Cowboys Trying to Leapfrog 1 Team Picking in Top 5 of NFL Draft: Report

The NFL offseason doesn’t officially begin until Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones comes out of left field.

There isn’t as seismic a trade to make this offseason as the Cowboys’ decision to ship All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons off to the Green Bay Packers last August. But never underestimate Jones.

In part, the Parsons trade landed the Cowboys the No. 20 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, and Dallas might use that draft capital to make its next franchise-altering move.

“There's a belief among teams at the top of the draft that the Cowboys, who have picks at #12 and #20, are a team to watch in trade-up scenarios, according to multiple league sources,” NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported on Tuesday. “Several teams have said they believe Dallas is targeting a player the Giants also covet, and getting ahead of them would be ideal if the price makes sense.

The New York Giants hold the No. 5 overall pick. The Cowboys earned the No. 12 overall pick by finishing with a 7-9-1 record, largely due to woeful defensive performance.

Schultz didn’t disclose which player Dallas is targeting, but Rich Eisen might have last week.

Eisen said on his “Rich Eisen Show” that he’s “hearing” Dallas connected to former Ohio State star linebacker Sonny Styles because the Cowboys “love him so much.” Eisen asked NFL insider Tom Pelissero how high up the draft board Dallas could ascend by packing the Nos. 12 and 20 overall picks.

“Not all the way to 2,” Pelissero said. “Depending on which chart you’re going off of here, 20 has a lot of points, but it’s not enough to get you to 2 or 3 in my mind, especially in a draft like this.”

“Drafting a pure linebacker is not something we see happen very often at the very top of the draft, but you also don’t see many guys test the way Sonny Styles is and be as big of a freak show athletically,” Pelissero added. “If you’re gonna make a case for somebody, it’s that guy right there.”

Longtime NFL draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah projected the Giants to draft Styles and ranked Styles as the third-best overall prospect in this class.

Styles drew comparisons to San Francisco 49ers four-time All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner. The Cowboys don’t have anyone on their defense with anywhere near that level of gravity. Dallas ranked near the bottom of the NFL in total sacks (35) and dead last in scoring defense (30.1 points per game) last season.

All will be revealed soon enough. The 2026 NFL Draft’s first round will commence on April 23 in Pittsburgh.

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This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 2:46 PM.