{"id":507448,"date":"2026-03-01T13:43:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T13:43:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/507448\/"},"modified":"2026-03-01T13:43:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T13:43:15","slug":"new-dallas-cowboys-2026-nfl-mock-draft-adds-ace-starter-standout-cb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/507448\/","title":{"rendered":"New Dallas Cowboys 2026 NFL Mock Draft Adds ‘Ace Starter,’ Standout CB"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Dallas Cowboys<\/a> got an up-close and personal look at some of the top NFL draft<\/a> prospects in this year’s class during the NFL <\/a>Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. To no surprise, the Cowboys spent a lot of time meeting with prospects on the defensive side of the ball<\/a>. <\/p>\n

As the draft rapidly approaches, it appears to be a foregone conclusion that the Cowboys could use both of the team’s first-round picks to improve the roster for new defensive coordinator Christian Parker<\/a>. <\/p>\n

With the Scouting Combine winding down, Nate Tice and Charles McDonald of Yahoo Sports shared their thoughts on the upcoming draft, and the Cowboys put a heavy focus on improving the defense<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"South<\/p>\n

South Carolina defensive back Brandon Cisse speaks to members of the media during the NFL Combine | Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

After landing an “ace starter” in Sonny Styles, which has become a common pick for Dallas despite Styles potentially working himself out of range for the Cowboys in Indy, the team addresses its league-worst secondary. <\/p>\n

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

A closer look at the latest first-round projections for the Cowboys<\/a> can be seen below. <\/p>\n

Pick No. 12: Sonny Styles, linebacker, Ohio State\"Ohio<\/p>\n

Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles runs the 40-yard dash during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Styles was one of the breakout stars of the Scouting Combine, dominating during on-field drills at Lucas Oil Stadium. Styles brings the skillset that Dallas desperately lacks at the position, so if he is available it would be a no-brainer selection. <\/p>\n

“Dallas has an opportunity to really upgrade its defense here for new coordinator Christian Parker, and can shore up what has the potential to be a top front seven with the addition of Styles,” the mock reads. “He\u2019s a fast, physical linebacker who has all the talent in the world to be an ace starter in short order in the NFL.”<\/p>\n

In his final season, Styles recorded 82 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss, one sack, one interception, and one forced fumble.<\/p>\n

Pick No. 20 (via Packers): Brandon Cisse, cornerback, South Carolina\"South<\/p>\n

South Carolina Gamecocks cornerback Brandon Cisse breaks up a pass intended for Clemson Tigers wide receiver Tristan Smith | Jeff Blake-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

It’s no secret that the Cowboys need to improve in the secondary, and Cisse is an intriguing player who could immediately step into the defensive backfield. With Christian Parker’s success as a defensive backs coach, you can expect him to target “his guy” with one of the team’s first-round picks. <\/p>\n

“After spending their first pick on Sonny Styles, the Cowboys can add another piece here with Cisse,” the mock states. <\/p>\n

“They desperately need help at cornerback, especially after cutting long-time starter Trevon Diggs, and new defensive coordinator Christian Parker cut his teeth in part by coaching the Eagles\u2019 secondary into becoming one of the best in the league.”<\/p>\n

After two seasons with the North Carolina State Wolfpack, Cisse transferred to South Carolina for his junior campaign. In his final season, Cisse recorded 27 tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss, one interception, one forced fumble, and five passes defensed.<\/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 got an up-close and personal look at some of the top NFL draft prospects in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":507449,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[49,48,514,82],"class_list":["post-507448","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\/507448","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=507448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507448\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/507449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=507448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=507448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=507448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}