LUBBOCK, Texas – With just 28 days to go before the NFL Draft, teams are entering the closing stages of the player evaluation process for the 2026 class that has lasted for well over a year.

The Cowboys’ work on the pro day circuit to gather more information on draft prospects continued Thursday at Texas Tech University, the third Texas school in as many days that head coach Brian Schottenheimer has attended following Texas on Tuesday and Texas A&M on Wednesday.

Schottenheimer led a Cowboys contingent in Lubbock that also included defensive coordinator Christian Parker, VP of player personnel Will McClay, director of college scouting Mitch LaPoint and pass rush specialist consultant BT Jordan.

Defense is a clear need for Dallas going into the draft, and the Red Raiders were far from short of defensive talent in 2025, finishing as the third-best total defensive unit in college football last season.

The defensive headliners were OLB David Bailey, who has been projected widely as a top-five pick, LB Jacob Rodriguez, OLB Romello Height and DT Lee Hunter among others. Rodriguez said following pro day that he had dinner with the Cowboys on Wednesday night, which Hunter was also in attendance at, adding he “loved all the conversations and [is] looking forward to more.”

Plenty of conversations happen at pro days between players and coaches/scouts, as well as coaches and other coaches. That was the case for Schottenheimer, who caught up with three fellow NFL head coaches in the Bengals’ Zac Taylor, Jets’ Aaron Glenn, and Saints’ Kellen Moore. Former Cowboys defensive line coach and current Titans defensive run game coordinator/DL coach Aaron Whitecotton was also in attendance. Chiefs QB and Texas Tech alum Patrick Mahomes made an appearance as well.

Bailey, Height, Hunter and Rodriguez all did not participate in athletic testing outside of bench press and focused more on their positional workouts in front of NFL scouts. When Bailey, Height and Hunter were doing their respective drills, Schottenheimer was front and center watching with a keen eye. Rodriguez did not participate in position drills.

Following the defensive line/pass rushing section of player workouts, Texas Tech QB Behren Morton had his throwing session, where wide receiver Caleb Douglas made some athletic plays. During the session, Schottenheimer watched on while catching up with Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire.

In the athletic testing period in front of NFL scouts, several Texas Tech players posted strong numbers. Linebacker Bryce Ramriez drew reactions from the scouts on hand with a 38.5″ vertical leap, and supplemented that with 31 reps on bench press, a 10-8 broad jump and 4.64 40-yard dash. Safety Cole Wisniewski, who shared a brief casual conversation with Schottenheimer and LaPoint, jumped a 36.5″ vertical with 20 bench press reps and a 10-2 broad jump. Lastly, Dallas native and Southlake Carroll high school graduate WR Brady Boyd posted a 4.38 unofficial 40-yard dash. Boyd spent last season at Utah State, but was at Texas Tech the year prior and returned to Lubbock to work out in front of NFL teams.

The Cowboys have drafted eight players out of Texas in franchise history, with the latest being linebacker Will Smith in 2014, a seventh-round pick who was part of the class that included Zack Martin and DeMarcus Lawrence. Dallas’ current right tackle Terence Steele was an undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech in 2020.

The Red Raiders have talent the Cowboys could use on defense, the question is where they could be taken. Bailey is likely to be off the board well before pick 12. Would the 20th pick be too much for Rodriguez despite good testing numbers at the combine and a strong turnover production track record? Is Height available and the kind of player Parker is looking for around pick 92?

Those questions and others from the previous pro days the Cowboys’ staff have attended will continue to work towards being answered in the coming weeks leading up to the NFL Draft. In the last four days, Schottenheimer and Parker have gotten their eyes on plenty of high-end defensive talent like Miami’s Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor, Texas’ Anthony Hill Jr., Texas A&M’s Cashius Howell, and now the Red Raiders’ defenders.

Now, Schottenheimer and company return to Dallas to get ready for the team’s upcoming 30 visits, where the Cowboys will welcome draft prospects to the Star in Frisco in order to get to know them better and discuss potential fits on the roster.