The Dallas Cowboys will enter the 2026 NFL Draft with two first round picks, barring an unforeseen trade. Right now, they hold the 12th and 20th pick in the draft, and I would be shocked if they end up picking an offensive player with either of those picks. They have massive, massive needs on the defensive side of the ball, so I’d like to see them spend both of their first rounders on defensive players.
Pick 12
1. CB Mansoor Delane
It’s a bit tough to rank prospects for Dallas, because I don’t really know who will be there, but if Mansoor Delane is available, Dallas needs to turn in the card immediately. Cornerback is the biggest need on their roster at the moment. They don’t have a single cornerback that is starting-caliber, so they absolutely have to leave the first round with a cornerback, and Delane is the best one in this draft class.
As an LSU alum, I’ve seen so many great cornerbacks play in Tiger Stadium, and Delane is right there with the best of them. In his lone season with the Tigers, Delane allowed a 40 percent completion rate, 165 yards and zero touchdowns with two picks and seven pass breakups. He broke up or picked off almost a third of his targets. Doing that in the SEC is absolutely insane.
Delane could step in and eliminate the opponents’ top receiver immediately, and that’s exactly the type of player the Cowboys need.
2. S Caleb Downs
Caleb Downs is a better prospect than Delane, but I don’t think he would have as big of an impact on this Dallas as Delane would. Downs can play in the slot or guard a tight end and be a factor in the run game, but if they don’t have any good corners, that doesn’t matter.
Now, if Dallas ended up picking Downs over Delane, I wouldn’t hate it at all. He’s a generational talent at safety and he can do anything you want him to do. And pairing him with someone like Jalen Thompson would give Dallas arguably the best safety duo in the league. They wouldn’t even have to think about their safety room for the next five years.
There’s no guarantee Downs or Delane even get to Dallas at No. 12, but if either of them are on the board, they absolutely have to be the pick.
3. DE Rueben Bain Jr.
Rueben Bain could end up being the first defensive end off the board, but he could also easily fall into the teens over concerns about his arm length. If you draft him, you’re counting on him being a complete outlier. Nobody with his arm length has ever been successful in the league, but he’s so talented that it might not even matter.
After corner, defensive end is Dallas’s biggest need. They traded for Rashan Gary, but I’m not convinced he can transform their pass rush by himself. He needs a really good counterpart, which was evident at the end of last year when Micah Parsons went out, so if Bain slides to No. 12, the Cowboys almost have to take the gamble if Delane and Downs are off the board.
4. CB Jermod McCoy
I feel pretty good about Jermod McCoy’s chances of making it to No. 12 (spoiler alert: he was my pick for Dallas in the 7-round mock draft I did). He’s the clear CB2 in this draft class, but if he hadn’t missed all of 2025 with a torn ACL, he would’ve given Delane a run for his money as CB1.
In 2024, McCoy gave up a 50 percent completion rate, 386 yards and two touchdowns while picking off four passes and breaking up six more. Couple that with a very impressive pro day, where he ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash with a 38-inch vertical, and you can see why he’ll be the second corner off the board later this month.
I mentioned earlier that cornerback is Dallas’s biggest need, so if those three guys are all gone, I believe McCoy should be the pick.
5. OT Spencer Fano
Offensive tackle is a sneaky big need for Dallas. Tyler Guyton and Terence Steele were two of the worst pass blocking tackles in the NFL last year, so while I don’t think they want to give up on them just yet, Dallas might want to think about who their replacement might be.
If all four of those defenders are gone, I don’t know where Dallas goes at 12. Makai Lemon and Jordyn Tyson would be intriguing, but that’s not a need. Dillon Thieneman, Avieon Terrell and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren could get some consideration, but it would be a pretty big reach. And Akeheem Mesidor, T.J. Parker and Keldric Faulk could also be in play, but again, it would be a reach.
If the top-four guys are gone and Dallas can’t trade back, I wouldn’t be mad at them taking a tackle like Spencer Fano, especially because he can play guard and tackle. You could stick him inside (maybe even at center) and see if Guyton and Steele can’t step up this year. If they can’t, you can move Fano to tackle. If they can, he can be an excellent interior offensive lineman.
It wouldn’t be a popular pick, but it would make sense.
Pick 20
1. CB Avieon Terrell
I’m higher on Avieon Terrell than most people. He’s not a fantastic athlete with elite top-end speed, but he’s very fluid and is still fast enough to not get burnt deep every time. I know Clemson’s defense didn’t have the year they wanted, but Terrell was still a big bright spot, giving up a sub-60 percent completion rate and breaking up five passes.
Another thing I really like about Terrell is how young he is. He just turned 21 years old in January, and he is already incredibly talented. In today’s world, where most guys coming out of college are 23 or older, getting someone as good as Terrell at such a young age is a huge deal.
I keep saying it, but corner is a massive need for Dallas. If they go edge rusher or safety at No. 12, Terrell will likely be the best corner available when they come on the clock at No. 20.
2. DE Akheem Mesidor
Everyone talks about Akheem Mesidor’sage, and I’ll admit it’s not ideal, but for Dallas, drafting a 25-year-old isn’t necessarily the worst thing. They have a quarterback and an offense they believe in, so drafting a 25-year-old who is probably more pro-ready than some of the other defensive ends in this range could make a lot of sense for them. They need to win now, not in five years when Dak Prescott is gone.
Mesidor is an extremely talented pass rusher who is a bit undersized, but is still powerful enough to win with his strength. He has a deep pass rush repertoire and could make an immediate impact opposite of Rashan Gary. If Dallas addressed their secondary at No. 12, expect Mesidor to be in serious consideration at No. 20, if he’s still available.
3. S Dillon Thieneman
I don’t think Dallas needs to add a safety this early in the draft, but if Dillon Thienemanis still available at No. 20, I wouldn’t hate the pick at all. Just like with Downs, if you take Thieneman and pair him with Jalen Thompson, then all of a sudden, you have a safety room that is one of the best in the league for the next 5+ years.
Thieneman can do it all. He’s great in coverage, can come down and defend the run, has produced every single year in college and is a fantastic athlete. You can’t ask for much more out of a safety. He would be the top safety in most draft classes. His just so happens to have Caleb Downs in it.
4. DE T.J. Parker
I wasn’t a big T.J. Parker fan early in the draft process, but the more I think about him and watch his tape, the more I like him. He’s been productive every single year in college, and while I would’ve loved to have seen more from him last year, his 2024 tape really shows what he’s capable of. He had 11 sacks and six forced fumbles as a sophomore, and if everyone around him didn’t regress in 2025, I think he would’ve had a much better season.
On top of the great tape he put out during his sophomore season, Parker is a great athlete. He ran a 4.68-second 40-yard dash with a 34-inch vertical at 263 pounds. He’d be a great addition to Dallas’s pass rushing unit at No. 20.
5. DE Keldric Faulk
I am not a Keldric Faulk fan. I’ve seen my favorite team draft far too many athletic defensive ends without a ton of college production (Marcus Davenport & Payton Turner) for me to feel good about Faulk. However, I can understand why teams like the idea of him. He’s 6-foot-6, 276 pounds, runs a 4.67-second 40-yard dash and jumps 35 inches. On paper, those are all great, but I’ve been burnt too many times by guys like him in the past.
And like I said earlier, Dallas doesn’t really need someone they need to build up for two or three years. They need someone who is pro-ready, and Faulk is not as ready as Parker or Mesidor. But he is probably the third-best defensive end on the board at this stage, and it’s a massive need, so he has to be mentioned.
