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
\t\t\t\t![\"Oct](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/USATSI_27383506-1-scaled.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOct 18, 2025; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders linebacker David Bailey (31) against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
By now, you\u2019ve probably heard the buzz about the Dallas Cowboys potentially moving up in the 2026 NFL Draft.<\/a> <\/p>\n We\u2019re still over two weeks away from the big day, so the truth is we don\u2019t know what will happen (we never do with the draft), but the rumors bring up a very important question: If they indeed trade up, who are they likely to target? <\/p>\n I ranked draft prospects based on likelihood below.<\/p>\n 1. EDGE David Bailey, Texas Tech<\/p>\n Bailey has to lead off the list for multiple reasons. Firstly, it\u2019s the name a couple of insiders (Bruce Feldman and Todd McShay) have already linked to the scenario of the Cowboys moving up to No. 3 overall. He\u2019s the most tangible target since there\u2019s at least some buzz around him. <\/p>\n Secondly, positional value makes Bailey a prime trade up candidate. He\u2019s an explosive edge rusher who would upgrade the Cowboys\u2019 pass rush, even though run defense maybe a concern. Many expect Bailey to go in the Top 3, making it complicated for the Cowboys to nab him, but there\u2019s at least some smoke to the idea.<\/p>\n 2. LB Sonny Styles, Ohio State<\/p>\n Trading up for an off-ball linebacker? It could happen due to circumstances. <\/p>\n For starters, Styles is one of the best players in this year\u2019s class and he may be the closest you can get to a can\u2019t-miss prospect in 2026. Additionally, the Cowboys have one of the worst linebacker rooms in the entire NFL. It\u2019s a \u201cbest player available\u201d meets \u201cdrafting for need\u201d scenario. <\/p>\n I don\u2019t view the Cowboys moving to No. 3 overall for Styles but maybe in the No. 6 pick range<\/a>.<\/p>\n 3. EDGE Arvell Reese, Ohio State<\/p>\n Reese is lower on the list simply because I think the New York Jets will take him at No. 2. But if for any reason, Reese falls outside of the Top 2, you have to assume the Cowboys are interested. <\/p>\n Despite being scheduled to pick at No. 12 overall, Dallas hosted Reese in one of its Top 30 pre-draft visits. Wishful thinking, perhaps. But he\u2019s the kind of defensive star you move up for, and he would address both EDGE and linebacker needs if the Cowboys want him to. <\/p>\n 4. S Caleb Downs, Ohio State<\/p>\n Some think Downs will fall on draft night simply because of the position he plays, as the NFL has undervalued safety for years. So moving up for him would be crazy, wouldn\u2019t it? I\u2019m not so sure. <\/p>\n If the Cowboys draft Downs, they would get a face-of-the-defense type player who can do a little bit of everything. Downs would likely be the kind of player you want close to the line of scrimmage so he can always be near the ball. He\u2019s a high-IQ player who can diagnose every play in a heartbeat. <\/p>\n 5. CB Mansoor Delane, LSU<\/p>\n I\u2019m not so sure the Cowboys would move up for Delane. He\u2019s CB1 in my book but Dallas has publicly spoken about their need for a nickel being bigger than that at outside cornerback. If they pick Delane, I\u2019m betting it will be because of he fell to No. 12<\/p>\n What about EDGE Rueben Bain Jr.?<\/p>\n The only reason why Bain Jr. isn\u2019t in my Top 5 is similar to Delane\u2019s. I\u2019m not saying the arm length will be an issue for him at the NFL, but historical trends suggest it\u2019s a big question mark. I\u2019m just not sure he\u2019s the kind of player you move up for. Additionally, some insiders like ESPN\u2019s Matt Miller have suggested he could fall outside the Top 10<\/a>. <\/p>\n I love the player, though, and wouldn\u2019t be mad about it if the Cowboys move up to draft him.<\/p>\n \t\t\t Dallas Cowboys News<\/p>\n The Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns make too much sense as trade partners in the 2026 NFL Draft. Here\u2019s what their drafts could look like if they strike a deal. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tApril 6, 2026\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s been a lot of chatter about the Dallas Cowboys potentially moving up in the 2026 NFL Draft.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239999,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[18315,102,104,103,3775,13979,89992,34587],"class_list":{"0":"post-239998","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-arvell-reese","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-dallas-headlines","11":"tag-dallas-news","12":"tag-david-bailey","13":"tag-mansoor-delane","14":"tag-rueben-bain","15":"tag-sonny-styles"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239998","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=239998"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239998\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Ohio](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/USATSI_27653673-200x200.jpg\")
\t\t<\/p>\n