{"id":236511,"date":"2026-04-05T22:58:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T22:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/236511\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T22:58:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T22:58:14","slug":"dallas-cowboys-spark-mixed-feelings-in-latest-nfl-mock-draft-as-daunting-scenario-comes-up-in-the-first-round","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/236511\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas Cowboys spark mixed feelings in latest NFL mock draft as daunting scenario comes up in the first round"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our crew at A to Z Sports put together a full first-round mock draft with insight from every beat. How did the Dallas Cowboys do with two picks in the Top 20? The results are bittersweet. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Aug
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAug 20, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones (left) talks with vice president of player personnel Will McClay before the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n

With only 20 days to go before the 2026 NFL Draft, our crew at A to Z Sports put together a staff-wide first-round mock draft<\/a> and it was my turn to put on the Dallas Cowboys GM hat on. <\/p>\n

I can tell you right from the get go that I have mixed feelings about how the Cowboys\u2019 haul came out. And it all started with a daunting scenario at No. 12 overall, as many of the top defensive prospects were wiped off the board before Dallas went on the clock. <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s dive in. <\/p>\n

Pick No. 12 overall: CB Jermod McCoy, Tennessee<\/p>\n

This was a tough one. For context, our mock draft had the following names off the board by No. 12: CB Mansoor Delane, ED\/LB Arvell Reese, LB Sonny Styles, EDGE Rueben Bain Jr., EDGE David Bailey, S Caleb Downs. <\/p>\n

Yikes. That meant I was faced with a dilemma: Do I risk reaching for an edge rusher, pick a safety, or take a risk on someone with legit CB1 potential?<\/p>\n

On the heels of Jermod McCoy\u2019s impressive Pro Day,<\/a> I opted for the latter. The Cowboys have said they don\u2019t want a redshirt rookie this year, but I\u2019m not sure McCoy is that. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds and showed he can change direction on the field. <\/p>\n

It feels like the Cowboys need to take a home run swing in the draft and McCoy was their best shot at it in this scenario. <\/p>\n

Notable players on the board: EDGE Akheem Mesidor, OT Spencer Fano, S Dillon Thieneman<\/p>\n

Pick No. 20 overall: S Dillon Thieneman, Oregon <\/p>\n

Not going with an edge rusher or a linebacker here hurts, but Thieneman is the pick sticking to the board here. He would be the final piece to give Cowboys DC Christian Parker a \u201cmultiple\u201d defense, as his versatility could be a serious weapon to complement Jalen Thompson. <\/p>\n

Notable players on the board: OT Monroe Freeling, S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, EDGE Keldric Faulk, EDGE Cashius Howell <\/p>\n

Final thoughts<\/p>\n

Overall, this haul would make the Cowboys secondary a very promising unit\u2014which is particularly relevant considering Parker\u2019s background coaching defensive backs. <\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s difficult to imagine the front seven standing out. It\u2019s this kind of scenario that has many thinking the Cowboys could trade up<\/a> or target linebacker via free agency or trade prior to the draft. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Oct\t\t<\/p>\n

Dallas Cowboys News<\/p>\n

A couple of NFL Draft insiders have suggested the Dallas Cowboys could move up to No. 3 overall via a trade with the Arizona Cardinals. But what would that really look like? <\/p>\n

Dillon Thieneman<\/a> Jermod McCoy<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Our crew at A to Z Sports put together a full first-round mock draft with insight from every…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":236512,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103,41088,87884],"class_list":{"0":"post-236511","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","11":"tag-dillon-thieneman","12":"tag-jermod-mccoy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236511","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=236511"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236511\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}