The Dallas Cowboys own picks No. 12 and No. 20 in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. They have eight selections total, with three of them being in the top 92 overall. While recent rumors have suggested the front office could trade up in the draft for a top-level prospect, one Insider urges the club to do the opposite, and trade down.
In an article written by NFL Insider Bill Barnwell of ESPN, Barnwell argues why the Cowboys should consider trading the No. 20 overall pick in exchange for more draft capital. He believes acquiring more young players on rookie deals to play with the superstar talent on the roster can lead to a Super Bowl-contending roster.
“As with the Jets, this is referring to the latter of Dallas’ two first-round picks, which comes in at No. 20. Unlike the Jets, though, the Cowboys don’t have the same sort of draft capital through the rest of the 2026 draft and into 2027,” explained Barnwell. “They don’t have a second-round pick in this year’s draft, and their third-rounder is 16 picks later than where it would have originally landed as a result of the George Pickens and Osa Odighizuwa swaps…
“The Cowboys will send the better of their two first-round picks in 2027 to the Jets, and they don’t have fourth- or fifth-round picks next year, either…. The way to survive with that sort of roster is to build through the draft and rely on talent making an impact while players are on rookie-scale deals…
“Adding more young talent to this roster is the only way the Cowboys can build a Super Bowl contender around their big-money group of veterans. And moving down from No. 20 to add more capital would be the right way to get them there.”
This plan would allow the Cowboys to select whoever they feel is the best available player at No. 12, while also acquiring more picks for the 2026 and possibly the 2027 NFL Drafts. We’ll see what the front office decides to do on Thursday, April 23, when the draft picks.
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