The Dallas Cowboys are increasingly rumored to shake up the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Last Tuesday, NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported that the Cowboys are “a team to watch in trade-up scenarios,” and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport separately called the Cowboys “the most obvious team” to trade up into the top three, four, or five picks.
Currently, Dallas owns the Nos. 12 and 20 overall picks in the first round. The Cowboys earned the No. 12 pick by finishing last season with a 7-9-1 record, and they received the No. 20 overall pick from the Green Bay Packers as part of the trade package that sent All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons from Dallas to Green Bay last August.
Mel Kiper Jr.’s latest ESPN mock draft projects the Cowboys to trade with Cleveland to move into the No. 6 overall pick and select former Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles.
ESPN’s Louis Riddick would co-sign that pick, should the Cowboys actually do it.
“I’ve said this before about Sonny Styles: I think he’s the safest player,” Riddick said on “Get Up.” “Sometimes, safe means you’re not necessarily really high on the guy’s actual physical attributes. No, his physical attributes are off the chart. When I say ‘safe,’ I say this: This kid’s a pro already. He is a pro. He is a foundational player.”
Riddick continued:
“He’s the kind of guy that you build an entire organization around at the command and control center, at the ‘Mike’ linebacker position. He will be the guy that you put front and center in front of the media. He’s the guy who will speak for the football team from day one. Sonny has that kind of polish. He has been raised the right way. He did it at Ohio State. He was the green dot player there. Everyone looked up to this kid, on top of the fact that he’s built like an Avatar.”
The Cowboys are desperate for a defensive game-changer in a post-Parsons world. Last season, Dallas ranked dead last in the NFL in scoring defense and EPA, and was near the bottom in other categories, including third-worst in yards per game.
Styles has received universal praise throughout the draft process, especially at the 2026 NFL Combine in late February.
Styles’ 43.5-inch vertical was the highest of anyone 6-foot-4 or taller and 240 pounds or heavier since 2003, per Warren Sharp. He has frequently been compared to San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner, a four-time All-Pro and projected Hall of Famer.
The Athletic’s draft expert Dane Brugler agrees with the increasing Styles-to-Dallas projections, saying last week, “I think Sonny Styles makes sense as a guy to go get, especially for this team when you think about the Christian Parker defense. If they played a game tomorrow, who’s wearing the green dot?”
We’ll find out whether Styles will wear the Cowboys’ green dot in 2026 when the 2026 NFL Draft begins on Thursday, April 23.
