By all accounts, the Cowboys had one of the best first nights of the 2026 NFL Draft. Getting Caleb Downs was already a good start, but doing it without mortgaging the future was huge. Adding two fourth-round picks and also snagging Malachi Lawrence only cemented a great night for Dallas.<\/p>\n
However, as Kobe Bryant once said, \u201cjob\u2019s not finished.\u201d The second day of the draft looms, and the Cowboys still have roster needs. They currently own just one pick on Day 2, 92nd overall in the third round, but they suddenly have a cache of picks they could use to move up again and fill some remaining needs.<\/p>\n
The Cowboys came into the draft needing to clearly identify their starting nickel – and found one with Downs – but their biggest need was unquestionably the linebacker spot. That remains the case after Thursday, and the Cowboys seemingly know it.<\/p>\n
The Cowboys may take a look at trading one of their bevvy of picks for a veteran, such as Jordyn Brooks or Patrick Queen. That said, there are still several top linebackers left on the board if Dallas decided to move up on Day 2.<\/p>\n
Texas Tech\u2019s Jacob Rodriguez was floated as a potential target if they traded back further than 23. CJ Allen out of Georgia was another popular name. The Cowboys also did a lot of homework on Anthony Hill Jr., the linebacker out of Texas.<\/p>\n
Whatever the Cowboys do, filling that void next to DeMarvion Overshown at linebacker seems to be the biggest remaining question mark heading into Friday.<\/p>\n
The Cowboys did a lot of homework on the cornerbacks in this draft, but it isn\u2019t necessarily a dire need. That\u2019s especially true after the Downs selection.<\/p>\n
More likely than not, Dallas will regularly play just two traditional outside corners, with Downs roaming inside as the nickel. The two obvious candidates at corner are DaRon Bland and Shavon Revel, though neither is a sure thing. Cobie Durant and Derion Kendrick also have starting experience from their Rams days, as do Reddy Steward and Trikweze Bridges.<\/p>\n
Still, it wouldn\u2019t be out of the realm of possibility for the Cowboys to take a cornerback at some point to bolster their depth. Both Bland and Revel have their injury concerns, and there are plenty of options still available after only two cornerbacks were drafted in the first round.<\/p>\n
Staying on defense, Dallas could probably stand to add another big body to their defensive line behind expected starters Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, and Otito Ogbonnia. Jay Toia and Jonathan Bullard are likely the top options for depth, but you can never have too much depth on the defensive line.<\/p>\n
Offensively, there are potential questions at wide receiver, tight end, and offensive line. Dallas is unlikely to find a starter at wide receiver or tight end, but they could improve their depth there, especially if Ryan Flournoy or Luke Schoonmaker don\u2019t make the jumps many hope they will.<\/p>\n
The offensive line is a bit of an underrated need, too. After T.J. Bass and Nate Thomas, there are plenty of questions opened up by the loss of Brock Hoffman. Don\u2019t be surprised if Dallas looks to add a developmental player or two on their trenches.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By all accounts, the Cowboys had one of the best first nights of the 2026 NFL Draft. Getting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":873648,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2066],"tags":[230,229,257,437,2461,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-873647","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-dallas-cowboys-draft","12":"tag-dallascowboys","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873647","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=873647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873647\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/873648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=873647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=873647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=873647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}