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Tennessee defensive back Jermod McCoy (3) celebrates after making a play during a college football game between Tennessee and Georgia at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, November 16, 2024. | Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images The Dallas Cowboys need a lot of help. Thankfully for them an opportunity to acquire some is around the corner.
We have less than a month to go until the 2026 NFL Draft and the Cowboys are expected to improve (or at least try to improve) their defense given the absolute abomination that they fielded last year how things went in 2025. You do not need to be the highest-level analyst in the world to understand this idea.
Many have posited that we could actually see an all-defense draft from the Cowboys. If you still remember what 2025 was like then this doesn’t feel like the most impossible thing.
ESPN’s Matt Miller released a seven-round mock draft on Monday and did not exactly do that.
Premium picks are spent on defense
It is important to note that Miller spent the most premium assets at his disposal on fixing the Cowboys defense. That certainly matters for something. With the team’s initial selection he went in a direction that many continue to point to – Knoxville.
12. Dallas Cowboys
Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee
Dallas’ cornerback room is full of question marks behind DaRon Bland due to the release of Trevon Diggs. Bland is solid, but the Cowboys need a corner who scares opposing QBs. McCoy missed last season following a torn ACL suffered in January 2025, but his 2024 tape was elite, with four interceptions and nine passes defensed. The 6-foot-1, 188-pound McCoy profiles as a physical outside cornerback with smooth moving skills in phase. He would have been my top cornerback in the 2025 class if he was draft-eligible.
Jermod McCoy continues to be linked to the Cowboys at number 12 overall. Mansoor Delane seems to be a preference from some fans given that McCoy is coming back from the ACL injury, but his potential is certainly very high. It is just always difficult to spend your most premium asset on someone who you feel like you cannot fully trust.
Delane went way before Dallas in this draft (at number 7 to Washington) so it’s not like they could do anything about it.
On to number 20.
20. Dallas Cowboys (from GB)
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S, Toledo
After going corner at No. 12, the Cowboys could land a long-term safety option, as they need a youthful upgrade to 30-year-old Malik Hooker and free agent signee Jalen Thompson. McNeil-Warren would be elite in a three-safety look due to his 6-foot-4 build, range and ability to play in the box. He’s very good at erasing passing lanes, but McNeil-Warren’s best asset is his downhill tackling ability that has led to nine career forced fumbles. Dallas needs difference-makers on defense, and McNeil-Warren’s turnover creation would be welcome.
Winding up with Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, a great result to be clear, also feels like missing out on the best-available player at the position (relative to draft position). Oregon’s Dillon Thieneman has the eye of many Cowboys fans. Miller had him going two picks earlier to Minnesota.
In a positional sense this is still working out very well for the Cowboys. They have significantly improved their secondary, given their new defensive coordinator Christian Parker (a master of that craft) two new foundational pieces to build a future around, and have taken a serious step towards a brigher future.
To the third round!
92. Dallas Cowboys (from SF)
Harold Perkins Jr., LB, LSU
Defensive speed is the theme of the Cowboys’ mock draft so far. Perkins’ versatility and open-field range make him a natural fit opposite DeMarvion Overshown, and Perkins has sub-package pass-rush potential.
We have spent so much time since free agency started talking about the linebacker position for the Cowboys. This is fair and makes sense given that it is the one position that Dallas has yet to really address even if they tried really hard to do so.
Coming away with Harold Perkins Jr. answers the call in a literal sense, but it would still leave the Cowboys pretty shy in terms of players who they could actively depend on. Going at 2026 with Perkins and DeMarvion Overshown feels loose at best which is why the Cowboys would be well-served to add at the position before the draft. Maybe they’d still take Perkins in this hypothetical anyway, but it would be a shame for them to be forced into anything because of not having an answer.
Day 3 is almost entirely offense
While Miller had the Cowboys spend their most premium assets on the defensive side of the ball he really took a turn on Day 3.
You will note that the first pick, the most premium of this specific group, is on defense as well, but after that it is entirely offense. There is even a quarterback in the mix.
- 4th (112 overall): Dani Dennis-Sutton, EDGE, Penn State
- 5th (152 overall): Josh Cuevas, TE, Alabama
- 5th (177 overall): Jam Miller, RB, Alabama
- 5th (180 overall): Cade Klubnik, QB, Clemson
- 7th (218 overall, from TEN): Chase Roberts, WR, BYU
It is difficult to do an entire seven-round mock draft for the whole NFL. That being said, it is difficult to envision the Cowboys checking off every facet of their offense (once again speaking positionally) on the third day of the draft when their defense was so bad last year.
It’s not impossible for offense to be addressed, but if anything the offensive line seems like the group that would get a touch up. Spending a fifth-round pick on a quarterback would be a huge misuse of a resource (even a minimal one) for this team. They just traded for Joe Milton last year and signed Sam Howell a few weeks back.
What do you think about this mock, though? Is it likely? Impossible?
Let us know in the comments down below.
