NFC East · 2026 Draft Class

Dallas Cowboys 2026 NFL Draft Class

Every Cowboys selection in the 2026 NFL Draft, the needs they entered the weekend with, and the trades that reshaped their board.

Compiled by the NFL Mock Draft Simulator research desk · Front office at the time: Jerry Jones (GM), Brian Schottenheimer (HC)

The class

Dallas Cowboys made 7 selections in the 2026 draft, opening with Caleb Downs, a safety out of Ohio State, at No. 11 overall.

The class skewed toward edge rusher, where they used 3 picks. In total they drafted 4 different positions.

Going into the weekend our board had their priority needs listed as Linebacker, Cornerback, Edge Rusher, Defensive Tackle, Safety. They addressed 3 of their 5 pre-draft needs directly: Cornerback, Edge Rusher, Safety. Left unaddressed: Linebacker, Defensive Tackle.

Their best value relative to the consensus board was LT Overton at No. 137, 46 slots later than the industry board had him ranked (91).

Draft capital

Cowboys draft capital broke down as 2 Day 1 picks, 1 on Day 2 and 4 on Day 3. 1 of those were compensatory selections, awarded for free-agency losses in the prior cycle. 6 were slots they did not own when the weekend began, acquired by trade. Holding 2 first-round picks is the rarest and most valuable position in the draft, and it gives a front office the option to be aggressive without mortgaging the rest of the class.

Pick by pick

Every Cowboys selection, with where it landed against our consensus board and against their own pre-draft needs list.

• Round 1, No. 11: Cowboys took Caleb Downs, within 7 slots of his board ranking of 4.
• Round 1, No. 23: Cowboys moved on Malachi Lawrence, paying 29 slots of premium rather than risk the wait. Edge Rusher was their No. 3 listed need.
• Round 3, No. 92: Cowboys took Jaishawn Barham on Day 2, within 1 slot of his board ranking of 93. Edge Rusher was their No. 3 listed need.
• Round 4, No. 112: Cowboys moved on Drew Shelton on Day 3, 24 slots ahead of his board ranking, which is conviction rather than value. Offensive Tackle was not on their priority needs list, a best-player-available call.
• Round 4, No. 114: Cowboys took Devin Moore on Day 3, a board-rank 86 player who fell 28 slots below where the consensus had him. Cornerback was their No. 2 listed need.
• Round 4, No. 137: Cowboys took LT Overton on Day 3, a board-rank 91 player whom the rest of the league passed on across 46 slots of board value. Edge Rusher was their No. 3 listed need.
• Round 7, No. 218: Cowboys took Anthony Smith on Day 3, a player who sat outside our ranked board.

Pre-draft needs

Our needs assessment for the Cowboys going into the 2026 draft, ordered by priority. This is the list the class above is measured against.

Draft-day trades

• With Philadelphia Eagles: sent No. 20 (R1); received No. 23 (R1), No. 114 (R4), No. 137 (R4).
• With Miami Dolphins: sent No. 12 (R1), No. 177 (R5), No. 180 (R5); received No. 11 (R1).
• With San Francisco 49ers: sent No. 152 (R5); received nothing.

Related

• Round 1 results: every other pick made around the Cowboys' first selection.
• Position rankings for the groups they drafted: Safety, Edge Rusher, Offensive Tackle, Cornerback.
• The 2026 consensus big board: where every one of these players ranked before the draft.
• Every trade from the 2026 draft: the full ledger, including the Cowboys' moves.
• Steals and reaches: which picks diverged most from the board, and what that gap means.
• The draft by the numbers: positional supply, school production and how draft capital was distributed.

More on the Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys franchise hub carries the current front office and needs, plus every other class we cover.