{"id":171562,"date":"2025-06-30T23:45:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T23:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/171562\/"},"modified":"2025-06-30T23:45:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T23:45:10","slug":"espn-expert-predicts-cowboys-will-boost-defensive-line-in-early-2026-nfl-mock-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/171562\/","title":{"rendered":"ESPN expert predicts Cowboys will boost defensive line in early 2026 NFL mock draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

Will Micah Parsons sign a lucrative extension in Dallas<\/a> soon? While the question remains unanswered, an ESPN expert is already looking ahead to the Cowboys\u2019 pick in the 2026 NFL draft.<\/p>\n

ESPN\u2019s Matt Miller shared a very early 2026 mock draft Monday<\/a>, where he predicted that Dallas would bolster its defensive line in the first round. With the 13th overall pick, the Cowboys are projected to take Auburn edge rusher Keldric Faulk.<\/p>\n

According to Miller, Faulk would help Dallas\u2019 defensive line in multiple ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Cowboys enter the season still needing to sign Micah Parsons to a long-term extension. While they signed Dante Fowler Jr. this offseason,<\/a> Dallas needs more on the edge after passing on the position in the 2025 draft,\u201d Miller wrote. \u201cAt 6-foot-6, 288 pounds, Faulk is a versatile player who can play along the defensive line, from 3-technique to a true outside edge.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHe can generate pressure from inside and out, as evidenced by his 24 edge pressures and five interior pressures last season. Faulk\u2019s size and strength would be fun to pair with Parsons\u2019 speed.\u201d<\/p>\n

A player with Faulk\u2019s qualities could fit well in defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus\u2019 scheme.<\/a> Eberflus has been known to emphasize production from pass rushers who can attack from the 3-tech spot.<\/p>\n

Faulk started 12 games during the 2024-25 season at Auburn, posting 45 total tackles, 11 tackles for loss and seven sacks. He also forced one fumble and broke up a pass.<\/p>\n

Could the Cowboys go for another Parsons running mate in 2026? For now, Dallas fans are hoping their team\u2019s All-Pro pass rusher gets his contract extension.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Will Micah Parsons sign a lucrative extension in Dallas soon? While the question remains unanswered, an ESPN expert…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":171563,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1101,1554,230,257,7,491,6,15,9],"class_list":{"0":"post-171562","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl-draft","8":"tag-article","9":"tag-colleges","10":"tag-cowboys","11":"tag-dallas-cowboys","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-micah-parsons","14":"tag-nfl","15":"tag-nfl-draft","16":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114774981033086877","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171562"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171562\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}