Each level of the Dallas Cowboys defense deserves to be dissected and rebuilt in 2026 after one of the more embarrassing showings in recent memory after they finished 30th in the NFL in team defense.
One spot where the Cowboys shouldn’t have to worry is at cornerback, where they’ve paid out almost $200 million in contracts to 2 players in the last few years with Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland.
Alas, Diggs is gone after getting released late in the season after one transgression too many and Bland seems to be chronically injured, missing 15 games due to injuries over the last 2 seasons.
So, it turns out, the Cowboys could actually use some help in the secondary.
Trade Pitch Targets 8-Time Pro Bowler
Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine put Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback and 8-time Pro Bowler Jalen Ramsey at the top of a list of Cowboys’ trade targets this offseason.
“Dallas always seems to come up when Jalen Ramsey is on the move,” Ballentine wrote. “The pairing again makes sense. The Cowboys would need to figure out his contract after a trade is completed. The Steelers can deal him and free up a ton of cap space, but Dallas has their own cap bind to get out of. The Steelers moved Ramsey to safety this season. If he wants to try and move back to corner, the Cowboys have a need at both positions. Either way, Ramsey will be able to help out the secondary even if he’s starting to slow down.”
Ramsey is due $19.5 million in 2025 and has approximately $144.7 million in career earnings. He only spent one season with the Steelers after being traded over from the Miami Dolphins in June 2025.
There was a time in the not-so-distant past when Ramsey, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft, was one of the NFL’s elite cornerbacks. He’s also a 2-time NFL All-Pro and won a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams following the 2021 season.
There’s actually a chance the Cowboys might want to look at Ramsey solely as an option at safety, where he earned Pro Bowl honors for the Steelers in 2025 with 88 tackles, 3.0 sacks, 1 interception and 8 pass deflections.
Cowboys May Have Missed at CB in 2025 Draft
The Cowboys thought they were getting first round value in the third round (No. 76 overall) of the 2025 NFL draft with East Carolina cornerback Shavon Revel.
It turned out the Cowboys may have drafted Revel a few rounds too early. Slow to return from an ACL injury suffered in his final college season, Revel missed the first 9 games of the regular season then looked lost when he did finally get on the field. Qt one point he was even tabbed the team’s “Biggest Loser” following a critical late-season loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
“Opponents have continually targeted the Cowboys’ rookie cornerback in recent weeks,” Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski wrote on December 21. “It’s never a good sign when a cornerback leads his squad in tackles, as Revel did Sunday. Ironically, the first-year defensive back isn’t a strong tackler, which shows up during his weekly performance. The Chargers went after Revel and generally found success.”
Cowboys Trade Pitch Lands $144 Million Pro Bowler