{"id":226941,"date":"2026-03-30T13:29:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T13:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/226941\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T13:29:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T13:29:10","slug":"new-cowboys-mock-draft-has-dallas-doubling-down-on-secondary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/226941\/","title":{"rendered":"New Cowboys Mock Draft Has Dallas Doubling Down on Secondary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fixing the secondary has been a top priority for the\u00a0Dallas Cowboys<\/a>\u00a0this offseason.<\/p>\n

With\u00a0new defensive coordinator Christian Parker<\/a>\u00a0taking over, the Cowboys have\u00a0signed safeties\u00a0Jalen Thompson<\/a>\u00a0and P.J. Locke, as well as\u00a0former Los Angeles Rams cornerbacks\u00a0Cobie Durant<\/a>\u00a0and Derion Kendrick. Each signing fits Parker\u2019s scheme well, but with many of them on one-year deals, the Cowboys are likely to add more defensive backs in the 2026 NFL draft.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s exactly what they do in the latest mock draft from ESPN’s Matt Miller<\/a>, the Cowboys continue to add help in the secondary by using both of their picks in Round 1 on defensive backs.<\/p>\n

Round 1, Pick 12: Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee\"Tennessee<\/p>\n

Tennessee defensive back Jermod McCoy before a college football game between Tennessee and UAB. | Caitie McMekin\/News Sentinel \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy is quickly becoming the favorite for Dallas in mock drafts, and Miller has him going to the Cowboys at No. 12.<\/p>\n

“Dallas’ cornerback room is full of question marks behind DaRon Bland due to the release of Trevon Diggs. Bland is solid, but the Cowboys need a corner who scares opposing QBs. McCoy missed last season following a torn ACL suffered in January 2025, but his 2024 tape was elite, with four interceptions and nine passes defensed,” Miller wrote. <\/p>\n

“The 6-foot-1, 188-pound McCoy profiles as a physical outside cornerback with smooth moving skills in phase. He would have been my top cornerback in the 2025 class if he was draft-eligible.”<\/p>\n

McCoy is one of the top corners in this class, but he didn\u2019t play in 2025 while recovering from a torn ACL. If healthy, he would be a plug-and-play starter, but the Cowboys have had bad luck with scouting players coming off serious injuries.<\/p>\n

Round 1, Pick 20: Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S, Toledo\"Washington<\/p>\n

Washington State Cougars quarterback Zevi Eckhaus is tackled by Toledo Rockets safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren. | James Snook-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Miller sticks with the defensive backfield at No. 20, taking Toledo\u2019s Emmanuel McNeil-Warren.<\/p>\n

“After going corner at No. 12, the Cowboys could land a long-term safety option, as they need a youthful upgrade to 30-year-old Malik Hooker and free agent signee Jalen Thompson,” Miller wrote. <\/p>\n

“McNeil-Warren would be elite in a three-safety look due to his 6-foot-4 build, range and ability to play in the box. He’s very good at erasing passing lanes, but McNeil-Warren’s best asset is his downhill tackling ability that has led to nine career forced fumbles. Dallas needs difference-makers on defense, and McNeil-Warren’s turnover creation would be welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dallas had no defensive backs capable of being an enforcer this past season. McNeil-Warren can fill that void and give them a potential game-changer who can move all around the defense.<\/p>\n

\u2014Sign up for the Cowboys Daily Digest newsletter\u00a0<\/a>for more free coverage from\u00a0Dallas Cowboys on SI<\/a>\u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fixing the secondary has been a top priority for the\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0this offseason. With\u00a0new defensive coordinator Christian Parker\u00a0taking over,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":226942,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103],"class_list":{"0":"post-226941","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-dallas","9":"tag-dallas-headlines","10":"tag-dallas-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226941","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=226941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/226942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}