Getty
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – DECEMBER 06: Sonny Styles #0 of the Ohio State Buckeyes in action against the Indiana Hoosiers in the 2025 Big Ten Football Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 06, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
There’s no skirting around it; the Dallas Cowboys need to improve their defense in a massive way heading into the 2026 season. Dallas once again fielded arguably the worst defense in the NFL in the 2025 season, despite having a powerful, high-scoring offense.
Even a mediocre defense would have given the Cowboys a shot at making the playoffs, but after the loss of Micah Parsons, the Dallas defensive unit proved to be among the worst in the league.
Pro Football Focus released their prediction for the Dallas Cowboys first five selections in the 2026 NFL Draft. They’re projecting that the Cowboys will use four of those five picks to upgrade their defense.
PFF Calls For Cowboys to Upgrade Defense
Dallas has two first round picks this season: their own pick, which sits at No. 12, and the Green Bay Packers first round pick, which they acquired in the Parsons deal. That pick is No. 20 overall.
With these two first round selections, PFF is predicting that Dallas will select linebacker Sonny Styles out of Ohio State and cornerback Avieon Terrell out of Clemson. These selections would immediately upgrade the Cowboys two biggest weaknesses on the defensive side of the ball. Dallas allowed the most passing yards in the NFL in 2025, and allowed 24 rushing touchdowns for opposing teams, the most in the league.
“One of the true elite defenders in the class, Styles would fill what has felt like an eternal void for the Cowboys,” PFF wrote of Styles. “In 2025, he earned an impressive 87.4 run-defense grade, thanks in large part to just two missed tackles, while his 86.9 coverage grade ranked sixth among all FBS linebackers.”
Styles would immediately improve a very weak run defense, maybe not all by himself, but he would certainly have a case as the best linebacker on the team immediately.
As far as Terrell goes, he would make an immediate impact, especially after Dallas lost Trevon Diggs to the Packers last season.
“Terrell is an outstanding all-around cornerback, but it’s his coverage ability that will likely see him drafted in this range,” PFF wrote of Terrell. “Over the past two seasons at Clemson, he has forced 23 combined incompletions and recorded two interceptions.”
Dallas Goes Heavy on Defense in 2026 Draft
As far as their next three picks go, PFF is predicting the Cowboys will select safety Bishop Fitzgerald out of USC in the fourth round and running back Mike Washington out of Arkansas and defensive lineman Kaleb Proctor of Southeastern Louisiana in the fifth round.
Washington would have the ability to back up Javonte Williams right away on the offensive side of the ball.
Fitzgerald was a standout safety at USC this season.
“Fitzgerald is one of the top ball-hawking safeties in the draft class,” PFF wrote. “Combining his 2024 season at NC State with his 2025 campaign at USC, he recorded eight interceptions and forced 10 additional incompletions.”
Proctor comes from Southeastern Louisiana, an FCS school. He’s solid in both run and pass defense.
“Proctor possesses an excellent blend of quickness, agility and play strength, making him disruptive against both the run and the pass,” PFF wrote. “Last season, he graded positively on 18.4% of run-defense snaps while also recording nine sacks and 39 total pressures as a pass rusher.”
Matt Skillings Matt Skillings is a Boston based sports journalist and a graduate of UMass Amherst, where he majored in journalism and communication. Matt covered the UMass men’s ice hockey team for three years for the Massachusetts Daily Collegian. He was also a media intern for the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League for two summers. Matt has additional bylines with the New England Hockey Journal, the Boston Globe and MassLive. More about Matt Skillings
More Heavy on Cowboys
Loading more stories