If it weren't for their awful defense in the 2025 season, the Dallas Cowboys might have been Super Bowl contenders.
And truthfully, they have nobody to blame but themselves. With contract negotiations reaching a heated fork in the road, the Cowboys sent Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers for a haul of picks and defensive lineman Kenny Clark. Losing Parsons ended up being detrimental for the Cowboys, but injuries took their toll as well.
With two first-round picks and a third-rounder, the Cowboys can flip the script for their defense with one draft class. Who are the best instant impact players for them to take and revamp that unit as soon as they possibly can?
Cowboys land defensive weapons in 3-round 2026 NFL mock draft predictions
Round 1 | 12th overall: Dillon Thieneman, SAF, Oregon
This year's draft class includes a lot of prospects at the positions the Cowboys need the most (CB, SAF, LB, EDGE), so they've got to make sure they come away from the first round with guys who are ideal fits for their defense. And Dillon Thieneman is both a perfect fit as well as an elite athlete.
Positional value says not to take a safety this high, but when you're trying to get a defense on the right track, take players who fit and who will come in and immediately play like pros. Thieneman has a high floor.
Round 1 | 20th overall: Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee
You could make a strong argument here that a pass rusher has to be included among the Cowboys' top two picks, but going with back-to-back defensive backs is also not a bad idea in this class.
And if the Cowboys can get McCoy at pick 20, it would be a steal. He's arguably the CB1 of this class, whose fall might be related strictly to a knee injury he's been recovering from since last year. The Cowboys could immediately plug him in on the outside.
Round 3 | 92nd overall: Kyle Louis, LB, Pittsburgh
The Cowboys need a big-time linebacker prospect with range, and this is the perfect draft class for it. There are so many linebackers available at just about every turn, and you could even see why the Cowboys might be motivated to go after a trade-back scenario to get someone in round two.
But a playmaker like Kyle Louis, with outstanding toughness and a background as a safety, could be a steal here in the third round for Dallas and immediately plug another playmaker at the second level of the defense.