For the Dallas Cowboys, days ahead of the NFL draft, the opportunity to find win-now players is within reach. But the problem is that Dallas is sitting at No. 12 overall with its first pick in this draft (No. 20 with its second pick) and the defensive help the roster so badly needs probably will be pretty well depleted by the time they are on the clock.
The instant-impact players the Cowboys would welcome include pass rushers like Arvell Reese, David Bailey and Rueben Bain, cornerback Mansoor Delane, safety Caleb Downs or linebacker Sonny Styles. That’s six players, and it could be a longshot that six offensive players are picked ahead of them to ensure that one slips to No. 12.
ESPN NFL insider and draft guru Peter Schrager–who correctly predicted the Cowboys drafting Tyler Guyton in 2024 and Tyler Booker in 2025–raised Dallas fans’ hopes high last week when he did, in fact, put out a mock draft that saw six offensive players going in the Top 11, which left one star defender sitting on the board for the Cowboys at 12: Ohio State safety Caleb Downs.
Cowboys Dream NFL Draft Scenario Would Be a Caleb Downs Drop
That would be a dream scenario for the Cowboys, who are weighing the possibility of trading to move up in the draft to ensure they land one of the top defensive players available. If they did not have to trade and could still get Downs, that would be a huge win. But Schrager is back with new intel–and it pretty much crushes the Downs-at-12 scenario.
Schrager told the DLLS Cowboys podcast that after putting his first mock draft out last week, he’s been told that he’ll need some adjustments. Including on Downs.
Said Schrager: “Me putting Caleb Downs going 12th overall, every piece of feedback I’ve gotten since I put that pick out there has been, there is no way on God’s green Earth that Caleb Downs is still available at 12th overall.”
Cowboys Hoping for Safety Slide
The hope that the Cowboys could see Downs slide to them at No. 12 is based, in part, on the fact that we have seen other safeties take a dip on draft day in the recent past. Fact is, safety is not considered a premium position, and that makes teams wary of picking them too high. Kyle Hamilton, Derwin James and Nick Emmanwori are all stars, but all three slid in their respective drafts, because they’re safeties.
It would be ideal for Cowboys new defensive coordinator Christian Parker, who came to Dallas after having been a defensive backs coach for the Eagles, to add Downs. But it’s a stretch.
“The chance that he is there, he is the dream of Christian Parker, he is everything I imagine the Cowboys would want as far as checking a box, but I had him out there the first time go-around but I don’t know that he is going to be out there, the next time go-round,” Schrager said.
Time to ‘Settle’ on NFL Draft Picks?
If the Cowboys do stay at No. 12 and the top defenders are gone, Schrager said, they may have to “settle” for second-tier prospects like Dillon Thieneman, the safety from Oregon, or Emmanuel McNeil-Warren from Toledo.
“I look at Theineman,” Schrager said. “I look at the kid, McNeil-Warren out of Toledo. I look at Jermod McCoy who did not play all of last year and has a serious knee injury. Is he ready to come back and make an impact? I look at guys like that at 12 and if Delane’s not there, and Downs is not there and Bain’s not there, you might have to settle.”
Cowboys NFL Draft ‘Dream’ Crushed by Insider Update