By now, entering the halfway point of the 2025 NFL season, we have a pretty good idea where exactly the Dallas Cowboys are ranked around the league. Offensively they have one of the best units in league, but on the flipside, they are no doubt among the worst defensive units in the league, if not the worst. That’s not generally the recipe for success.
With the way Dallas’ roster is currently constructed and with the November 4th NFL trade deadline quickly approaching, there’s been a lot of talk about
them attempting to upgrade the defense via trade. We’ve already heard names like Maxx Crosby and Trey Henderson tossed out there as potential targets, but if we are being completely honest with ourselves, there’s not a single trade or two that’s really going to help improve the defense all that much.
The Cowboys defense is in such bad shape it would seem unwise to throw away any future draft capital in the attempt to improve things. In fact, Dallas’ future draft capital after the Micah Parsons trade that landed them the Green Bay Packers first-round draft picks the next two years is looking more and more appealing with each and every game we see the Cowboys defense get embarrassed.
Let’s take a look at the Cowboys future draft picks for the next two years, minus any compensatory picks they may receive according to information from Pro Sports Transactions.
Dallas Cowboys future draft picks
*Breakdown of Cowboys’ draft picks after the Micah Parsons trade
2026
- Round 1 (Own)
- Round 1 (Packers via Micah Parsons trade)
- Round 2 (Own)
- Round 4 (Own)
- Round 5 (Own)
- Round 7 (*Chiefs)
- Round 7 (*Giants)
*Unconfirmed if conditional pick is Chiefs, Cowboys, or Giants
2027
- Round 1 (Own)
- Round 1 (Packers via Micah Parsons trade)
- Round 2 (Own)
- Round 3 (Own)
- Round 4 (Own)
- Round 6 (Own)
- Round 6 (Steelers via George Pickens trade)
- Round 7 (Own)
With two first-round draft picks in the 2026 and 2027 NFL Draft, the Cowboys have the opportunity to land four high-end prospects or use picks as fuel to trade up or down depending on how things play out. They do have the ammunition to trade up for a true difference-maker or down to acquire more draft capital. The possibilities are seemingly endless.
With Dallas’ offense pretty much set up for the future, minus the decision on what to do with George Pickens, a lot of their future draft capital could be, and probably should be, used to upgrade the defensive side of the ball. The way things are going presently through the first eight weeks of the 2025 NFL season, this certainly seems like the better way to go. But, there’s no telling what Jerry Jones is likely to do.
Jones has been somewhat wishy-washy when asked about any kind of potential trades they could possibly make for the deadline. While it seems highly unlikely he’ll make a blockbuster trade, it can’t exactly be ruled out either. Whatever they might decide to do, they should bear in mind the future ramifications any trade could have.
With that in mind, the Cowboys should probably avoid using any of their high draft picks if they do indeed make any trades. They seem far more valuable as far as the future is concerned than any player they could potentially trade for. And that’s why we believe Dallas’ future draft capital is becoming more and more appealing, despite all of the current trade talk surrounding the organization right now.
