Cowboys draft speculation has emerged about Jacob Rodriguez #10 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders
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Cowboys draft speculation has emerged about Jacob Rodriguez #10 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders
The Dallas Cowboys are in the midst of figuring out whether they have a major incoming addition on the free agent market, with just days remaining until the legal tampering period opens up and less than a week to go before the opening of the NFL 2026 year–which will mean the free-agent frenzy is upon us. The Cowboys’ rumors have swirled around top-flight pass-rushers, with Trey Hendrickson and Maxx Crosby both on the docket.
But there is also the business of the NFL draft lingering, and if the Cowboys do not make a trade for Crosby, they will have two first-round picks on hand in April, at No. 12 and No. 20.
What might they do with those picks? Well, they will certainly give consideration to the bevy of Texas Tech prospects on the board–not a usual situation for the Red Raiders–as the team’s coach announced on Thursday that Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer will be in Lubbock for the school’s March 26 pro day.
McGuire was pumped up for that, he said: “It’s going to be awesome.”
Plenty of TTU Draft Options for Cowboys
McGuire’s statement fueled speculation about who, exactly, the Cowboys will be looking at during that pro day. Of course, they’d love to get their hands on star pass-rusher David Bailey, the All-American senior who led the nation with 14.5 sacks for an impressive Red Raiders front. He will be long gone, though, as a likely Top 5 pick.
His bookend pass-rusher, Romello Height, is not the top-tier prospect that Bailey is, but could be a fringe first-rounder or an upper second-round pick in April. Height had 11.5 sacks last season.
Defensive tackle Lee Hunter is also a possibility. He was a fringe first-rounder, too, but was disappointing at the combine. As Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter Nick Harris noted of Hunter, “His 6-foot-4, 321-pound frame is an intriguing option for a team looking to get bigger in the middle of the defensive line, but his combine testing massively disappointed evaluators, as he turned in the second-slowest 40-yard dash time (5.18) and the worst vertical jump (21 feet, 6 inches) of all defensive tackles at the combine.”
Brian Schottenheimer head coach Dallas Cowboys
GettyHead coach Brian Schottenheimer of the Dallas Cowboys
Jacob Rodriguez on Tap?
Cowboys beat writer Clarence Hill sparked some speculation around linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, who led the Big 12 with 63 solo tackles and is expected to be a Day Two pick. The Cowboys met formally with Rodriguez at the NFL combine last week in Indianapolis.
The problem with that, of course, is that the Cowboys do not currently have picks in the second or third round. That could change, however, with a trade back from No. 20.
Wrote Hill on Twitter/X: “Per Texas Tech HC Joey McGuire to reporters today, Cowboys HC Brian Schottenheimer will be in attendance at the Red Raiders Pro Day on March 26. The DE David Bailey going to be gone by 12. Has to be for Jacob Rodriguez Right? Is an option at 20 or a trade back?”
Cowboys Need Win-Now Players
Of that mix, Rodriguez is most likely the guy the Cowboys have their eye on, because he is polished and ready to contribute as a rookie. That is a big emphasis from Dallas in this draft. The team needs players, and it needs players it can put on the field in 2026–Jerry Jones was clear that the Cowboys can’t wait on project players.
“We can’t redshirt a second-round pick,” Jones said. “We don’t have a second-round pick to begin with, but if we got one, we can’t redshirt those guys this year. We gotta go … We got to go this year. We got to have it out there, and when we got to be working it this year.”