The Dallas Cowboys came out of the first day of the NFL draft with just about everything having gone their way. By adding Caleb Downs from Ohio State, they got the top-level defensive player they wanted, an anchor for a unit that struggled mightily in 2025. Downs can play safety, he can play slot corner, and he can certainly win over fans with his big-play ability. To top that off, the team also added athletic pass rusher Malachi Lawrence from Central Florida by moving down from No. 20 in a trade with the Eagles.
Earlier, news broke that the Cowboys would have George Pickens on hand, too, that he would sign his one-year franchise tag deal and not pull a holdout for a long-term contract. The day was pretty much everything the Cowboys could have asked for.
But the draft is still ongoing, and the Cowboys will enter Friday’s Day 2, with Rounds 2 and 3 upcoming, with only one pick on hand–and a significant hole in the roster at linebacker still lingering.
“We’ve still got wood to chop,” Cowboys VP Stephen Jones said Thursday night.
Cowboys Have Had a Problem Finding Linebackers
The Cowboys have made efforts to fill that massive linebacker hole, no doubt, The team pursued three of the biggest names at the position in free agency this offseason, making offers for Devin Lloyd, Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean. All three turned them down, with Lloyd heading to Carolina, and the Walker-Dean combo going to the Raiders.
This is nothing new for Cowboys fans, of course. The franchise has had a frustrating time filling the linebacker role on the defense for years now. As things stand, the team has Shemar James at a position that was mostly manned by Kenneth Murray and Logan Wilson last season, one that badly needs an upgrade yet again.
Team owner Jerry Jones has vowed the Cowboys will get the position sorted, though. As he said late last month: “We want to get better there with personnel. We’ve been trying very much to make some trades. They haven’t worked out for us there, but that won’t deter us from getting better there.”
Linebacker Targets Still on Hand
The Cowboys can be encouraged by a few things heading into the second day of the draft. For one thing, none of the three players deemed to be at the top of the class for linebackers here in 2026 came off the board in the first round. That means that Jacob Rodriguez of Texas Tech, Anthony Hill of Texas and CJ Allen of Georgia are still on the board.
The problem there is that the Cowboys do not have any draft picks in Round 2, and don’t pick in the third round until late, No. 92. It is highly unlikely any of those three players will still be around by then.
It will be interesting, though, to see if the Cowboys attempt to package some of their upcoming picks to land a pick in that second round. Dallas moved back three spots from No. 20 to 23 on Thursday in the trade with the Eagles, and added two fourth-round picks in the bargain. Could they package some combination of those and their third-rounder in an attempt to get a second-round spot?
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