Reacting to Cowboys Picks and Trade in Chad Reuter's 7-Round Mock Draft

Chad Reuter of NFL.com put out his latest seven-round mock draft and there were multiple problems with the Dallas Cowboys' picks.

San Diego State Aztecs cornerback Chris Johnson. | Abe Arredondo-Imagn Images

In what is no doubt one of the more interesting mock drafts for the Dallas Cowboys of this entire cycle, Chad Reuter of NFL.com put out his latest projection ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft.

Reuter's mock features every pick for every team in all seven rounds and it includes a first-round track back for Dallas.

There has been a lot of smoke to the fire that the Cowboys will trade up from No. 12, but Dallas stays put here and gets nothing short of a miracle in that spot in Reuter's mock. The Cowboys do trade back from No. 20 with Cleveland, though, for what we'd consider a fairly minimal gain.

First, we'll take a look at what Reuter has projected for Dallas, and then we'll offer our analysis and grade for the entire haul for the Cowboys.

Reuter's picks and trade for Cowboys

Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Instead of having the Cowboys trade up in the first round, Reuter projects a trade back from No. 20 with the Cleveland Browns that sees Dallas get pick No. 24, along with swaps in the third and fifth rounds.

Then, after miraculously landing linebacker Sonny Styles at No. 12, Dallas takes cornerback Chris Johnson with the No. 24 pick acquired from Cleveland to close out the first round.

Here's the rest of the picks for Dallas in Reuter's mock draft:

• Round 1, Pick 12: LB Sonny Styles, Ohio State

• Round 1, Pick 24 (via CLE): CB Chris Johnson, San Diego State

• Round 3, Pick 70 (via CLE): WR Elijah Sarratt, Indiana

• Round 4, Pick 112: OT Aamil Wagner, Notre Dame

• Round 5, Pick 146 (via CLE): EDGE George Gumbs Jr., Florida

• Round 5, Pick 152: RB Le'Veon Moss, Texas A&M

• Round 5, Pick 177: LB Trey Moore, Texas

• Round 7, Pick 218: DT James Thompson Jr., Illinois

Grade for Reuter's mock: D

Indiana wideout Elijah Sarratt. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

If the Cowboys weren't the beneficiary of what would be one of the more unexpected draft slides in recent memory with Styles falling to 12, this mock mock might be even worse. Unless Reuter knows something nobody else does, there's no way Styles falls to 12.

The Johnson pick is OK because the Cowboys need more help at cornerback, but we're now a round in and still no edge rusher, which is a bigger need.

Waiting until Round 5 to grab an edge rusher just doesn't work for the Cowboys. If anything, they should have two by that point. We would have sprung for one in the first round instead of selecting Johnson, with guys like Keldric Faulk, T.J. Parker and Cashius Howell still on the board in Reuter's mock. Dallas can probably trade back again from that spot and still get Parker or Howell.

From there, the Cowboys could have found a cornerback or safety in the third round instead of taking a wideout. Jalon Kilgore and Brandon Cisse would have been viable picks in that spot.

None of this is to say a wide receiver is a bad idea, because we know the Cowboys need more competition for depth spots, but that's just too early to grab one when there were alternatives at bigger positions of need.

An offensive tackle pick in Round 4 is acceptable with the trouble Terence Steele and Tyler Guyton have had in recent years. We don't mind the edge rusher pick in Round 5, either, as long as Dallas is double-dipping with it.

Taking Trey Moore in the fifth round is a good pick and almost a double dip for the Cowboys in this mock, as Moore is a "tweener," offering versatility to play inside and outside linebacker. Adding Moss and Thompson for more competition for backup spots at running back and defensive tackle is OK, too.

All that said, there is just too much wrong in this mock draft for us to give Reuter a better grade, from the highly unlikely Styles pick at No. 12 to the lack of an edge rusher until the middle of Day 3. Here's to hoping for better days for Reuter in his next mock.