Do you think the Cowboys will trade during the draft?
The Dallas Cowboys won’t be playing in the playoffs this season. Again. As they turn the page and look to regroup, a great deal of attention will be directed at fixing the defense. The team took its first step by firing defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus on Tuesday. A new guy running the defense, combined with some new players from April’s draft, will go a long way in determining if they can get back on track.
The Cowboys currently own the 12th overall pick thanks to finishing with a losing record for the second straight season. They also own the rights to the Green Bay Packers first-round pick courtesy of the Micah Parsons trade. The hope is that the Packers lose to the Chicago Bears on Saturday, giving the Cowboys the 20th overall pick. If the Packers win this weekend but then lose in the Divisional round, that pick drops to 25, and it only gets worse from there if the Packers keep winning. For that reason, every Cowboys fan should be rooting for Da Bears on Saturday.
If things go according to plan and the Packers lose, Dallas will own the 12th and 20th picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. That is some hefty draft capital. The obvious thinking is that the Cowboys will use those picks to land two of the stronger defensive players in the draft. There are some great defensive studs in this draft, and fans out there who would jump at the opportunity to land two players from the following list:
- Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese
- Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey
- Ohio State safety Caleb Downs
- LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane
If the Cowboys have an opportunity to score two of their top-graded defenders, you better believe they’ll come out of Day 1 as happy campers. But sometimes the stars don’t align so nicely. If the Cowboys miss out on “their guy,” they need to be ready to pivot. As we all know, the Cowboys have many needs on defense. You could make a case that the team needs:
- a new starting safety
- a new starting edge rusher
- a new starting linebacker
- a new starting cornerback
Basically, they need a starter at every position except defensive tackle, which is a weird thing to say considering that position has been their Achilles heel for many years. However, thanks to the Parsons trade, the team has redistributed its talent and is now strong in the middle of its defensive line, while needing help in almost every other area. Making matters worse, the team doesn’t possess a second- or third-round pick because of trades for Quinnen Williams and George Pickens, respectively. How are they supposed to fix the defense with just two draft picks?
Answer: Trade back and acquire more picks.
If the Cowboys end up with picks 12 and 20, they could do a lot with that type of draft capital. For example, if they wanted to keep pick 12 because there was someone they absolutely loved, they could trade pick 20 to the Arizona Cardinals and acquire their second (34th overall) and third (65th overall) round picks. Check out the Jimmy Johnson trade chart. With picks 12, 34, and 65, they could come away with one defensive stud and two other potential starters.
Or, they can take it even further and trade away pick 12 as well. They could trade that pick to the Houston Texans for their first (27th overall) and second (38th overall) round picks. Trading both their first-round picks could yield picks 27, 34, 38, and 65. That’s three picks in the top 40 and four picks in the top 65. That could allow them a chance to land four potential defensive starters. Additionally, it allows them to address positions like linebacker and safety with quality draft picks, but without having to allocate top 20 picks for them.
The Cowboys are in a unique position. With great draft capital comes great responsibility. They have a lot of holes on defense, and we know they aren’t going to try to band-aid them with costly free agents. It’s draft or bust with this team, and they would benefit from having a few more premium darts to throw at the draft board. If they can just get a few more quality contributors, it could help make a bad defense decent, which could help make a decent team great.
Category: General Sports
