The Cowboys Day 1 + Day 2 recap

The first 2 days of the NFL draft have concluded and the Cowboys walked away from this with a grand success of picks. We will be recapping every move made by the Dallas Cowboys in the first 3 rounds of the draft.

DAY 1: CALEB DOWNS + MALACHI LAWRENCE

The draft started out rough for the Cowboys, after some questionable selections in the top 5 manifest by the Cardinals with Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Love, the Giants and Commanders both made impressive selections with the accquisition of both Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles. Two amazing pass rushers with the ability to wreck passing games, something that the Cowboys really cannot afford because they are still weak on the tackle positions. For an offense that is heavily centered around Prescott and their passing attack, this caused some concern.

However, Downs started to slip and with the ten pick, many people thought the Giants would draft Downs to help their safety problems. But fortunately, the Giants went DT instead probably to replace Dexter Lawrence after trading him.

That meant that the Cowboys were 2 picks away from their selection, and after Jerry Jones, master of these draft situations, moved up ahead of the Dolphins, the Dallas Cowboys selected Caleb Downs at pick 11. A projected top 7 talent taken to a team that was ranked 32nd in all of defense. After much spectulation about a massive trade up, all the Cowboys had to do to get their guy was move up one spot and give up 2 7th rounders. Personally for me, this move and pick deserves a A+ grade.

Now the Cowboys were set to pick again at 20 as a result of the Parsons trade a year back, however, the Cowboys had their sights on Malachi Lawrence instead of Faulk(thankfully) and dealt with the Eagles to move back.

SleeperCowboys

@SleeperCowboys

NFC East trade: Eagles are trading up with the Cowboys, and are now on the clock at 20. Philadelphia receives pick No. 20 + 7th Dallas receives pick No. 23 + 114 + 137

All in all, a successful move by the Cowboys because they ended up drafting Lawrence anyway, and they were able to snag some extra picks in the second and third round. The cherry on top is that the Eagles walked away with Makai Lemon, a reciever that does not fit their passing offense at all.

Lawrence may not have the bend or the pass-rush flexibility that Reese, Styles, or Bain has. But he has the physical neccesities for the position, good explosiveness off the edge and a wide variety of pass-rush moves as well. This draft grade for me gets a B, I feel the Cowboys should've explored the line or maybe traded back even further as I think linebacker was a more pressing need, but Lawrence can be valuable for this team.

All in all, the Cowboys had probably the best 1st round out of any team in the league, not having to give up a ton of capital to get the guys they want and actually being able to get capital for other teams just for them to get the guys they wanted. I have gone here and lauded the Cowboys front office a lot, but they did a great job on Thursday.

DAY 2(TRADES + JASHAWN BRAHNAM)

Day 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft was all about the Dallas Cowboys reinforcing their defense under new coordinator Christian Parker. After a splashy first day where they landed safety Caleb Downs and edge rusher Malachi Lawrence, the Cowboys focused on the second level of their defense on Friday night.

Here is the recap of the Cowboys' Day 2 moves:

The Pick: Jaishawn Barham, LB/DE, Michigan

• Selection: Round 3, No. 92 overall

  
  

• The Profile: Barham is a versatile, hard-hitting defender who can play both as an off-ball linebacker and a pass rusher. Standing 6'3" and 240 lbs, he was a standout for the Wolverines, recording 4 sacks and 10 tackles for loss in 2025.

  
  

• The Fit: The Cowboys view him as a "football player" first—someone who can diagnose plays instantly. He is expected to rotate between inside and outside linebacker roles, providing much-needed depth and explosive tackling to a unit that struggled against the run last season.

  
  

The Trade: Acquiring Dee Winters

In a move that caught many by surprise, the Cowboys didn't wait for their third-round pick to get better. They struck a deal with a familiar trade partner, the San Francisco 49ers:

Dallas receives: LB Dee Winters

San Francisco receives: 2026 5th-round pick (No. 152 overall)

The Player: Winters is a North Texas native and former TCU star. He started 17 games for the 49ers last season, racking up 101 tackles. He brings veteran experience and immediate starting potential to the linebacker room alongside DeMarvion Overshown.

Final Recap: Here are some key takeaways from the first 2 days

• The Cowboys seem to be not prioritizing the corner position(indicating their faith in Parker)

• Motor seems to be the key to this newly formed defense, which is amazing

• All is good on the Offense side(although that is to be determined by day 3, expect a tackle selection)

• The Linebacker position doesn't seem to be something that the Cowboys are worried about even if I expected some help there other than Dee Winters.

I would have loved them to take the free agency as serious as this but beggars can't be choosers, the Cowboys had a successful 2 days, and took a massive step in the right direction.