The 2026 NFL Draft is officially complete, and fans have quickly begun picking out their favorite draft classes from across the league. One team that continues to earn high marks is the Dallas Cowboys, as they aggressively attacked the defensive side of the ball with their seven total selections.
With their class being highlighted by first-round picks Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence, the Cowboys looked to add players who could immediately contribute on defense in 2026. It may not be the flashiest draft class, but the team did precisely what it needed to in the draft, and it led to draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN gushing over the work Dallas’ front office did over the three-day event.
Mel Kiper Jr. Labels Cowboys as the Big Winner of 2026 NFL Draft
Ever since trading Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers before the 2025 campaign, the Cowboys have been scrambling for answers on the defensive side of the ball. While they swung a trade with the New York Jets midway through the season that landed them a star defensive tackle, Quinnen Williams, more help was needed.
The draft was viewed as a great spot for the Cowboys to get the sort of help they were looking for. Armed with a pair of first-round picks, Dallas traded up one spot and landed Downs, who is widely considered a generational safety prospect. With their second first-rounder, the team managed to trade back three spots and still land Lawrence, who is viewed as one of the top pass rushers in this draft class.
In the later rounds, the Cowboys drafted another pair of pass rushers, Jaishawn Barham and LT Overton, and cornerback Devin Moore, giving them a slew of young players who will have an opportunity to contribute right away. Put it all together, and Kiper believes that Dallas assembled the best draft class across the league.
“The team that I think really did what they needed to do was the Dallas Cowboys,” Kiper said on “The Adam Schefter Podcast.” “Somehow try to figure out this defense and get this defense better. Five of seven picks were on the defensive side. We had talked about Caleb Downs as a culture changer … He ends up with Dallas.”
Cowboys Hoping Defense Can Bounce Back in 2026
GettyFormer UCF edge rusher Malachi Lawrence.
Losing a player of Parsons’ caliber was obviously going to hurt the Cowboys, but the team seemed to underestimate that part of the equation when it decided not to give him the sort of contract he was looking for. That has forced Dallas’ front office to begin adding new playmakers on the defensive side of the ball, but rather than ignore its clear needs, it did what it had to do during the draft.
The fact that the Cowboys are even in this position because of their own actions is beside the point. The team, like every other franchise in the NFL, had needs heading into the draft, and it skillfully maneuvered the board in order to bring some talented players to town. There’s been a lot to complain about in Dallas in recent years, but its work in the 2026 draft appears to be a step in the right direction.
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