Shop in Seagoville Feature | 2026 NFL Draft
Dallas used two first-round picks on defense for the first time since 2005, landing elite prospects who could transform America’s Team on both sides of the trenches.
By Merv Moore | June 10, 2026 | Shop in Seagoville Sports
The Dallas Cowboys walked out of Pittsburgh with something they have not had in two decades: a reason to believe the draft just changed everything. When the final pick was in, Dallas had used five of seven selections on defense, including two first-round choices, for the first time since 2005. That year, they left with DeMarcus Ware and Marcus Spears. This year, the Cowboys believe they left with the building blocks of an identity-changing defense.
The cornerstone of the 2026 class arrived at pick No. 11. Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, widely regarded by scouts as the best player in the draft regardless of position, fell past ten teams before Dallas moved up one spot from No. 12 to secure him. The price was two fifth-round picks. It was, by any measure, a bargain.
Downs earned a PFF grade of 85.0 or higher in each of his three college seasons, one at Alabama and two at Ohio State. According to Pro Football Focus, he finished as the highest-graded player in the 2026 class at 87.5. His instincts in coverage, combined with reliable open-field tackling, drew comparisons to Derwin James and Kyle Hamilton from analysts at Blogging The Boys.
The Cowboys desperately needed that kind of talent in the secondary. Dallas finished last in PFF coverage grade as a unit in 2025, and allowed an NFL-worst 30.1 points per game. Downs is not just a band-aid. He is the kind of chess piece who can play the slot, cover in the deep half, and support the run, giving new defensive coordinator Christian Parker a player who fits multiple roles.
ESPN’s Todd McShay had compared Downs to Ed Reed in pre-draft analysis, noting his elite processing ability and football IQ. Parker, who helped oversee some of New England’s best defenses, will look to use Downs in his sub-package heavy scheme. His impact as a rookie is already considered a near certainty.
With their second first-round pick at No. 23, Dallas added the firepower the edge needed. UCF’s Malachi Lawrence ran a 4.52-second 40-yard dash at the combine, added a 40-inch vertical, and posted an 89.5 PFF pass-rush grade in his final college season. He recorded seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss with the Knights in 2025. Lawrence gave the Cowboys a speed element off the edge that they had been missing since trading Micah Parsons.
CBS Sports noted that Dallas picked two defensive players in the first round for the first time since 2005. That draft produced a Hall of Fame career from Ware, who finished 10th all-time in NFL sacks. The parallel is not lost on Cowboys fans who watched that class transform the franchise’s defensive culture in one night.
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones addressed the scope of the rebuild directly after the draft. “We have changed the concept of what we’re doing defensively,” Jones said on the Cowboys’ official website. “We’ve executed a dramatic change.” It was a rare moment of candor from a man who rarely admits his team has a problem.
The Cowboys did not stop on Day 1. On Day 2, Dallas acquired linebacker Dee Winters from the San Francisco 49ers in a trade, then added Michigan edge rusher Jaishawn Barham at pick No. 92. Barham recorded 32 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and four sacks for the Wolverines in 2025. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer compared the versatile linebacker to Zack Baun, the former off-ball linebacker who thrived under Parker’s defensive system in Philadelphia.
Day 3 produced what may be the steal of the entire class. Florida cornerback Devin Moore, available at pick No. 114 because of injury history, brought a 6-foot-3 frame, 4.5 speed, and an 83.0 PFF grade in 2025 to the Cowboys secondary. PFF had ranked Moore as the No. 85 player on its board, meaning Dallas got a potential top-100 talent at No. 114. When healthy, Moore allowed a 48.2 percent completion rate with five interceptions over his three-year college career, according to Blogging The Boys.
The Cowboys rounded out the class with Penn State offensive tackle Drew Shelton at pick No. 112, Alabama defensive lineman LT Overton at No. 137, and East Carolina wide receiver Anthony Smith in the seventh round. Most analysts viewed those picks as depth additions, but Overton’s 81-inch wingspan and 280-pound frame could see him develop into a starter on the defensive line behind Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark.
The consensus across national outlets was clear. Yahoo Sports called it a savvy draft headlined by two Day 1 impact players. PFF awarded Dallas a B grade, with the caveat that Downs alone elevated the class. Blogging The Boys went further, writing that the class would have earned the label of best Cowboys draft in more than a decade if not for the absence of a middle linebacker taken early.
The last Cowboys draft class measured in that company was 2016, when Dallas walked out of the building with Ezekiel Elliott, Dak Prescott, Jaylon Smith, and Maliek Collins. That class won the NFC East the same year and set the tone for nearly a decade of Dallas football. The 2026 class carries a different mission. This one is about rebuilding the other side of the ball.
The structure is in place. Two first-round defenders with legitimate star potential, a versatile linebacker already drawing Zack Baun comparisons, and a Day 3 steal who might start before his second season. Dallas has not put together a defensive draft class this loaded in years.
For Cowboys fans across the NFC East, this draft is more than a list of names. It is the loudest signal Jones has sent in years that America’s Team is done patching the dam. They came to Pittsburgh to change the defense. They may have done exactly that.
Photo: Caleb Downs by Bobak Ha’Eri CC BY 3.0
