The Dallas Cowboys thought they got a gift from the Chicago Bears way back before even hiring head coach Brian Schottenheimer, when they were able to hire their former coach Matt Eberflus as defensive
coordinator after the Bears relieved him of head coaching duties. As we all know at this point, that did not work out in the slightest, but that doesn’t mean a gift from the Bears wasn’t still on the way. Ben Johnson’s Bears handed the Cowboys one of their worst losses of the 2025 season all the way back in week three, but they also earned their first playoff win since 2010 on Saturday night with an epic come-from-behind victory against their arch rival Green Bay Packers.
By eliminating the Packers from the playoffs with a second straight thrilling home win against them, the Bears result, plus the result of the earlier game from Saturday featuring the Rams winning at the Panthers, solidified where the Cowboys will draft with both of their first round picks in 2026. Their own pick being at 12th overall has been known for a little while now, but the other pick was of course dependent on what the Packers – sans Micah Parsons, but with Trevon Diggs – would do in the playoffs. In the playoffs for the third straight year as the expanded seventh seed, for the second year in a row the Packers could not replicate what they did as the first ever seven seed in 2023 when they dismantled the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium, instead losing in the Wild Card round again.
This means a pick that could have gone as low 32nd overall and no higher than 25th overall if the Packers continued to advance is now a much more juicy 20th overall pick for the Cowboys to use to their advantage. The Dallas defense needs all of the help it can get, and while there’s still months to decide what the best way to help it is, right now the excitement is in the range of opportunities having two top 20 picks presents.
The Cowboys have only picked twice in the top 20 picks of the first round three times in their franchise history, but as we’re about to look at, it’s yielded some pretty incredible results each time, especially for the defense. The Cowboys also picked twice within the first 20 selections in 1965, but 19th overall pick Malcolm Walker, a center from Rice, was still a second-round pick. The year prior in 1964, the same thing happened with the 17th overall pick being in the second round, but Dallas turned that pick into Hall of Famer Mel Renfro. This happened one other time in 1961, the year after the team was founded, when after starting the draft with Mr. Cowboy Bob Lilly 13th overall, they picked again at 16th in the second round and drafted Texas Tech linebacker E.J. Holub.
For the sake of modern context though, we are only going to focus on 1975, 1991, and 2005, where both top twenty picks the Cowboys made were true first-rounders.
2005 – DeMarcus Ware (11) & Marcus Spears (20)
After spending their first three picks on offense in 2004, the Cowboys had to make a commitment to defense in 2005, and by the time the 11th overall pick came along they knew they’d do so with either DeMarcus Ware out of Troy or Marcus Spears from LSU. In one of the more memorable draft war room debates between Bill Parcells, the front office, and defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, Ware ultimately won out as the top pick, and rewarded the Cowboys with a Hall of Fame career. As the Cowboys waited nine more picks to come back on the clock though, they saw a dream scenario play out.
After drafting Ware, four linebackers and two defensive linemen went between picks 12-19, but Marcus Spears remained on the board. Dallas turned in the card and got both of their top options. The Cowboys had great conviction within their coaching staff on both players, and trust in their ability to put them into positive situations right away. Ware started all 16 games as a rookie while Spears started 10, followed by back-to-back years of Spears starting all 16 games in 2006-7.
Having similar conviction on defensive players would be a great thing going into this draft for the Cowboys, but to do that they first need to hire a new defensive coordinator as that process remains ongoing following the dismissal of Eberflus – marking the fourth straight one and done defensive coordinator in Dallas. A new foundation-setter is needed to help bring stability on this side of the ball, and once that coach is in place, a blue chip player like either Ware or Spears to win in the trenches would go a long way as well.
1991 – Russell Maryland (1) & Alvin Harper (12)
This is the only example on the list that doesn’t feature both picks actually being defensive players, but it still provides a valuable lesson today’s Cowboys would be wise to look at before their next draft. After trading up to the first overall pick to take Russell Maryland, the Cowboys drafted wide receiver Alvin Harper 12th overall.
The Cowboys drafted receiver Alexander Wright in the second round the year prior, but were still looking for the right running mate for Michael Irvin, and went back to the draft to find it with Harper.
The Cowboys needs on defense far outweigh those on offense, but they must be careful to not pour all of their resources into the defense and allow for regression on offense. One of the best things Brian Schottenheimer did on his side of the ball in year one was establish good depth, so the team is in as good of a place as they can be to do the leg work on defense, but the offense must not be ignored either.
Re-signing George Pickens would be the fastest way to get continuity at wide receiver in a way that removes that position group from the top of the draft needs list for the first time in a very long time, and the same could be said of Javonte Williams at running back. The offensive line depth is still a strength while Dallas likes what they have at tight end too.
For the moment, the Cowboys not using both the 12th and 20th overall picks on defense would be a surprise, but any scenario where they land two plus starters regardless of position is the best case. If this is one offense and one defense like it was in 1991, it’s worked out just fine before.
In fact, just once since 2017 have the Cowboys drafted on the same side of the ball with their first two picks (one in each of the first two rounds), so a “Maryland and Harper” scenario is something to keep in mind as a very real possibility for 2026.
1975 – Randy White (2) & Thomas Henderson (18)
A year after drafting Ed “Too Tall” Jones first overall in 1974, the Cowboys drafted another stalwart defensive linemen Randy White second overall in 1975. At 18th overall they took small-school prospect Thomas Henderson from Langston University.
Both players were drafted as linebackers, but it took until the Cowboys moved White to defensive tackle for “Hollywood” Henderson to live up to his draft status. As a starting linebacker in 1997, Henderson went on to lead the team in tackles in a Super Bowl victory that season. He had an interception return for a touchdown in the NFC Championship game the following season.
The lesson here for today’s Cowboys may be that patience will be needed implementing whatever defensive rookies they land in April’s draft, even in the first round. They will be learning a new scheme and adjusting to a new coach at the same time the veterans they could normally lean on with experience will be doing just the same. Dallas is going to need to use more than the draft to fix this defense and avoid missing the playoffs for the third season in a row, and hoping that Jerry Jones’ latest comments about getting spend-y in free agency aren’t just the latest offseason mirage is a great place to start.
Investments were made on defense at the trade deadline this past season, and Quinnen Williams will remain a piece to build around for the defensive line, but a whole slew of further moves is needed on all three levels of the defense to feel even a little better about it prior to the draft.
Luckily, the Chicago Bears helped the Cowboys in a big way early in their offseason process and quest to field a playoff-caliber defense. The Packers being eliminated was a very good thing.
