Dallas Cowboys 2026 NFL Draft Needs, Picks & Depth Chart

Subscribe to the Sharp Football Email Newsletter to receive all our 2026 NFL content:

Subscribe to our newsletter:

Leave this field empty if you're human:

 

No matter how well they did in free agency, all 32 NFL teams head into the 2026 NFL Draft with holes to fill on the roster.

Leading into the draft, we will identify the top needs for every team and break down the depth chart position by position.

What are the Cowboys' top positions of need heading into the 2026 NFL draft?

Dallas Cowboys Needs: Top Positions of Need in 2026

1. Cornerback
2. Edge Rusher
3. Linebacker

Explore all of our 2026 NFL Draft content:

Pre-Order The Best Analytical 2026 Football Preview

Don't miss out on Warren Sharp's 500+ page preview of the 2026 NFL season.

The preview is unlike anything you have ever seen, featuring stunning visualizations built with the reader in mind.

This preview shares insights into players, coaches, teams, and philosophies with one goal in mind: to get you prepared for the 2026 NFL season by delivering the smartest information in the fastest, most direct way possible.

Pre-order the 2026 Football Preview now!

Dallas Cowboys 2026 Draft Capital

The Cowboys have the 12th-most draft capital according to our Sharp Football Draft Value.

Our Sharp Football Draft Value is a valuation of draft capital based on a combination of average performance delivered and average dollars earned on second contracts.

Dallas Cowboys Mock Draft Predictions

Find out who our top-rated experts expect the Cowboys to draft:

• Brendan Donahue's 2026 NFL Mock Draft – Complete first round breakdown from the #2 most accurate mock drafter over the last five seasons.
• Ryan McCrystal's 2026 NFL Mock Draft – Complete first round breakdown from the #20 most accurate mock drafter over the last five seasons.

Dallas Cowboys Offense: Depth Chart, Analysis & Draft Needs

Rich Hribar breaks down the offensive depth chart by position for the Dallas Cowboys, identifying areas where the team could improve in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft.

Quarterback

1. Dak Prescott
2. Joe Milton
3. Sam Howell

Dak Prescott had another strong season in 2025, completing 67.3% of his passes (12th) for 7.6 yards per pass attempt (10th), a 5% touchdown rate (14th), and a 1.7% interception rate (12th) while only taking a sack on 4.9% of his dropbacks (9th).

All of those rate stats are excellent when paired with the volume Dallas threw the ball.

Prescott had the second-most pass attempts in the league (600).

He led the league in completions (404) for the second time in the past three seasons, throwing 30 touchdowns.

36.7% of Prescott’s passes resulted in a first down or touchdown, which was 11th in the league.

Prescott will turn 34 this July.

He is signed through 2028, with cap hits of $50.5 million (18.1%) and $43.8 million (14.6%) over the next two years, before the sides will surely need to rework his deal, which has a $76 million cap hit (23.5%) in 2027.

Running Back

1. Javonte Williams
2. Malik Davis
3. Jaydon Blue
4. Phil Mafah
5. Israel Abanikanda
6. Hunter Luepke (FB)

Javonte Williams had a bounce-back season with Dallas last year, turning 287 touches into 1,338 yards and 13 touchdowns.

That landed him a new three-year contract worth up to $24 million, a palatable deal for a 25-year-old running back.

Getting to work in a pass-heavy offense in jailbreak game scripts, 32.5% of his runs came against light boxes (3rd-highest rate in the league), by far the highest rate of his career.

Williams propelled that opportunity into a 44% success rate as a rusher (11th among backs with 100 more attempts).

He also averaged 3.56 yards after contact per rush, which was fifth in the league.

If there was one area that left more to be desired, it was that Williams only averaged 3.9 yards per reception on his 35 catches.

That is the second-lowest yards per catch for any running back with 25-plus receptions in a season in league history.

That is not a complete one-off, either.

Williams has now averaged fewer than 5.0 yards per catch in three of his past four seasons.

Dallas has plenty of receiving targets, so the ball can go elsewhere, which is not a major concern for the offense's functionality.

Still, we could see another back work into passing situations at some point.

Malik Davis served as the distant backup to Williams in 2025, turning in 54 touches for 266 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Jaydon Blue was selected in the fifth round last season and struggled to get on the field due to injuries and alleged motivational issues.

Blue only logged 78 snaps over five appearances as a rookie and was a healthy inactive from Week 9 through Week 17.

Dallas did give him some run in the season finale, rushing 16 times for 64 yards and a touchdown.

Wide Receiver

1. CeeDee Lamb
2. George Pickens
3. Ryan Flournoy
4. KaVontae Turpin
5. Jonathan Mingo
6. Parris Campbell
7. Taeshon Holden

Dallas has one of the best one-two punches at wide receiver in the league with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.

That duo accounted for 41.2% of the team targets, 40.1% of the receptions, 52.9% of the receiving yards, and 38.7% of the receiving touchdowns.

That was with Lamb missing three games.

Lamb is still in his apex, turning 27 this April.

He is signed through 2028, carrying a stellar $19.6 million cap hit this season (6.5% of the cap) before that spikes to $46.1 million next season (14.3%).

Pickens flourished in his first season with Dallas, leading the team in targets (137), catches (93), yards (1,429), and touchdowns (9).

All of those were easily career highs.

His 18 targets in the end zone were tied for second in the NFL.

53.3% of his targets resulted in a first down or touchdown, the fifth-highest rate for a wide receiver last season.

No receiver ahead of him came close to his overall target count, either.

Pickens had 137 targets while the highest player ahead of him on that list (Terry McLaurin) had 60 targets.

Pickens received a complete target tree for the first time in his career.

61.3% of his targets were within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage, the highest rate of his career.

After relying on deep target rates of 32.1%, 24.5%, and 29.1% while in Pittsburgh as a rookie, that rate dropped to 16.1% in Dallas last season.

That allowed Pickens access to a menu of targets that came with a higher success rate.

All of that pushed Dallas to use the franchise tag on Pickens this offseason.

That tag could serve the purpose of working out a long-term deal while also giving Pickens some runway to show he is motivated and committed to playing at a high level, warranting a massive contract extension.

Ryan Flournoy also had the best year of his rookie contract, catching 40 of 56 targets for 475 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Flournoy had two strong outings in games that Lamb either missed or left early.

In Week 5 against the Jets, he grabbed 6 receptions for 114 yards.

Then, with Lamb leaving with a concussion in Week 14, Flournoy caught 9 of 13 targets for 115 yards and a score.

Neither Pickens nor Flournoy is signed beyond this season.

Wide receiver is not an immediate need for this team, but those two expiring contracts could keep them looking at wide receivers in this class.

Dallas has used pre-draft visits on Omar Cooper, Jordan Hudson, and Romello Brinson.

KaVontae Turpin is still the league’s best kickoff returner and can moonlight as a manufactured touch option on offense.

He caught 26 passes for 396 yards and 2 touchdowns in 2025.

Turpin is under contract for the next two seasons.

Tight End

1. Jake Ferguson
2. Luke Schoonmaker
3. Brevyn Spann-Ford
4. Princeton Fant

Jake Ferguson was a reliable target again in 2025, securing 82 of 102 targets for 600 yards and 8 touchdowns.

He did his best work early in the year with CeeDee Lamb sidelined.

Through seven games, Ferguson had caught 51 passes with 6 touchdowns, drawing a target on 27.6% of his routes with 1.59 yards per route run.

Then, over the final 10 games, he had just 31 receptions and 2 touchdowns, drawing a target on 15.4% of his routes and averaging 0.93 yards per route.

You are not getting a lot of flash from Ferguson (7.3 yards per catch) and little yards after the catch (3.7 YAC/reception), but he serves a Zach Ertz-esque role in the offense.

Ferguson is still under contract through 2029.

Luke Schoonmaker is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent after this season, while the team has restricted rights to Brevyn Spann-Ford.

Offensive Line

LT: Tyler Guyton, Nate Thomas
LG: Tyler Smith, Trevor Keegan, Nick Leverett
C: Cooper Beebe, Matt Hennessy
RG: Tyler Booker, T.J. Bass
RT: Terence Steele, Ajani Cornelius, Marcellus Johnson

Every projected starter for Dallas up front is under contract for multiple seasons.

The Cowboys just need them all to stay on the field at a higher rate this season.

This unit fought through a plethora of injuries in 2025.

The starting Dallas offensive line played together for only 24.6% of offensive snaps, ranking 25th in the league.

Terence Steele was the only lineman to play the full season, with Tyler Guyton (10 games played), Cooper Beebe (11), and Tyler Booker (14 games) all missing multiple games at varying stretches.

Tyler Smith and Booker are arguably already the best offensive guard combination in the league.

Smith has established himself as one of the best guards in the league, while Booker made an immediate impact when he was available as a rookie.

As a rookie, Booker was 21st in overall grade per Pro Football Focus among guards.

He allowed a 3.9% pressure rate (26th).

The one area he did have issues with was 7 penalties, ranking 76th at the position in penalties per snap.

Dallas Cowboys Defense: Depth Chart, Analysis & Draft Needs

Raymond Summerlin breaks down the defensive depth chart by position for the Dallas Cowboys, identifying areas where the team could improve in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft.

Defensive Line

1. Quinnen Williams
2. Kenny Clark
3. Jonathan Bullard
4. Otito Ogbonnia
5. Jay Toia
6. Adedayo Odeleye

Dallas did not stop the run well last season, finishing 26th in yards per carry allowed to running backs (4.7) and 31st in explosive run rate allowed to the position.

They were better after acquiring Quinnen Williams, though, ranking 19th in yards per carry allowed to running backs (4.4) from Week 11 on and fourth in yards before contact allowed on those runs.

Williams recorded a tackle on 22.1% of his run defense snaps with the Cowboys and a tackle at or behind the line of scrimmage on 6.5% of those snaps.

In addition to having Williams the entire season, the Cowboys will have a scheme shift under new coordinator Christian Parker, who plans to run a 3-4 base.

NFL teams are rarely in base defense these days, but the base shift will almost certainly also affect responsibilities and coaching points in sub-packages.

Dallas moved on from Osa Odighizuwa and Solomon Thomas this offseason, but Kenny Clark is back after starting 17 games in his first season with the team.

Clark’s 10.2% pressure rate was nothing to write home about, but he was a solid enough option.

The Cowboys also added Otito Ogbonnia and Jonathan Bullard in free agency.

Bullard is just a rotational option, but he has a lot of experience in that role and can make plays against the run in Dallas’ new look defense.

Ogbonnia never really established himself with the Chargers, though he did play 505 snaps across 17 games in 2024.

2025 seventh-round pick Jay Toia is also around as young depth.

Williams and Clark give the Cowboys a solid top two, and Bullard can do a job in a rotational role.

Dallas does have a lot of older options here, though, and could add some youth to the mix in the draft.

Edge Defenders

1. Rashan Gary
2. Donovan Ezeiruaku
3. James Houston
4. Sam Williams
5. Marist Liufau
6. Tyrus Wheat
7. Isaiah Land

Despite trading Micah Parsons ahead of last season, the Cowboys ranked seventh in pressure rate (39.7%) last year, though they lagged behind with just 35 sacks (22nd).

Jadeveon Clowney, who remains a free agent, was a big part of that success, recording 8.5 sacks on a massive 19.1% pressure rate in a rotational role.

Dante Fowler also remains a free agent whom the Cowboys could look to after the draft if they need to add to the position, though he might not be a great fit in the new defense.

Dallas’ big addition to the edge group was Rashan Gary, who played with Parsons in Green Bay last year.

Gary has never put up gaudy sack numbers, but he has consistently gotten pressure, sporting a very good 15.4% career pressure rate.

He has not been quite at that level the last two seasons, but he can anchor Dallas’ pass rush.

A second-round pick last year, Donovan Ezeiruaku played a big role as a rookie, but his 2 sacks and 11.3% pressure rate were not ideal.

Still, he is a young player with room to grow.

James Houston was the big surprise last year, getting 5.5 sacks with a 15.0% pressure rate in limited opportunities.

The Cowboys also still have 2022 second-round pick Sam Williams, who was not great last year but will be another year removed from his serious knee injury.

There is not a lot of long-term contractual depth here, and there are question marks behind Gary.

That makes this a need, but there are avenues to Dallas being fine along the edge in 2026, even without any additions.

Linebacker

1. DeMarvion Overshown
2. Shemar James
3. Justin Barron

We don’t usually list linebacker as a primary need because of positional value, but Dallas simply does not have any options on the depth chart as things stand.

Recovering from a serious knee injury, DeMarvion Overshown was able to make it back on the field late in the 2025 season, and he gives Dallas at least one starting option.

Kenneth Murray, who played the most snaps at linebacker for Dallas last season, remains a free agent.

Logan Wilson, who also played meaningful snaps after joining via trade, announced his retirement in March.

Jack Sanborn now plays for the Bears.

A fifth-round pick last year, Shemar James did not have a great time as a rookie, finishing 85th among qualified linebackers in yards allowed per coverage snap.

The Cowboys need to add a starter to this group, and they arguably need multiple high-level additions.

Cornerback

1. DaRon Bland
2. Shavon Revel Jr.
3. Cobie Durant
4. Caelen Carson
5. Trikweze Bridges
6. Reddy Steward
7. Derion Kendrick
8. Josh Butler
9. Corey Ballentine
10. Zion Childress

Dallas was awful against the pass in 2025, allowing 8.1 yards per attempt (31st) and ranking near the bottom of the league in every meaningful category.

DaRon Bland has struggled to build on his All-Pro 2023 season that featured 9 interceptions.

After seven games in 2024, he played 12 last year, finishing 118th among qualified corners in yards allowed per coverage snap.

A third-round pick last year, Shavon Revel had the start of his NFL career delayed by a knee injury suffered in college that also hurt his overall draft stock.

Revel did not get his first action until Week 11 last season, starting five games down the stretch.

He struggled in those snaps, but the Cowboys will hope for more following a full offseason from a player who could have been a first-round pick if not for the injury.

Cobie Durant was added in free agency after four years with the Rams.

He allowed a solid 7.1 yards per target and a 74.3 quarterback rating in his coverage over those four seasons.

That trio would be the starting group if the season started today, and they have enough bodies behind them to get by.

Still, adding a starting-quality corner to this group makes a lot of sense given how bad they were against the pass last season.

Safety

1. Malik Hooker
2. Jalen Thompson
3. P.J. Locke
4. Markquese Bell
5. Julius Wood
6. Alijah Clark

With Donovan Wilson hitting free agency, the Cowboys added Jalen Thompson and P.J. Locke to the safety room this offseason.

Thompson played the first seven years of his NFL career with the Cardinals, starting 87 games and being a reliable option in that time.

Locke spent his first six seasons in Denver primarily playing more of a rotational and depth role, but he was a full-time starter for the Broncos in 2024.

He did not shine in that role, but he is a versatile option for the secondary.

Markquese Bell also has starting experience, giving Dallas a lot of experienced depth behind Thompson and returning starter Malik Hooker.

Hooker is not coming off his best season and dealt with some injuries last year, but he has enough good play on his resume to expect better in 2026.

Dallas has made their big move at safety, and there are bigger issues elsewhere on the roster.

2026 Depth Chart Analysis & Team Needs for All 32 NFL Teams