The Dallas Cowboys focused heavily on a defensive rebuild in the 2026 NFL Draft under new defensive coordinator Christian Parker

Here is the breakdown of the Dallas Cowboys’ 2026 draft picks with their strengths, weaknesses, and pro player comparisons. 

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Round 1, No. 11: Caleb Downs, Safety (Ohio State)

• Strength: Truly elite instincts, elite play processing, and exceptional open-field tackling ability. He is dynamic enough to play safety, nickel, or even boundary corner.
• Weakness: Deep range in pure single-high coverage can occasionally be tested by elite speed, but his top-down processing usually compensates.
• Player Comparison: Minkah Fitzpatrick

🌪️ Round 1, No. 23: Malachi Lawrence, EDGE (UCF) 

• Strength: Blistering first-step quickness and the raw juice to capture the corner and close rapidly on quarterbacks. Highly productive collegiate sack artist.
• Weakness: A linear mover who lacks ideal hip bend to run the arc effortlessly. He is an older prospect who needs to expand his pass-rushing counter moves.
• Player Comparison: Josh Uche 

🔨 Round 3, No. 92: Jaishawn Barham, LB/EDGE (Michigan) 

• Strength: Tremendous physical profile with hard-hitting downhill power. He offers scheme versatility to play traditional off-ball linebacker or rush from the edge.
• Weakness: Can sometimes get overly aggressive, causing him to take false steps or lose gap integrity against deceptive read-option looks.
• Player Comparison: Kyle Van Noy 

🚜 Round 4, No. 112: Drew Shelton, OT (Penn State) 

• Strength: Terrific size (6’5″, 313 lbs) with extensive experience against top-tier Big 10 pass rushers. Highly durable with the functional versatility to play both left and right tackle.
• Weakness: Struggles occasionally with speed-to-power converts and lacks the elite lateral agility to consistently recover when beaten cleanly off the snap.
• Player Comparison: Yosh Nijman 

Round 4, No. 114: Devin Moore, CB (Florida) 

• Strength: Incredible size (6’3″, 198 lbs) that fits the physical prototype Dallas covets at corner. Highly disciplined in his coverage, going penalty-free over his last two seasons.
• Weakness: Lengthy frame creates some stiffness when transitioning or changing directions quickly. Significant durability concerns, having battled multiple injuries in college.
• Player Comparison: Rasul Douglas 

Round 4, No. 137: LT Overton, DL (Alabama) 

• Strength: Heavy-handed point-of-attack defender with a great motor. Strong setting the edge against the run.
• Weakness: Lacks the elite, twitchy pass-rushing traits to be a high-volume sack producer in the NFL.
• Player Comparison: DeMarcus Walker

Round 7, No. 218: Anthony Smith, WR (East Carolina) 

• Strength: Legitimate vertical threat boasting 4.40 speed and the frame (6’2″) to win contested deep balls.
• Weakness: Very unrefined route runner with limited release packages, and must drastically improve his effort and technique as a blocker to stay on the field.
• Player Comparison: Marquez Valdes-Scantling (ironically MVS is also now a Dallas Cowboys).