{"id":853608,"date":"2026-04-04T17:21:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T17:21:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/853608\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T17:21:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T17:21:24","slug":"dallas-cowboys-mock-draft-exploring-what-moving-up-to-no-3-overall-would-look-like-and-what-it-would-take","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/853608\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas Cowboys mock draft exploring what moving up to No. 3 overall would look like, and what it would take"},"content":{"rendered":"

A couple of NFL Draft insiders have suggested the Dallas Cowboys could move up to No. 3 overall via a trade with the Arizona Cardinals. But what would that really look like? <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Oct
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOct 18, 2025; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders linebacker David Bailey (31) against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

In case you missed it, there\u2019s a growing notion the Dallas Cowboys could trade up all the way into the Top 3 in the 2026 NFL Draft.
<\/a>
A couple of NFL insiders, Bruce Feldman and Todd McShay, have put the buzz on the map and now I\u2019m wondering what a Cowboys draft could look like if that was to happen. That\u2019s why I fired up our own mock draft simulator at A to Z Sports<\/a> and got to work to strike a deal with the Arizona Cardinals at No. 3 overall. <\/p>\n

The Cowboys-Cardinals mock trade<\/p>\n

First, let\u2019s address the elephant in the room. Moving up from No. 12 to No. 3 overall would be very costly. Though McShay and Feldman have teased the Cowboys\u2019 third-round pick as the price to pay, I think that\u2019s too little. <\/p>\n

Our simulator confirmed it. When I tried to package No. 92 and No. 12 for No. 3, it responded that \u201cthe Cardinals don\u2019t think it\u2019s a serious offer.\u201d <\/p>\n

So what could a trade really look like? <\/p>\n

The A to Z Sports\u2019 simulator drove a hard a bargain but this is ultimately what Dallas gives up in this trade scenario. Buckle up, it\u2019s a haul for Arizona, but we\u2019re working under the assumption this is what the Cowboys want to do while keeping No. 20 overall later in the first round. <\/p>\n

Cardinals get: Pick No. 12 (first-round), Pick No. 92 (third round), Pick No. 152 (fifth-round), 2027 second-round pick<\/p>\n

Cowboys get: Pick No. 3 overall<\/p>\n

Now, the picks. <\/p>\n

Pick No. 3 overall: EDGE David Bailey, Texas Tech<\/p>\n

According to the buzz spearheaded by McShay and Feldman, Bailey is who the Cowboys would want to move up for. It checks out. <\/p>\n

Earlier in the year, Dallas aggressively targeted Maxx Crosby<\/a> in the trade market. If not in the first round, they\u2019re unlikely to upgrade the position in any other way. Moving up for Bailey guarantees them an improved pass rush, though run defense concerns will follow the former Red Raider into the NFL. <\/p>\n

Pick No. 20 overall: CB Avieon Terrell, Clemson<\/p>\n

Yes, the hamstring that kept Terrell from performing offseason workouts<\/a> at the combine, Clemson\u2019s Pro Day, and his private Pro Day is a concern. <\/p>\n

But the film shows an NFL defensive back, and he\u2019s a natural fit at nickel, which the Cowboys admittedly consider a need<\/a> still. He\u2019s a proven tackler, which is what Dallas wants at the position.<\/p>\n

Final thoughts<\/p>\n

While it would suck for the Cowboys to not make any picks on Day 2, it would be difficult to not be excited about this draft class. Dallas would leave Day 1 with an upgrade in the pass rush department and a starting-caliber nickel cornerback. <\/p>\n

If they\u2019re approaching 2026 with a win-now mentality, I can\u2019t complain about giving up future picks for players who raise the floor right away. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Tennessee\t\t<\/p>\n

Dallas Cowboys News<\/p>\n

The Dallas Cowboys say they don\u2019t want to draft redshirt rookies in 2026. But CB Jermod McCoy isn\u2019t considered that around the NFL, even less so after a successful Pro Day. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A couple of NFL Draft insiders have suggested the Dallas Cowboys could move up to No. 3 overall…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":853609,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2066],"tags":[230,229,257,2461,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-853608","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas-cowboys","8":"tag-cowboys","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-dallas-cowboys","11":"tag-dallascowboys","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116347594417469672","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853608","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=853608"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853608\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/853609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=853608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=853608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=853608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}