19. Carolina Panthers: Cashius Howell, EDGE, Texas A&M
The Carolina Panthers' defense took a significant jump up to 15th in the NFL this season, en route to their division championship. Hey, it might not be the most impressive division winner we've ever seen, but the Panthers had some really big wins along the way and tremendous improvement in areas we had been calling for throughout the 2025 offseason.
Now, the pressure is on general manager Dan Morgan to get some more top-tier talent for that defense in 2026. Although the Panthers invested in a couple of guys off the edge in this year's draft (Nic Scourton, Princely Umanmielen), they need to continue adding more help off the edge.
Derrick Brown still led this team with 11 QB hits in 2025. Scourton looks like a nice find for Carolina, and getting another guy who transferred over to that Texas A&M program in Cashius Howell could make a lot of sense for them.
20. Dallas Cowboys (from Packers): Romello Height, EDGE, Texas Tech
If you need consistent pass rush productivity, this year's incoming class is the class for you. The Dallas Cowboys missed out earlier in this mock draft on local products like David Bailey (Texas Tech) and now Cashius Howell (Texas A&M), but they're not going 0-for-3.
Despite the fact that Texas Tech was his fourth (fourth) school, it's not about how you start, it's about how you finish. And Height finished his collegiate career with 10.0 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss with the Red Raiders.
This Dallas Cowboys' defense needs a presence off the edge in a desperate way. After adding Quinnen Williams via the NFL trade deadline with the New York Jets, I think we expect nothing less than the Cowboys addressing that front seven with their top two picks in this year's draft.