The Dallas Cowboys got good news on the 2026 NFL draft.
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The Dallas Cowboys got good news on the 2026 NFL draft.
All in all, it was hard to come out of the first day of NFL free agency on Monday and feel like the Dallas Cowboys had won much. Yes, the signing of safety Jalen Thompson was very positive for a defense that needs help on the back end, but the only other move of significance was the trade for Rashan Gary for a 2027 fourth-rounder, a solid upgrade to the team’s front, but a player the Packers were on the verge of releasing.
The Cowboys still need help at cornerback and, most significant, have a giant hole at linebacker, a position that appeared to be the team’s top priority. Dallas had Zoom meetings with two of the top linebackers on the market, Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean, signaling significant interest, as teams only are allowed five Zoom meetings before the opening of the league year on Wednesday.
But both bolted to Las Vegas, picking the Raiders over the Cowboys.
Amid a landscape of mostly sour news, though, there is a bright spot: The Cowboys were gifted two extra draft picks on Monday.
Cowboys Add 5th-Rounders as Compensatory Picks in NFL Draft
The Cowboys got two fifth-round compensatory picks to be used in next month’s draft. The picks will be No. 177 and No. 180 overall, part of the league’s system for compensating teams who lose free agents in the offseason.
So, yes, they Cowboys had to watch DeMarcus Lawrence win a Super Bowl in Seattle and, yes, the Cowboys saw Rico Dowdle run roughshod over them for 186 yards in a Week 6 loss, but now there are a pair of Day 3 picks coming to Dallas to ease that pain.
It wasn’t just Dowdle and Lawrence, of course. As the Cowboys team site reported: “The NFL listed the compensatory free agents Dallas lost in 2026 as DeMarcus Lawrence, Jourdan Lewis, Rico Dowdle, Chauncey Golston, Chuma Edoga and Brandin Cooks. On the flipside, the compensatory free agents the Cowboys gained were Javonte Williams, Dante Fowler, Solomon Thomas and Robert Jones.”
Jerry Jones owner Dallas Cowboys
GettyCowboys owner Jerry Jones
Hoarding Picks a Must as Needs Persist
The Cowboys do need picks, of course, because they hollowed out their Day 2 supply with trades, though no one would argue against the loss of those picks. Their second-round pick went to the Jets as part of the Quinnen Williams package, and their third-rounder will go to Pittsburgh for George Pickens.
The way things have gone thus far in free agency does suggest, too, that the draft will be more important than many hoped. The Cowboys will still have some bites at the apple as far as improving in free agency and, who knows, maybe the price tag on top overall free agent pass-rusher Trey Hendrickson will come down enough that the Cowboys can land him on a more team-friendly deal.
But the draft, or maybe even making another pre-draft trade, appears to be the Cowboys’ best remaining way to fill the significant gaps the team has on defense. The Cowboys will have eight picks in the seven-round draft, beginning with No. 12 and 20 in the first round. They won’t pick again after that until the fourth round (112 overall), and now have their three fifth-round picks.
Additionally, the Cowboys have two seventh-rounders.