Dallas, TX
Dallas Cowboys remaining draft selections after second and third rounds
The first two days of the 2026 NFL Draft are officially in the book. So far the Dallas Cowboys have been busy.
They made two trades in the first round, moving up and then down, and ultimately came away with Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence. Early in the second round they dealt a fifth-round pick to acquire veteran linebacker Dee Winters, and then they took Jaishawn Barham in the third round.
These are important moves as things relate to the upcoming season for the Cowboys, but there is still work to do.
Remaining Dallas Cowboys Selections
As things stand the Cowboys have four selections to play with on Day 3. They have two extra fourth-rounders that the Eagles gave them when Dallas moved down from 20 to 23 overall, and they have dealt away all of the three fifth-round picks that they began the draft with. Two were spent to move up from 12 to 11 to select Caleb Downs and the other was swapped for Dee Winters.
How do you feel about the Day 3 ammunition? The Cowboys are going to be quite busy early in the fourth round and that is going to be the serious bulk of what they do barring any other trade down the road.
Dallas, TX
FC Dallas Injury Report vs. Seattle Sounders: Who Is In and Who Is Out?
The latest FC Dallas injury report is out ahead of their match against the Seattle Sounders. See who is out, who is questionable, and who will be missing for the hosts.
Here is the official list from MLS and FC Dallas1:
❌
Out: Anderson Julio (lower leg), Bernard Kamungo (lower leg)
Questionable: Logan Farrington (lower body), Petar Musa (lower body)
Suspended: none
On Loan: Tsiki Ntsabeleng (Mamelodi Sundowns FC), Enes Sali (Al-Riyadh), Malachi Molina (Nashville SC), Geovane Jesus (North Texas SC), Enzo Newman (North Texas SC)
Unavailable (off-roster): Daniel Baran, Jaidyn Contreras
International Duty: none
Seattle’s availability report:
Suspended: none
Out: Yeimar Gómez Andrade (hamstring), Paul Arriola (adductor), Pedro de la Vega (knee), Nikola Petkovic (knee), Cristian Roldan (head)
Questionable: Kim Kee-hee (calf), Albert Rusnak (hamstring), Ryan Sailor (knee)
International duty: none
BDS Notes:
This being the third game in seven days for FC Dallas, rotation was likely always going to be part of the story going into Seattle. Now layer in the injuries, and it becomes a requirement.
The big ones are on the questionable side with both Petar Musa and Logan Farrington coming in on the questionable side of things. Following the Minnesota game on Wednesday night, it did appear that Musa was carrying an injury of sorts when he exited the game in the second half. Head coach Eric Quill couldn’t fully comment on his status after the game, but seeing him land on the questionable side is what I was expecting.
Farrington on the other hand, that one is a bit of a surprise. It will be interesting to see if Quill opts to hold both players out and go with a different look up top this weekend from the jump, or if he rotates a bit more with his lineup.
My gut tells me we may see an attacking trio tomorrow night of Santiago Moreno, Joaquin Valiente and Patrickson Delgado. Which would be…wild.
Seattle on the other side, they’re dealing with several big injuries for this weekend. Cristian Roldan, Paul Arriola, and Yeimar being out is a bit of a surprise, though there were reports that Arriola was not in training this week.
Injury news changes everything heading into Matchday. Members get the full tactical breakdown of how FC Dallas adapts to the various injuries.
→ Join Big D Soccer
1 https://www.mlssoccer.com/media-resources/stats-and-gameday
Dallas, TX
How UCF EDGE Malachi Lawrence Fits With The Dallas Cowboys
UCF EDGE Malachi Lawrence is going to Jerry World.
On Thursday night, Lawrence was selected by the Dallas Cowboys with the 23rd overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft, becoming the fifth first-round draft pick in Knights history. It also made him the highest non-quarterback draft pick in program history, the first UCF defensive lineman selected since defensive tackle Kalia Davis in 2022, and the first UCF defensive end/EDGE selected since Bruce Miller in 2011.
The moment Malachi Lawrence became our 5th first rounder in program history…
📺 2026 #NFLDraft April 23-25 on NFLN/ESPN/ABC pic.twitter.com/jO4Rosteur
— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) April 24, 2026
The selection also reunites Lawrence with another former UCF player, Demeitre Brim, who was hired by the Cowboys as their assistant defensive line coach back in February after spending the 2025 season with the Knights as a defensive analyst. So, Brim got to witness Lawrence record 28 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss, seven sacks, three passes defended, and two forced fumbles on his way to a First-team All-Big 12 honor last season.
“He did an unbelievable job of working consistently and just continuing to get better in a year with Mike Dawson and Alex Grinch, and really happy for him,” UCF coach Scott Frost said of Lawrence on April 21.
“I got that call!”@Mzlzchi 🤝 @dallascowboys pic.twitter.com/q8QRB0jYLA
— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) April 24, 2026
The Cowboys were a team particularly in need of pass rushers after finishing with the seventh-least sacks in the NFL last season. This was on top of them leading the league in passing yards allowed and rushing touchdowns allowed, though the latter is a shared title. Dallas also allowed the second-most passing touchdowns and the 10th-most rushing yards in the league last season.
Lawrence was not the Cowboys’ only roster addition to try to help address these defensive issues. Earlier in the draft, with the 11th overall pick, they selected Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, but what is of more concern for Lawrence is their trade to acquire pass rusher Rashan Gary from the Green Bay Packers back in March. With Gary’s starting experience with the Packers last season likely cementing him as a starting pass rusher on one side of the defense, that leaves just one starting spot on the other side for Lawrence to compete for.
Barring the Cowboys drafting any more pass rushers on Days 2 and 3 of the draft, Lawrence is most likely going to need to contend with the likes of Donovan Ezeiruaku and Sam Williams for that starting job. Both players were not regular starters last season, but still took the field in every game while logging a few starts.
However, Lawrence seems to be up for that challenge.
“They’re gonna receive, shoot, a dog, like a great player, like somebody that’s gonna come in and work from day one, great motor, and just bringing that pass rush ability to your team,” Lawrence said about what he would bring to the team that would draft him at UCF’s Pro Day.
Lawrence also already knows what he is going to do with his first NFL contract, which, based on being selected with the 23rd overall pick, is valued at $20,220,666, according to Spotrac.
“Shoot, I want to invest it,” Lawrence said.
Catch up on more UCF news below:
The Next Breakout NFL Prospect From The UCF Knights
Underrated UCF Knights Prospects Who Could Sneak Into the NFL Draft
List of Every UCF Knights First-Round Pick in NFL Draft History
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Dallas, TX
Cowboys draft picks tracker: Every selection, live grades
Top cornerback prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft
USA TODAY Sports’ Christian D’Andrea breaks down the top cornerback studs, sleepers and deep sleepers in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Defense still wins championships, which is perhaps why the 2025 Dallas Cowboys were nowhere near a Super Bowl in 2025.
As the 2026 NFL Draft approaches, Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones’ full, undivided attention should be on improving his team’s defense. There was a microscope on the Cowboys’ defense in 2025 after Jones traded All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers before the start of the season. The roster did nothing to validate that decision in the season that ensued.
Dallas ranked near or at the bottom of the league in several statistical categories on defense while simultaneously ranking near the top of the league in several offensive statistics. That ultimately led to a 7-9-1 record that was not enough to make the playoffs, and the Cowboys fired defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus after the end of the season.
Jones made some moves to address the Cowboys’ defense in the offseason. He signed safeties Jalen Thompson and P.J. Locke to reinforce the secondary, while defensive end Rashan Gary came over in a trade.
There’s still plenty of work to do to build up the roster in the 2026 NFL Draft. Fortunately, the Cowboys have two first-round picks to get the momentum started early.
Cowboys 2026 NFL Draft picks
The Cowboys have eight picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. Here’s the complete list:
- Round 1, Pick 12
- Round 1, Pick 20 (from Packers)
- Round 3, Pick 92 (from 49ers)
- Round 4, Pick 112
- Round 5, Pick 152
- Round 5, Pick 177 (compensatory pick)
- Round 5, Pick 180 (compensatory pick)
- Round 7, Pick 218 (from Titans)
Cowboys NFL draft grades
This section will be updated after the Cowboys make their first selection.
Cowboys 2026 NFL Draft needs
Edge rusher
The rumors are true: the team that traded away elite edge rusher Micah Parsons ahead of the 2025 season needs a new edge rusher on their roster. Despite finishing with the ninth-best pass-rush win rate, per ESPN, the Cowboys also finished tied for the seventh-fewest sacks in the NFL in 2025.
Dallas’ 2025 sacks leader, Jadeveon Clowney, had 8.5 sacks last year and is still a free agent. Behind him was James Houston with 5.5 sacks despite not starting a single game and playing fewer than 30% of Dallas’ defensive snaps. Even after trading for Gary, the Cowboys could use more help on the edge to improve their overall defensive shortcomings.
Cornerback
Dallas allowed the third-highest completion rate, second-highest passer rating and most passing yards to opponents in 2025. Re-signing Corey Ballentine and bringing in Cobie Durant in free agency are not transactions that significantly moved the needle.
Adding a secondary defender on the outside should be among top priorities for the Cowboys with one of their two first-round picks. LSU’s Mansoor Delane could be a strong consideration at 12, and Tennessee’s Jermod McCoy could be available at either pick slot for Dallas.
Cowboys 2026 NFL mock draft
Here’s what the Cowboys could do come draft night, per Ayrton Ostly’s seven-round mock draft:
- Round 1, Pick 8 (trade up with Saints): LB Sonny Styles, Ohio State
- Round 1, Pick 12: Traded to Saints
- Round 1, Pick 20 (from Packers): CB Jermod McCoy, Tennessee
- Round 3, Pick 92 (from 49ers): Traded to Saints
- Round 4, Pick 112: CB Julian Neal, Arkansas
- Round 5, Pick 152: Traded to Saints
- Round 5, Pick 177 (compensatory pick): Edge Mikail Kamara, Indiana
- Round 5, Pick 180 (compensatory pick): S Jalen Stroman, Notre Dame
- Round 7, Pick 218 (from Titans): Edge Logan Fano, Utah
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