Dallas, TX
Cowboys updated 2026 NFL Draft order: Current 1st-round pick after Week 18
The Dallas Cowboys wrapped up their 2025 season on Sunday and will now turn all of their attention to offseason work in the name of not finding themselves out of the playoffs this time next year. Obviously that is much easier said than done.
This upcoming offseason is one of the most important and critical in recent Cowboys history as they have multiple first-round draft picks for the first time since 2008. With the Cowboys now officially done for the season, we know where they will be picking come the 2026 NFL Draft.
Updated 2026 NFL Draft order
Here are the first 12 picks of the draft, through the Cowboys selection at number 12 overall, courtesy of Tankathon.
If all of this sounds familiar it is because it is… the Cowboys held the 12th overall pick last year and used it to select Tyler Booker. They also used it in 2021 to select Micah Parsons, more on him in a moment, although they picked it up after trading back two spots. For what it’s worth the Detroit Lions held the pick in consecutive seasons beginning the year after and landed Jameson Williams and Jahmyr Gibbs, so hopefully that type of success is what the Cowboys find.
While we know where the Cowboys are picking, it is still unknown exactly where their other first-round pick will land. Dallas holds Green Bay’s selection in the 2026 NFL Draft and the Packers are currently set to visit the Chicago Bears in the Wild Card Round which means we are all rooting for Chicago to take care of business.
Updated rundown of Cowboys Draft Picks
Keep in mind that Dallas has also already dealt away 2026 draft capital as well.
The Cowboys are projected to receive a couple of compensatory picks as well, potentially in the fifth-round, but those are not fully known at this time.
Morton started 15 games in 1972 for an injured Staubach, who eventually returned in the playoffs. The Cowboys decided to trade Morton in 1974 to the Giants, who sent back a first-round pick, which turned out to be the No. 2 overall pick in 1975. The Cowboys used that selection to take Randy White, a 10-time Pro Bowler and future Hall of Famer.
Ironically enough, White’s best game was likely Super Bowl XII, when he was named Co-MVP with Harvey Martin. The Cowboys’ Doomsday defense dominated the Broncos, who were quarterbacked by Morton.
Overall, Morton played for the Cowboys, Giants and Broncos before officially retiring at the end of the 1982 season.
His career ended with 27,908 passing yards, ranking him 71st in NFL history, just ahead of Hall of Famer Joe Namath (27,663).
With the official NFL schedule coming this week, the Dallas Cowboys have revealed when, where and against who their Week 1 contest will be.
The Cowboys announced that they will square off against the New York Giants on the road in Week 1, with the game set for Sunday, Sept. 13, at 7:20 p.m. CT. So, it’s prime time for the Cowboys to start the season.
This is the second game we know about for the Cowboys this year. Of course, we know they will be playing on Thanksgiving, also.
The official schedule will drop on May 14, the NFL announced last week. Schedules for all 32 teams will be revealed on ESPN and the NFL Network, but each team will unveil its own schedule on social media, also.
The Cowboys were always likely to play a road game in Week 1 because of an Usher and Chris Brown concert taking place at AT&T Stadium that week.
Dallas will also be impacted by an Ed Sheeran concert in Week 7, so that’s another potential road game. They could also play on Monday or Thursday that week, or have a bye.
Cowboys’ strength of schedule
According to Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis, the Cowboys are not going to have an easy road to make the postseason.
The Cowboys have the fourth-toughest schedule in the NFL going into the 2026 season, with only the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers having tougher slates.
Dallas’ schedule is also the third-toughest in the NFC, and the most difficult in the NFC East.
Sharp does his strength of schedule rankings based on win totals from Vegas oddsmakers rather than utilizing the previous season’s records because that metric doesn’t factor in offseason changes.
The Cowboys will play home games against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders.
On the road, Dallas will square off against the Giants, Eagles, Commanders, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers.
Of those opponents, seven of them made the postseason in 2025, a list that includes the Jaguars, 49ers, Eagles, Texans, Rams, Seahawks and Packers.
All of those teams should be as good in 2026, and teams like the Colts, Titans, Ravens, Bucs, Giants and Commanders have a very real chance to be improved as well.
It won’t be an easy road for Dallas to get back to the playoffs in 2026, but there’s at least hope following a defensive overhaul.
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