You and I know the truth about the Dallas Cowboys heading into the 2026 NFL Draft: They need to make sure to improve their defense after it was one of the NFL’s worst in 2025.
However, the Cowboys are clearly keeping the door open on offense. At least, that’s what one of their pre-draft visits suggest. The team used one of its “Top 30” visits on wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. out of Indiana, who is projected to be a late first-round / early second-round pick.
What the Cowboys hosting Cooper Jr. means
While the easiest way to interpret the pre-draft visit is that the Cowboys are considering selecting Cooper Jr. at No. 20 overall (or later if they trade down), it could also be due diligence on a player that could end up in the NFC East.
According to Nick Harris from Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Cowboys sometimes use such a strategy.
“They like to bring in a couple of guys who they think might end up in the division,” Harris recently said in an interview with DLLS Sports. “I think (Cooper Jr.) is a perfect example of one.”
That being said, the Cowboys have also ignored team needs to select the best player available in the past. A perfect example is CeeDee Lamb in 2020. If the front office is high on Cooper Jr., there might be a point where they consider taking him, which would have significant implications on George Pickens’ future.
The truth is we don’t know. That’s the beauty of the NFL Draft. But in case they are interested in drafting Cooper Jr., I reached out to our own Destin Adams from A to Z Sports Indianapolis so he could make the case for picking the talented wide receiver.
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The case for picking Cooper Jr.
Adams: “All season long, I felt like Omar Cooper was being undervalued for just how important he was to Indiana’s offense. Elijah Sarratt got a lot of the respect early on in the year (for good reason, of course), and Charlie Becker really came on to end the year and took over the spotlight.
“But Cooper did the dirty work as a blocker and as a middle-of-the-field route winner and YAC beast all year long. Him jumping Sarratt in terms of draft evaluation isn’t a shock to me, and I think he’s a guy whose game can fit in any offense with the ability to play on the outside or in the slot.
“The slot is where I think he is at his best. Imagining Cooper in the slot with Lamb and Pickens on the outside sounds like an absolute nightmare for defenses.”
As of this writing, Cooper Jr. is the only offensive player we know is visiting the Cowboys pre-draft. In the coming days, we’ll learn if more join that list. Perhaps RB Jeremiyah Love (Notre Dame), WR Carnell Tate (Ohio State) could be on the list when it’s all said and done.
This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Mar 27, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.