The 2026 NFL Draft will be a wild ride, and no one knows what will truly happen. But one of the top insiders in the game just laid out a dream scenario for the Dallas Cowboys. <\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t![\"Jan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/USATSI_28042515-scaled.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJan 19, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Hurricanes defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor (3) celebrates after a sack against the Indiana Hoosiers in the third quarter during the College Football Playoff National Championship game at Hard Rock Stadium.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSam Navarro-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
We\u2019re at the point where it seems like everything and anything can happen in the 2026 NFL Draft for the Dallas Cowboys. <\/p>\n
Every mock draft seems to propose a new scenario for the Cowboys, but none are as ideal as the one NFL insider Peter Schrager just published over at ESPN<\/a>. Schrager may not be the ultimate player evaluator, but he\u2019s well connected around the league and his insight should be taken seriously. <\/p>\n In his mock, one of the best defenders in the draft falls to No. 12, and the Cowboys land a player at No. 20 that they very well may consider at 12. <\/p>\n Cowboys steal Caleb Downs at No. 12<\/p>\n Downs\u2019 draft stock has been up and down all offseason and the biggest reason isn\u2019t even his play nor anything off-the-field. It\u2019s his positional value. He\u2019s one of the best players in this year\u2019s class, but the NFL has historically undervalued safeties. <\/p>\n According to Schrager, that wouldn\u2019t be a concern for the defensive-needy Cowboys. <\/p>\n \u201cBuckeyes defensive coordinator Matt Patricia told me on \u2018The Schrager Hour\u2019 that Downs will be the smartest player on whichever team drafts him and should be a face of the franchise,\u201d Schrager writes. \u201cThe Cowboys need that on defense, even if safety isn\u2019t valued the same as pass rusher or cornerback.\u201d<\/p>\n Even though the Cowboys signed Jalen Thompson in free agency<\/a>, Downs would be a home run pick. With Christian Parker on board as the new defensive coordinator, Downs could be the ultimate chess piece to truly build a multiple and unpredictable defense alongside Thompson\u2014who is also a very versatile defensive back. <\/p>\n Parker\u2019s scheme is expected to emphasize smart players, and Downs is exactly that. Even as a rookie, he\u2019d be expected to take on a leadership role.<\/p>\n A valuable edge rusher find at No. 20<\/p>\n Schrager has the Cowboys finding Miami\u2019s Akheem Mesidor at No. 20, which would be great value for an NFL-ready defensive lineman like him. The biggest concern scouts point to with Mesidor is the fact that he\u2019s 25 years old. <\/p>\n That shouldn\u2019t be a concern for a Cowboys team expecting to win now. <\/p>\n Additionally, some have indicated Mesidor isn\u2019t that far away from Miami teammate and projected Top-10 pick Rueben Bain Jr. For more insight on that side of things, I reached out to our own Craig Smith from A to Z Sports Miami. <\/p>\n \u201cBain\u2019s disruption, power, speed, and pure violence is unmistakable. He plays with an explosive, angry force that you just don\u2019t see often,\u201d Smith says. \u201cI\u2019m not saying he\u2019s going to be Lawrence Taylor by any means, but watching him play, I get a vibe of that controlled violence that LT played with for years.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut Mesidor\u2019s overall pass rushing toolbox is likely more developed at this stage of both of their careers,\u201d he adds. \u201cThe sixth-year senior used all of those tools and was adept at getting opposing quarterbacks on the ground, with 12.5 sacks on the year.<\/p>\n \u201cMesidor\u2019s age, 25, has been a talking point, but for a team that needs to win now and doesn\u2019t have as much time to wait on perhaps a high-ceiling young player to develop, Mesidor is about as close to plug-and-play ready as it gets for the position.\u201d<\/p>\n This would be a dream scenario for Christian Parker<\/p>\n I\u2019m not sure there\u2019s a better combination of players for the Cowboys than this one. Parker gets a perfect-fit rookie to develop\u2014he\u2019s got a defensive backs background and has developed multiple All-Pros at cornerback. But that\u2019s not it. <\/p>\n He gets much-needed depth at edge rusher in Mesidor, who could very well compete for a starting spot in Year 1 with Rashan Gary and Donovan Ezeiruaku also on board. <\/p>\n Matt Eberflus\u2019 departure was more than justified. But giving Parker a much better talent pool is the way to go. This scenario would be exactly that. <\/p>\n \t\t\t Dallas Cowboys News<\/p>\n There\u2019s been a lot of chatter about the Dallas Cowboys potentially moving up in the 2026 NFL Draft. But if they do, who are they likely to target? Here are five options ranked by likelihood.<\/p>\n Akheem Mesidor<\/a> Caleb Downs<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 NFL Draft will be a wild ride, and no one knows what will truly happen. But…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239151,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[41090,34582,102,104,103],"class_list":["post-239150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-akheem-mesidor","tag-caleb-downs","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239150","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=239150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239150\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Oct](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/USATSI_27383506-1-200x200.jpg\")
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