{"id":188181,"date":"2026-03-03T09:17:29","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T09:17:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/188181\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T09:17:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T09:17:29","slug":"turning-picks-12-20-into-gold-inside-the-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/188181\/","title":{"rendered":"Turning Picks 12 & 20 Into Gold \u00bb Inside The Star"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this Dallas Cowboys Mock Draft, I turned picks 12 and 20 into five top-100 selections to build depth, reload the defense, and strengthen the roster for January.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t want a splash in this mock draft<\/a>, unless you count the trades as a splash. I wanted to fill the defense with rookies who could contribute right away.<\/p>\n

Holding picks 12 and 20 sounds great on the surface. Two first-rounders, two big names, and two jerseys flying off the shelves.<\/p>\n

But when I looked at the way the board fell, I didn\u2019t see clean value sitting there at either spot. What I did see was opportunities with trades that were offered to me for each pick.<\/p>\n

Instead of forcing picks in this mock draft just to say I stayed in the first round, I turned those two selections into five picks inside the top 100<\/a>: Picks 32, 34, 64, 65, and 96.<\/p>\n

I feel that\u2019s how you control a draft when you have so many needs on one side of the ball.<\/p>\n

\"Oregon<\/p>\n

Round 1: Pick 32\u2014Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon<\/p>\n

I still landed an impact player. It may not be the safety everyone wanted, but he is the safety the Cowboys needed.<\/p>\n

Thieneman gives the Cowboys range on the back end<\/a> and instincts you can\u2019t coach. He sees it fast and closes even faster.<\/p>\n

This defense needs more playmakers in the secondary, and I wasn\u2019t leaving this without addressing it.<\/p>\n

Trading down didn\u2019t cost any quality, but it gave me volume without sacrificing talent. That matters when the Cowboys need a lot of help.<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/p>\n

Round 2: Pick 34\u2014Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech<\/p>\n

This pick was about getting a player who could lead the defense. A smart, instinctive leader who has shot up draft boards.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez plays downhill and doesn\u2019t hesitate<\/a>. He plays physical and finishes tackles. The middle of the defense has to get stronger. I feel this is non-negotiable.<\/p>\n

When I moved back from 12 in this mock draft, instead of getting one player, I got a tone-setting linebacker and still kept stacking picks.<\/p>\n

\"Arkansas<\/p>\n

Round 3: Pick 64\u2014Julian Neal, CB, Arkansas
\nRound 3: Pick 65\u2014Gabe Jacas, EDGE, Illinois<\/p>\n

Back-to-back swings in the trenches and the secondary from this mock draft.<\/p>\n

Neal gives the Cowboys length and outside coverage ability<\/a>. You can\u2019t survive in this league without corners who hold up and fit Christian Parker\u2019s blueprint. I\u2019m adding competition immediately.<\/p>\n

Then Jacas brings the pass-rush juice<\/a>. I want waves of pressure and not one guy carrying the load in the fourth quarter. I want fresh legs coming off the edge.<\/p>\n

Depth may be boring to some fans, but depth wins games.<\/p>\n

\"Penn<\/p>\n

Round 3: Pick 96\u2014Kaytron Allen, RB, Penn State<\/p>\n

Allen and Javonte Williams give the Cowboys two bruisers at running back and a more mature Jaydon Blue gives them a home run hitter once the defensive line gets softened up.<\/p>\n

Allen runs north-south and doesn\u2019t dance around too much<\/a>. When it\u2019s third and two in December, I want two backs who can lower their shoulder and move the chains.<\/p>\n

This offense has a closer in Williams, but having two backs who can close out a game keeps the running game fresh late in the season.<\/p>\n

Day 3 Equals More Competition<\/p>\n

I doubled and tripled down on the defensive front in this mock draft because you never stop investing in the pass rush. Ever.<\/p>\n

Dennis-Sutton and Curry bring traits, Gumbs is a late-round upside player, Kelly adds linebacker depth and special teams value, and Nussmeier is a developmental quarterback with arm talent worth betting on in the middle rounds.<\/p>\n

Every pick in this mock draft adds competition. Nobody gets handed anything on this team.<\/p>\n

Why I\u2019d Take This Haul Every Time<\/p>\n

Two first-round names would have looked good on a graphic, but five top-100 players look better on Sundays.<\/p>\n

I strengthened the secondary, I toughened the linebacker room, added multiple edge rushers, brought in a power back, and created depth across the roster instead of relying on one or two rookies to save the season.<\/p>\n

That could be the difference for a team with so many needs.<\/p>\n

This Dallas Cowboys Mock Draft wasn\u2019t about winning draft night with big names, but it was about building something that could hold up late in the season.<\/p>\n

If the front office walked out of April with this kind of class, I\u2019d feel good about where this team is headed.<\/p>\n

Was this helpful?<\/p>\n

Thanks for your feedback!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In this Dallas Cowboys Mock Draft, I turned picks 12 and 20 into five top-100 selections to build…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":188182,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[21872,42846,102,104,103,4017,75016,41088,50241,3785,75017,21830,62094,6183,3961],"class_list":{"0":"post-188181","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-2026-nfl-draft","9":"tag-cornerback","10":"tag-dallas","11":"tag-dallas-headlines","12":"tag-dallas-news","13":"tag-defense","14":"tag-defensive-end","15":"tag-dillon-thieneman","16":"tag-edge","17":"tag-jacob-rodriguez","18":"tag-julian-neal","19":"tag-linebacker","20":"tag-mock-draft","21":"tag-nfl-draft","22":"tag-safety"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188181\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/188182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}