Draft week is here. After a disappointing season, the week the Dallas Cowboys rely on the most to improve their team from year-to-year is here. The Cowboys own eight picks in the 2026 NFL draft with the idea a majority of them will be spent on defense.
The most recent shakeup in the top 10 has the New York Giants picking at 10, instead of the Cincinnati Bengals after trading away Dexter Lawrence to Cincinnati for the 10th overall pick. With the top ten now set (most likely) until day one of the NFL draft begins, let’s get to drafting. For today’s mock draft, we will be using various media members, content creators, and media scouts picks for round one, and various consensus boards rankings, as well as 30 visit information and intel from multiple sources for rounds 2-7. Let’s draft.
There has been a lot of discussion over the last few weeks about the Cowboys making a move up into the top 10 to land their defender of choice. While it is still a possibility, that decision will likely not come until the Cleveland Browns are on the clock at six. The Cowboys have been rumored to be high on David Bailey, Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese, and Caleb Downs so far this offseason. With Bailey, Styles, and Reese expected to go inside the top five, measuring a trade up with Cleveland, New Orleans, or Kansas City is far more likely than Arizona or Tennessee. The Cowboys put out a historically bad defense in 2025 and their lack of football IQ in Matt Eberflus’ scheme was littered throughout the tape, and Caleb Downs is one of the smartest and technically sound backend defenders we have seen in quite some time.
There’s a loud discussion about Downs not making it to the 12th overall pick, but if the Giants elect to go Styles at 5 (which is a high possibility), there are only a few landmines to avoid (Kansas City and New York again) in order for him to make it to 12. One of Caleb Downs, Rueben Bain Jr., Sonny Styles, or Mansoor Delane will likely be available when the Cowboys are on the clock. That is likely giving them some hesitation to move up if the price is astronomical.
The Jacob Rodriguez to the Cowboys connection has been talked about a lot this draft season. Given his successful career at Texas Tech and the production he put out the last few seasons, the Cowboys address their biggest need remaining in a trade back with Kansas City.
Rodriguez immediately slides into the starting rotation at inside linebacker and gives the Cowboys a smart, fast, and physical presence in the middle of their defense, that was desperately needed on that side of the ball in 2025.
With the first round wrapped up, we will not focus solely on the Cowboys selections.
With the Cowboys addressing their defensive back and linebacker room with their two first round picks, they can now turn their focus to addressing their pass rush.
As rough as shape as their linebacker room is in, their pass rush room is not much better. Romello Height is an undersized rusher that will be relied on more as a rusher than a run defender early in his career. Height had a tremendous season at Texas Tech in 2025, which put him on the map as a potential top 75 player. Height posted an impressive 21.8% pass-rush-win-rate in 2025, and his explosive get off, tenacity, and pass rush arsenal could be well used in Dallas, as they are currently lacking a consistent pressure player on the edge with Jadeveon Clowney and Dante Fowler expected to play elsewhere in 2026. Height was a 30 visit for the Cowboys, and despite his lack of size, fits the Cowboys arm length threshold for an edge defender.
With Caleb Downs expected to take on a heavy nickel workload, the Cowboys could still stand to add quality depth to their cornerback room with the future of DaRon Bland now in question.
Malik Muhammad is a smaller build defensive back, but his ability to play in a variety of schemes, inside-and-out, and his instincts in coverage make him an ideal mid-round fit for the Cowboys in Christian Parker’s defense. Muhammad has been heavily linked to the Cowboys this offseason and his fit with Parker given his length and high football IQ would be a home run selection late on day two, filling a big need for the Cowboys.
After moving on from Osa Odighizuwa, the Cowboys could use some beef up front on the defensive line. Despite playing at a small school, Proctor put out some of the better interior defensive line tape in 2025. Proctor is more of a traditional three-technique, but the Cowboys will likely still likely play a ton of nickel in 2026 under Parker.
Proctor will see a major uptick in competition in the NFL, but his testing, get-off, and physical traits as a pass rusher are worth the gamble on day three to replace a quality player in Osa Odighizuwa and provide depth along the defensive line behind Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, and Jonathan Bullard.
The Cowboys have invested a ton of draft capitol in their offensive line over the last few years, but with Tyler Guyton still yet to show signs of taking the next step, and Terence Steele’s continued struggles in pass protection, adding another young, developmental right tackle to the room would be wise.
Dametrious Crownover is a massive human being listed at over 6-foot-7, 315-lbs. He has 35 3/8” arms and is a quality athlete for a tackle of his size. Crownover is more of a traits pick than a step in and ready to play pick, but his elite traits are worth developing for an offensive line that could be looking for two new starting tackles in the foreseeable future.
LSU’s Harold Perkins has been one of the more polarizing prospects this draft season.
Just a few years ago, Perkins looked to be like a future first-round pick, but his dip in production and lack of development led to more questions than answers. Perkins is an undersized full-time edge rusher, but his lack of instincts and dip in production when moved to linebacker makes him a tough evaluation. Perkins could be used as a Swiss army knife in Dallas, allowing him to split time as an off-the-ball linebacker and on the edge as a pass rusher on probable passing downs.
Dallas does not have a pressing need at running back with Javonte Williams re-signed and Jaydon Blue, Phil Mafah, and Malik Davis under contract, but after his rookie season, the coaching staff seems to have trust issues with Blue and he’s the only threat the Cowboys currently have in their running back room as a receiver. Taylor is a three-down back, with the ability to win as a runner, receiver, and blocker in the NFL. If the Cowboys still have questions about Blue’s ability, Taylor would be a nice addition to the running back room that has a real shot of playing meaningful snaps early on, on offense and special teams.
Louisville’s Rene Konga popped up early in the process as a surprise 30 visit for the Cowboys, and since his stock has begun to sore after testing like a freak athlete at his pro day. Konga is another later round, developmental defensive lineman that could battle for a roster spot in year one and potentially look to take over for Kenny Clark when that time comes. Konga posted a 9.78 relative athletic score from his pro day testing and has the physical traits to pair with his insane athletic upside.