Failed Ex-GM's Hate For Ideal Cowboys 2026 NFL Draft Scenario is Misguided

Leave it to a former New York Jets general manager to hate a logical idea for the Dallas Cowboys in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Mike Tannenbaum, who was once an executive for the Jets and then Miami Dolphins and is now an ESPN talking head, is not a fan of Mel Kiper's most recent mock draft, where he has Dallas pulling off a blockbuster trade with the Cleveland Browns.

That trade sees the Cowboys make what has become a popular move, which is trading pick Nos. 12 and 20 for Cleveland's No. 6 selection and early second-round pick (No. 39). And, with that sixth pick, the Cowboys land linebacker Sonny Styles.

“I love [Sonny] Styles. I hate the trade," Tannenbaum said. "The Dallas Cowboys are not one player away... This was a team that was bad at all three levels, and even though they're going to add Rashan Gary and Quinnen Williams this past offseason, there's a lot more work to do."

Tannenbaum goes on to suggest LSU's Mansoor Delane at No. 12 for Dallas, and then an edge rusher like Ahkeem Mesidor or Zion Young at No. 20. The bad part about Tannenbaum's suggestion is Delane isn't widely expected to be on the board at No. 12.

Why Tannenbaum is wrong

Miami Dolphins executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum before the game against the Buffalo Bills. — Former Miami Dolphins executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum. | Kevin Hoffman-Imagn Images

We would definitely concede to Tannenbaum that the Cowboys are not one player away because, well, they aren't. Dallas needs help at all three levels and Styles only checks one box.

That said, in a draft that isn't loaded with talent, the Cowboys need to make an aggressive move to get one of its best players. Styles most definitely qualifies as such, and he checks an important box, which is a starting linebacker who can wear the green dot.

In addition to that thought process, there isn't likely to be a major difference between the players the Cowboys can get at No. 20 and those that will be available at the top of the second round.

That means Dallas could still get as talented a player at No. 39 as they would be getting in their second first-round spot.

Latest Cowboys trade rumors

Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer looks on before the game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. — Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer. | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

The common NFL Draft rumor about the Cowboys has pointed to a trade up, and there have been multiple rumors out there pointing to the Browns as a team that wants to trade up.

One of the few times we've seen someone push back on a possible trade up came from Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson, who spoke to someone in Dallas that said they Cowboys content with sticking and picking and landing two first-round players because they feel those players can both be starters, which Dallas obviously needs.

"I talked to someone in Dallas. Those two first-round picks, they feel like they can get contributing players for 2026," Robinson reported. "They feel good about getting two players."

When it's this late in the process, it's hard to know what to believe anymore. We would say, however, that the Cowboys will be in fine position no matter what they decide to do, whether that's a huge trade up from No. 12, sticking and picking at 12 and 20, or even trading back from 20 to acquire more draft capital.

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