“Those draft picks could get us top Pro bowl-type players. Could.”
That was just one of the things Jerry Jones said at his Thursday evening press conference as he tried to explain to assembled media members- though he was really pleading his case to Cowboys fans- why the shocking Micah Parsons trade should be seen as an encouraging development for a fanbase whose team hasn’t even competed for a conference championship in nearly three decades.
The fact that Jones is already salivating over the additional 2026 and 2027 first-round draft picks he picked up from Green Bay tells you that he envisions his rash and emotional Parsons move as Herschel Walker: The Next Generation. That 1989 trade sent the team’s top talent packing for an unprecedented slew of players and picks that Jones and head coach Jimmy Johnson managed to turn into the nucleus of a Super Bowl dynasty.
But this trade netted the Cowboys Kenny Clark and two extra guys. As Jones acknowledged with that last could in the quote above, Dallas will have to absolutely nail those first-round picks and hit home runs with their own, too, in order to have any chance at making the Parsons fiasco sting even a little less in hindsight.
So what will the Cowboys actually do when they’re on the clock in 2026? Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic has an idea. His recent mock got an update after Thursday’s Parsons bombshell to reflect a pair of Cowboys picks next April.
One common knee-jerk reaction has Dallas angling into a position to draft Texas quarterback Arch Manning. While the heir to the Manning legacy coming to America’s Team would be massive for ratings and expectations, Dak Prescott is still under contract with the club through 2028; that’s way too long to expect a Manning to hold a clipboard. It’s not impossible that Manning is the move- or one of the Class of 2026’s other highly-touted QBs like LaNorris Sellers, Drew Allar, or Garrett Nussmeier- and that a Prescott trade would follow (after this week, clearly nothing is off-limits for Jones), but it does seem unlikely, given the Cowboys’ record-breaking financial commitment to their current signal-caller…
Not to mention their growing list of roster needs. Using the outlet’s own 2025 win projections, The Athletic already had the Cowboys sitting on the 10th pick in the next spring’s draft. And after sending away the best pass-rusher in the NFL, Baumgardner has the team bringing a new one in.
10. EDGE T.J. Parker, Clemson
ESPN’s Mel Kiper likes Parker to perhaps be a top-five pick, and Baumgardner believes Dallas has to land either him- the top edge in his mock- or Clemson teammate defensive tackle Peter Woods here. According to Kiper, Parker is “a sack artist who can beat blockers with speed-to-power;” he finished ninth in the FBS last season with 11 sacks.
While the Cowboys will probably pick early in Round 1 based on their own win-loss record, there’s a good chance the opening-night selection they’re getting from the Packers (in both years) will come late in the first round.
24. CB DJ McKinney, Colorado
While The Athletic forecasts running back and wide receiver to perhaps be legitimate needs for Dallas next spring, Baumgardner goes with a cornerback with the 24th overall pick. Trevon Diggs is no lock to return to the Cowboys (he was in ownership’s doghouse earlier this offseason, though that already seems like a lifetime ago), and DaRon Bland is about to enter the free-agent contract-extension danger zone that Parsons was just jettisoned from.
The jury is still out on recent draft pick Caelen Carson, and recently-added CBs Shavon Revel, Kaiir Elam, Reddy Steward, and Trikweze Bridges have yet to play a single snap for the club. But cornerbacks are always a need, and McKinney looks to be a good one. He “worked opposite Travis Hunter last season,” notes Baumgardner, and “is a big, long and disruptive corner who can lock down the outside.”
That McKinney is both an Arlington, Tex. native and a Deion Sanders project could carry real weight with Jones, who, as evidenced by his handling of Micah Parsons, appears to be letting his personal emotions play a significant role in the team’s personnel decisions these days.
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