Cowboys set up to ‘draft natural, draft pure’ – Tommy Yarrish, DallasCowboys.com
The Dallas Cowboys made a few moves in free agency that shouldn’t pigeonhole them into one specific area.
With two first round picks in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft, Schottenheimer and the Cowboys understand the importance of getting the picks right. At the NFL Combine, Schottenheimer said he would be more involved in the draft process in his second year as head coach. What does that look like?
“It’s just getting to know all of the prospects… From Stephen and Jerry [Jones] down, Will McClay, Mitch LaPoint,
Ross [Wuensche], Chris Vaughn, they’ve done a great job of setting the board and now I’m kind of going through all the positions,” Schottenheimer said.
“You want to be prepared to do what we need to do on defense, but certainly we’re not going to pass on a great offensive player if they’re there at one of those spots… Last year was more of, yea, I saw the highlight film, the POAs, now I’ve seen game film. I’ve seen these guys compete. It makes it a little easier to help make that selection.”
The Cowboys have said in the past that the first step towards taking the best player available on the board when they pick is acquiring players in free agency. Schottenheimer believes the Cowboys’ did “a hell of a job” with their free agency haul.
“I think it starts with the guys we brought back first and foremost. I’m always going to start with George and Javonte, guys like that that we’ve signed back on the offensive side of the ball,” Schottenheimer said. “Getting a chance to get a guy like Rashan Gary, who I’ve had to compete against a lot, he’s just an incredible football player, has been from the time he was a senior in high school through Michigan. Jalen Thompson, I love his energy, we played them this year. Cobie Durant, there’s been just a ton of guys.”
Based on those offseason acquisitions/retentions on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball, Schottenheimer feels that the Cowboys are set up well going into next month’s draft and aren’t limited to picking a certain position solely because of need.
“I think we did a really good job of setting ourselves up to be able to draft natural and draft pure, which is what you want to do. You don’t want to have to be forced to reach for a player, that’s when you make mistakes.”
Report: Cowboys made three different offers for Maxx Crosby – Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk
The front office made sure they did as much as they could to land Maxx Crosby, without giving up two first-round picks.
The new deep dive regarding the Maxx Crosby trade to the Ravens that wasn’t includes more information about the Cowboys’ interest in trading for Crosby, before the Raiders struck an ultimately failed deal with Baltimore.
Via Ryan McFadden of ESPN, the Cowboys made three different offers to the Raiders.
First, they offered the 20th overall pick in the first round of the 2026 draft and defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa. Second, they offered the 12th overall pick in round one and a third-round pick, but not Odighizuwa.
The third and final offer was the 12th overall pick and a second-round pick, but not Odighizuwa.
The Raiders, as PFT reported during Scouting Combine week, wanted two first-round picks and a player. They eventually got two first-round picks from the Ravens, until the Ravens decided not to proceed.
Earlier this month, Cowboys owner and G.M. Jerry Jones didn’t rule out making another run at Crosby. (So much for not talking about players under contract with other teams.) The magnitude and number of the offers shows that the Cowboys were very interested.
Given that they’ve yet to make good on Jerry’s vow to “bust the budget” with defensive talent, Crosby could still be the ace in Jerry’s glory hole.
What dinner with Dallas Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer means for Texas LB Anthony Hill – Thomas Jones, Austin American-Statesman
Brian Schottenheimer and the Cowboys have shown a keen interest in the Texas Longhorn linebacker.
The Dallas Cowboys need a linebacker. Former Texas football star Anthony Hill Jr. needs an NFL home.
So, a match between the former Longhorns’ middle linebacker and a hometown kid from the Metroplex seems like a match made on, well, NFL draft day, right? Especially after Hill and Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer had dinner in Austin the night before Tuesday’s Texas pro day at the Denius Fields indoor facility?
“You know, I’m a Dallas kid, so it’d be nice to go play for the Cowboys,” said Hill, who grew up 30 miles north of Dallas in Denton. “I wouldn’t have to go too far, so it’ll be nice.”
And how was that dinner with the second-year Cowboys coach, who attended the Longhorns’ pro day?
“I get told where to go, and I’ve just got to be there,” Hill said with a grin. “I didn’t get to pick nothing. It was a good conversation, though. We had some laughs and talked some football.”
Specifically, the Cowboys need to talk defense during the 2026 NFL Draft April 23-25 in Pittsburgh. Dallas has eight selections, including two in the first round at Nos. 12 and 20 as well as an extra third-round pick from a trade. Expect most of that draft capital to be spent on defense after the Cowboys finished 30th in total defense out of 32 teams and last in pass defense in 2025.
Hill currently projects as a second-round pick by ESPN, and ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. ranks him as the third best off-ball linebacker in the draft. The Cowboys don’t have a second-round pick this year.
Brian Schottenheimer, Christian Parker will be at these four Pro Days this week – Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The Cowboys are doing their due diligence this week on multiple top prospects.
The Dallas Cowboys’ Pro Day tour carries on, as schools around the country host a combine-type event on their campuses for their draft-eligible talent to show one last piece of their on-field game before next month’s draft.
Last week, we detailed 14 stops that the Cowboys made to begin Pro Day season. And this week, the focus is around a large contigency that includes head coach Brian Schottenheimer, defensive coordinator Christian Parker, vice president of player personnel Will McClay and a handful of scouts making the rounds.
On Monday, the group attended Miami’s Pro Day, where expected first-round edge rushers Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor were on display alongside offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa, nickel cornerback Keionte Scott, quarterback Carson Beck, linebacker Wesley Bissainthe, wide receiver C.J. Daniels, center James Brockermeyer, defensive tackle David Blay and linebacker Mohamed Toure.
On Tuesday, the group is at Texas, where it is getting a close-up view of cornerback Malik Muhammad, linebacker Anthony Hill Jr., tight end Jack Endries, offensive guard D.J. Campbell, defensive end Ethan Burke, defensive end Trey Moore, cornerback Jaylon Guilbeau and safety Michael Taaffe. Schottenheimer and Parker had dinner with Hill on Monday night.
The road trip will continue on through the Lone Star State on Wednesday when the Schottenheimer-Parker-McClay party will make its way over to Texas A&M to see defensive end Cashius Howell, wide receiver KC Concepcion, running back Le’Veon Moss, offensive guard Chase Bisontis, guard Armaj Reed-Adams, offensive tackle Troy Zuhn III, offensive tackle Dametrious Crownover, defensive tackle Albert Regis, defensive tackle Tyler Onyedim, linebacker Taurean York, linebacker Scooby Williams, cornerback Will Lee III and cornerback Tyreek Chappell.
