The Dallas Cowboys shipped off one of their top defensive players on Wednesday, Osa Odighizuwa. San Francisco will be Odighizuwa’s new home to play for the 49ers. Dallas received a third-round pick in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft in return. Pick No. 92 now belongs to the Cowboys, just their third inside the top 100.
Some wondered if the Cowboys would wind up being the team to make that selection. Plenty of defensive help is still needed on the roster, maybe using the third-rounder to find a capable player. But Jon Machota of The Athletic shut down the idea. He believes Dallas will retain the pick and rely on their coaching staff to find a quality rookie.
“I think it’s one that they’ll stick with,” Machota said via 105.3 The Fan. “And the reason I say that is — I think they want as many picks as possible. Especially premium top 100 picks to give this defense a chance to fill holes. Because one of their advantages with that young coaching staff is that they know a lot of these guys in the draft. Whether it’s them coaching them, recruiting them, coaching against them.
“So, they know these players really well. It’s why you’re going to see a lot of these assistant coaches at a lot of these Pro Days, looking at these defensive guys. They know them well, your scoting staff knows them well. I find it hard to believe they’re going to be parting with picks. Especially top 100 picks… I don’t think it will be used to add another veteran player.”
Christian Parker is taking over as the defensive coordinator in Dallas. His staff comprises of a few guys who were previously in the college game. Inside linebackers coach Scott Symons might be the biggest name of them all, previously being the DC at SMU. Chidera Uzo-Diribe, who will be the outside linebackers coach, worked at Georgia under head coach Kirby Smart, making the jump to the NFL for the first time in his career. The Cowboys appear confident in the knowledge of this year’s draft class.
A lot of attention will be placed on the two first-round picks Dallas owns. And rightfully so, as Jerry Jones looks to bring in guys who can immediately improve the roster. There might be a similar mindset within the organization when it comes to the newly acquired third-round selection from the 49ers.