Cowboys 2026 NFL Draft Grade Roundup Shows Jerry Jones Cooked All Weekend

The Dallas Cowboys were one of the teams who stood out during the 2026 NFL draft. That was expected since they entered the weekend with two picks in Round 1, but they did much more than capitalize on their early picks.

Jerry Jones was cooking as Dallas found value with every pick, including their final selection which was a promising deep threat receiver in East Carolina's Anthony Smith. That said, let's see what the experts think by rounding up the grades Dallas is being given for their 2026 NFL draft class.

Before diving in, however, let's recap their selections:

Round 1, Pick 11: Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State
Round 1, Pick 23: Malachi Lawrence, EDGE, UCF
Round 3, Pick 92: Jaishawn Barham, EDGE/LB, Michigan
Round 4, Pick 112: Drew Shelton, OT, Penn State
Round 4, Pick 114: Devin Moore, CB, Florida
Round 4, Pick 137: LT Overton, DL, Alabama
Round 7, Pick 218: Anthony Smith, WR, ECU

NFL.com

Ohio State Buckeyes defensive back Caleb Downs is selected by the Dallas Cowboys during the 2026 NFL Draft. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Grade: B+

According to Chad Reuter, the Cowboys were consistent throughout the draft. He gave them a B+ on Day 1, a B on Day 2, and a B+ on Day 3. He called Caleb Downs the steal of the draft, but felt they took Drew Shelton slightly early.

Overall, the Cowboys did enough to earn a strong grade from Reuter, who also pointed out they filled one of their most glaring needs by sending a fifth-round pick to the San Francisco 49ers for linebacker Dee Winters.

ESPN

UCF defensive lineman Malachi Lawrence during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Grade: A

Mel Kiper was impressed with the work the Cowboys did during the draft, giving them an A. Like just about everyone else, he loved the Downs selection, but said Round 1 was really rounded out by the selection of Malachi Lawrence.

"Getting Lawrence later in Round 1 made things even better. Edge rusher was my No. 1 need for Dallas, and Lawrence had seven sacks and 14 tackles for loss last season," Kiper said.

Kiper also believes the Cowboys got solid value with Jaishawn Barham and LT Overton. Even if neither player becomes a star, they fill needs and could be long-term role players.

Sports Illustrated

Michigan Wolverines linebacker Jaishawn Barham pursues a play on defense against the Arkansas State Red Wolves. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Grade: A

Matt Verderame and Gilberto Manzano said the Cowboys did well in landing Caleb Downs, praising them for not reaching to try and replace Micah Parsons. Instead, they brought in one of the best defenders in the class and still built a strong pass rush by adding Malachi Lawrence and Jaishawn Barham to work with Rashan Gary and Donovan Ezeiruaku.

USA Today

Alabama defensive lineman LT Overton during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Grade: B-

Nate Davis was harsher than most, saying the Cowboys didn't do enough to replace Micah Parsons.

"But good luck finding anyone who thinks Lawrence, essentially part of the package from Green Bay as part of the 2025 Parsons mega-deal, and others will ultimately be worth the ultimate cost," Davis wrote.

Davis might be right that the Cowboys didn't exactly replace Parsons, but that's the wrong way to look at it. Even with Parsons, their defense was suspect. They relied on one person to make everything work, and as we saw in 2024, when Parsons missed time, they were awful.

Dallas actually built a deeper unit. Even if they're not as explosive, they should be much better than they were in 2025, and that was the goal.

Even with the slight from Davis, the Cowboys have been universally praised, and even his B- isn't a bad grade. Overall, Jerry Jones deserves praise for his work in rebuilding the defense this offseason.

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