
Time will tell if East Carolina wide receiver Anthony Smith, the Cowboys’ pick at No. 218, will follow in their footsteps.
Official pre-draft scouting reports on Smith are few and far between, but a check of his resume shows that after four sparsely-used seasons at North Carolina State, Smith broke out in 2024 and 2025 for the Pirates. He ended his six-year college career with 118 catches for 2,095 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Smith really showed out for East Carolina in their Military Bowl win in December, hauling in four passes for 156 yards and two scores, earning the game’s MVP honors.
His speed is graded as elite- having been clocked with a 4.40 40- and he has shown good explosiveness and agility, tools that the Cowboys will surely put to use as he begins his NFL career.
On day 2 of the draft, the Cowboys were able to acquire a very productive linebacker from the 49ers for cheap. Still, why would the 49ers trade him away?
The San Francisco 49ers decided to trade Dee Winters to the Dallas Cowboys for a fifth-round pick. Naturally, ahead of and during the NFL Draft, there are always difficult decisions when it comes to trading players for additional picks. San Francisco was no exception. Backup quarterback Mac Jones was frequently mentioned in trade speculation, but no deal ultimately materialized. However, the team parted ways with Winters as they continue to reshape their roster heading into the new season.
John Lynch explains why the 49ers moved on from Dee Winters
Winters joined the franchise in 2023 after being selected in the sixth round, so trading him away for a fifth-round pick would indicate a return on investment. Across his time in the City by the Bay, Winters contributed primarily on special teams and as a rotational defender, recording solid tackle numbers while showing flashes of brilliance. “We made that trade today [Friday], and that’s tough because Dee’s a guy who’s done a lot for us here,” Lynch shared to reporters when discussing their Day 2 additions.
“Sixth-round pick out of TCU, but Dee is one of the favorite guys in that locker room amongst his teammates. He’s done a lot for us on the field. “We just felt like we were in a good position at linebacker, and Dallas has been really interested in him for a long time. And I’d say the talks probably started with myself and [Cowboys co-owner, EVP] Stephen Jones, when we were talking about Osa [Odighizuwa].
They’ve stayed on that. We kind of held it off for a while, and as we got there today, we just felt like it was the right thing to do for our team. “It’s a good opportunity for Dee. I think there’s a lot of opportunity for him to shine, and just very grateful for Dee’s time here and all his contributions he made to our squad.”