{"id":487911,"date":"2026-02-20T15:37:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T15:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/487911\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T15:37:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T15:37:09","slug":"consensus-dallas-cowboys-nfl-mock-draft-picks-highlight-major-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/487911\/","title":{"rendered":"Consensus Dallas Cowboys NFL Mock Draft Picks Highlight Major Needs"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Dallas Cowboys<\/a> are putting a heavy focus on improving the defense during the NFL <\/a>offseason, with an immediate change of leadership after the firing of Matt Eberflus<\/a> and hiring of new defensive coordinator Christian Parker<\/a>. <\/p>\n

With the focus on the defensive side of the ball and two first-round picks in the 2026 NFL draft<\/a>, there is a strong belief that the team could use both picks on adding immediate contributors. <\/p>\n

The mock drafts have been pouring in with the Scouting Combine right around the corner, and an aggregate of 77 mocks shows the consensus picks for Dallas. <\/p>\n

MORE: New Dallas Cowboys’ 2026 NFL Mock Draft Revamps Christian Parker’s Secondary<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

With the No. 12 overall pick, more than 40 percent of the draftniks have projected Ohio State star linebacker Sonny Styles to the Cowboys. <\/p>\n

\"Ohio<\/p>\n

Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Sonny Styles gets into position during the 2025 Cotton Bowl | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Styles is the son of former NFL linebacker Lorenzo Styles and the brother of Buckeyes cornerback Lorenzo Styles Jr. During the 2024 national championship season, Styles earned second-team All-Big 12 honors.<\/p>\n

Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy landed in 10.4 percent of the mocks, along with Auburn edge rusher Keldric Faulk. <\/p>\n

MORE: Christian Parker Embraces Cowboys-Eagles Rivalry After Crossing Enemy Lines<\/a><\/p>\n

At pick No. 20, Georgia linebacker C.J. Allen and Texas A&M edge Cashius Howell both landed in 13 percent of the drafts, followed by Miami star Akheem Mesidor with 11.7 percent. <\/p>\n

Last season, Allen was on a tear. The junior linebacker has recorded 80 tackles, eight tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. With linebacker as a weakness, adding a player of Allen’s caliber late in the first round could be a home run for the Cowboys.<\/p>\n

\"Georgia<\/p>\n

Georgia Bulldogs defenders Christen Miller and CJ Allen celebrate after a victory over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | Brett Davis-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The direction Dallas ultimately goes remains to be seen, but it is clear that many in the draft community believe defense will be the direction the team goes. And after a disastrous campaign in 2025, the team desperately needs to add playmakers. <\/p>\n

The 2026 NFL Draft will be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from Thursday, April 23, through Saturday, April 25.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Sign up for the Cowboys Daily Digest newsletter <\/a>for more free coverage from Dallas Cowboys on SI<\/a> \u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Dallas Cowboys are putting a heavy focus on improving the defense during the NFL offseason, with an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":487912,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[49,48,514,82],"class_list":["post-487911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=487911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487911\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/487912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=487911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=487911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=487911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}