{"id":435963,"date":"2026-01-29T02:13:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T02:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/435963\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T02:13:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T02:13:10","slug":"new-mock-draft-has-cowboys-taking-athletic-freak-at-no-12-raw-prospect-at-no-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/435963\/","title":{"rendered":"New mock draft has Cowboys taking \u2018athletic freak\u2019 at No. 12, raw prospect at No. 20"},"content":{"rendered":"

With a new defensive coordinator and numerous holes<\/a> to fill on defense, the early NFL mock drafts are heavily assuming that the Dallas Cowboys will be going double-defensive players with their pair of first-round picks in April.<\/p>\n

The latest mock draft from NFL.com\u2019s Bucky Brooks has Dallas taking one of the same players his cohort Daniel Jeremiah did<\/a>, along with an \u201cathletic freak\u201d in the secondary.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s who Brooks had the Cowboys taking with picks Nos. 12 and 20, and why:<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/p>\n

Cowboys<\/p>\n

Be the smartest Cowboys fan. Get the latest news.<\/p>\n

By signing up, you agree to our\u00a0Terms of Service<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

Pick No. 12: Sonny Styles<\/p>\n

Linebacker, Ohio State<\/p>\n

Comment: “The Cowboys need more speed and playmaking potential at linebacker. Styles is a freak athlete with the explosiveness to thrive as a sideline-to-sideline defender in a see ball, get ball scheme.”<\/p>\n

\"California<\/p>\n

California quarterback Fernando Mendoza, center left, is sacked by Auburn defensive lineman Keldric Faulk, center right, during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo\/Butch Dill)<\/p>\n

Butch Dill \/ AP<\/p>\n

Pick No. 20: Keldric Faulk<\/p>\n

EDGE, Auburn<\/p>\n

Comment: \u201cThe void left by the trade of Micah Parsons<\/a> might prompt the Cowboys to load up on pass rushers in the offseason. Faulk is a bit of a project as a pure QB hunter, but his explosive traits could intrigue a coaching staff that believes in a draft-and-develop philosophy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Vanderbilt<\/p>\n

Faulk was also the Cowboys\u2019 pick at No. 20 in Jeremiah\u2019s mock draft, and both commented on how raw a prospect the 6-6, 285-pounder is.<\/p>\n

Faulk is said to have elite athleticism with a need for more polishing. He\u2019s one of the draft\u2019s youngest prospects at just 20 years old, so there\u2019ll be plenty of time for growth.<\/p>\n

Styles, meanwhile, is ranked by most as one of the top defensive prospects in the draft. Spending all four seasons with the Buckeyes, Styles won a national championship with Ohio State two seasons ago while compiling 100 tackles, 6 sacks and a forced fumble. Last season he finished with 83 tackles, a sack and an interception, and was named a First-Team All-American. <\/p>\n

\"FILE<\/a>Belichick\u2019s HOF snub, Sanders\u2019 Pro Bowl addition are black eyes the NFL could do without<\/a><\/p>\n

Surely the NFL can find a similar way to recognize its best without embarrassing itself.<\/p>\n

\"Pro<\/a>Jimmy Johnson blasts Hall of Fame in NSFW rant after Belichick misfire<\/a><\/p>\n

The ex-Cowboys coach recently appeared on \u201cThe Pat McAfee Show\u201d to express frustration with the Hall\u2019s voting process.<\/p>\n

Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With a new defensive coordinator and numerous holes to fill on defense, the early NFL mock drafts are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":435964,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4,450,21147,1816,451,3,17351,452,453],"class_list":["post-435963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-cowboys","tag-dallas-cowboys","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-nfl-draft","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=435963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435963\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/435964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=435963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=435963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=435963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}