The past few days have been an absolute whirlwind in the NFL. From the opening of the free-agent negotiation window on Monday morning and 8 p.m. ET that night, clubs had doled out a whopping $2.3 billion in new contracts. And that was just Day 1, as Tuesday brought more new deals as well as some unexpected drama, what with the absolute mess that is the Maxx Crosby situation.
The Dallas Cowboys certainly weren't as busy as some other teams during this first wave of free agency, but they at least brought in a little external help, signing safeties Jalen Thompson and P.J. Locke, defensive tackle Otito Ogbonnia, and edge rusher Tyrus Wheat, while also bringing back Sam Williams.
The biggest move made by Dallas this week, however, was made early Monday morning, as Jerry Jones engaged in yet another trade with the Green Bay Packers, sending a 2027 fourth-round draft pick their way in order to acquire edge rusher Rashan Gary. So, again, it's not as if the Cowboys haven't done anything.
Now, amid all of the free-agency chaos, the NFL casually and quietly dropped the news that they'd come to a decision on the compensatory selections in next month's draft, with a total of 33 being awarded to 15 teams. And somewhat surprisingly, Dallas now finds itself with an extra pair of much-needed picks, receiving two fifth-rounders.
The Dallas Cowboys added two fifth-round picks to their 2026 NFL Draft total
Per the Cowboys' official website, the league "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."
As such, the Cowboys were awarded the aforementioned pair of picks toward the end of the fifth round, specifically No. 177 and No. 180 overall. Dallas now currently owns eight selections in the '26 draft, including a pair of first-rounders, those being their own pick at No. 12 and the selection they received from the Green Bay Packers in the Micah Parsons deal at No. 20. They also added a third-round selection (No. 92) on Wednesday in the trade that sent Osa Odighizuwa to the San Francisco 49ers.
Round 1: No. 12 overall
Round 1: No. 20 overall (from Green Bay Packers)
Round 3: No. 92 overall (from San Francisco 49ers)
Round 4: No. 112 overall
Round 5: No. 152 overall
Round 5: No. 177 overall (compensatory selection)
Round 5: No. 180 overall (compensatory selection)
Round 7: No. 218 overall (from Tennessee Titans)
You'll notice, of course, that Dallas has zero selections in the second and sixth rounds. And the reasoning there is that the second-round pick went to the New York Jets in the Quinnen Williams deal, and the sixth-round pick went to the New York Giants in the Jordan Phillips deal. Up until the trade with the Niners, the Cowboys also didn't own a third-round selection, as they'd sent that to the Pittsburgh Steelers as part of the George Pickens trade.
You'll also notice that the Cowboys' seventh-round pick isn't their own, as that went to the Buffalo Bills in the Kaiir Elam trade. The pick they do own in the final round came from the Tennessee Titans as part of the Solomon Thomas trade. That deal involved a seventh-round pick swap, with the Cowboys sending the Titans the No. 225 selection, which they'd gotten from the Kansas City Chiefs in the Peyton Hendershot deal.
They also once owned another seventh-rounder from the aforementioned Phillips trade, but that was sent to the Cincinnati Bengals in the Logan Wilson deal.