APRIL 14: A belief around the NFL points to Dallas being a team to monitor regarding a trade-up, per veteran insider Jordan Schultz, who notes the team packaging Nos. 12 and 20 is being viewed as a possible scenario. Trade-up and trade-down rumors are obviously commonplace around this time, but Schultz adds several teams believe the Cowboys are eyeing a player the Giants also covet. Moving ahead of New York’s No. 5 pick would be pricey, though it appears that is on the table.
The Giants have been tied to a few prospects at 5. Downs, Sonny Styles, Jeremiyah Love and Carnell Tate have been connected to Big Blue during the pre-draft process. This situation could soon remind of 2021, when the Eagles eyed Giants target DeVonta Smith and used the Cowboys (at No. 10) to trade in front of New York. While the Giants are in position to land another impact player near the top of a draft, the prospect of them moving down — perhaps for a cornerback, where the team has done extensive work — has also been mentioned.
APRIL 13: The Cowboys are entering the 2026 draft with a clear need to upgrade on the defensive side of the ball. They currently hold the 12th and 20th overall picks, but trading up for an elite defender is not out of the question.
In particular, Dallas could target Ohio State safety Caleb Downs and Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr., who they see as “instant-impact game changers on defense,” according to ESPN’s Jordan Reid.
Downs is the consensus No. 1 safety in this year’s draft class and has a case to be the top defender in terms of pure talent. However, teams will likely prioritize edge rushers and cornerbacks over a safety in the first five picks, which could put the two-time All-American within the Cowboys’ range.
Dallas already reshaped their safety room this offseason by signing Jalen Thompson and P.J. Locke in free agency to join Malik Hooker. However, none of the three are younger than 28 years old and only Thompson is signed past the 2026 season. Downs could carve out a role right away, especially in the slot where the team lacks proven contributors, while serving as the centerpiece of the safety room in the long-term.
The Cowboys may look back to 2022, when Kyle Hamilton fell to the Ravens at No. 14, and hope that the same happens with Downs. However, teams clearly overthought Hamilton as a prospect after his sub-par athletic testing, and Downs, perhaps looking to avoid a similar fall, declined to participate this year. That may prevent the former Buckeye from making it to the 12th pick and force Dallas to trade up.
Bain, the Cowboys’ other priority target, was already seen as a potential faller after measuring in with sub-31-inch arms at the Combine. It does not seem that recent news of two careless driving citations will tank his stock, but length concerns may be enough to drop him out of the top five.
Dallas re-signed Sam Williams and traded for Rashan Gary to strengthen their edge rusher room this offseason, but they could stand to add a young, high-upside talent in this draft. 2025 second-round Donovan Ezeiruaku disappointed as a rookie, and while he still has potential, he may not have the same All-Pro ceiling as Bain.
If Dallas wastes their second first round pick on a trade-up, and only ends up with one first round selection after, it will be the most utterly stupid thing that they could have done to resolve that trade.
Unlike many, I have no ill will towards Jones or Dallas in the slightest. I am not saying this to convey any feelings of the sort. This move, however, would utterly waste whatever advancement that the Cowboys could have achieved from the Parsons trade. Even if they move up to nab a generational impact defender, they’d have just replaced one with another. It’s a sideways move that doesn’t really get them ahead. In order to truly make that trade worth it, Dallas needs two players, even if neither individually turns out quite as good as Parsons. One pick is probably going to be burned in getting his replacement, but if the other goes toward another starter, the Cowboys would have ended up ahead.
What makes this especially true is the fact that they decided to change schemes. It is a separate development from the Parsons trade, but the Cowboys traded Parsons in part for Kenny Clark. It was already a challenge getting him on the field with their best linemen in Odhigizuwa and Williams. The scheme change necessitated trading away Odhigizuwa, leaving the aged Clark in his place. The series of events here just make that trade look more and more like a sideways move, which is appalling for a player worth as much as Parsons was. This is a separate development, but it still plays into the overall direction that the Cowboys are going in on defense, of which the Parsons trade was a huge part.
If Dallas only ends up with one player selected after that trade, and then the subsequent shift, it’s like they were before he picked him years ago. It’s like they never took advantage of having him on the roster after all. The only way that the Cowboys could effectively end up ahead after doing this hypothetical trade is if the player they pick is better than Parsons and becomes a foundational piece. The chances of finding an All-Pro level player are already harsh enough. Dallas needs to turn that trade into multiple picks, especially after the scheme shift lost them Odhigizuwa and gave them the back end of Kenny Clark’s formerly productive career. Using those picks to move up would almost certainly just end up as a sideways move.
Your analysis fails to recognize that NFL teams have a salary cap. When you draft a player to “replace” Parsons, you save $30-$40M on the cap. That cap space can be used to pay for additional players. Whether Dallas will wisely us the cap space is another question, but you analysis can’t ignore the extra cap space we have in addition to the draft pick.
@dougsolo2. I bet if they trade up, its for Bain jr. Downs might be around 12. Bain jr, Williams, and Clark isn’t bad for Parsons.
You are right, and that is certainly an advantage.
I would explore that further, to add to my argument. What’s the advantage of saving cap space? More money available, of course-and that money should be used to get more players. If Dallas ends up with multiple players who are good and can contribute, the trade works out. And, as should be clear, I’m not even knocking the decision to make the trade. I’m not knocking the compensation or even the execution. I am saying that this would be an excellent way to waste the return.
If Dallas trades one of their picks away to facilitate a replacement for the player that they lost, they lose a chance to add and come out ahead. Parsons isn’t just a starter, mind you, he was an elite player still early in his career. A “good” starter that costs two firsts to acquire is not going to give you that same value, simply due to the cost. The best that you can try to do is to land another elite player, and then in four years or so end up in the same predicament. Dallas needs to turns multiple picks into multiple players, not turn multiple picks into a single one, to make good on the trade of a superstar.
3 players totaling $120M is insane
I believe the Cowboys are eyeing Styles.
Oldred – I think so too.
Just stick at 12 and 20 and take what is there. That is how they hot both Parsons and Lamb.