The state of the NFL looks a bit different today compared to how it did a week and a half ago. That’s what happens when free agency swings on through, after all.
Given that teams have different looks, both positively and negatively, that has changed their needs. Some teams are strong where they were once weak. Others have new needs that they weren’t necessarily considering when the calendar first flipped to March.
With the deck re-shuffled, what teams are going to do in the upcoming NFL draft may be
different than what we perceived their intentions to be just 10 days ago.
Mel Kiper has the Dallas Cowboys pivoting in his latest mock
Mel Kiper, in his first mock since free agency, has the Cowboys addressing defense with both first-round picks. This is not a new disposition.
12. Dallas Cowboys
Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee
Dallas gave up a league-worst 7.3 yards per dropback last season, and the secondary was gashed for a league-high 46 passing plays of 25 or more yards. I liked the Jalen Thompson signing at safety, and Cobie Durant will chip in at cornerback alongside DaRon Bland and Shavon Revel Jr., but the Cowboys are still looking for their No. 1 cornerback.
McCoy doesn’t come without questions; he tore an ACL in January 2025, sat out the season and then didn’t work out at the combine. But he can flat-out play when he’s on the field. McCoy had four interceptions in 2024. If Dallas likes what it sees at his March 31 pro day, this could be a smart pick.
20. Dallas Cowboys (from GB)
CJ Allen, LB, Georgia
It’d be wise for the Cowboys to double-dip on defense (Jermod McCoy at No. 12). They gave up 6.1 yards per play in 2025, 31st in the NFL and third worst for any team in any of the past five seasons. Allen can play all three downs, as he can drop in coverage, run down ball carriers and even blitz. He had 97 tackles last season for the Bulldogs, showcasing tremendous read-and-react skills.
To say it would be wise for the Cowboys to double-dip on defense is putting matters lightly. They need all the help that they can get there. It feels like we all agree universally on that. In any mock you do, it would be shocking if you go offense with either the 12th or 20th picks unless something crazy happens in your simulation.
This was a bit of a new direction for Kiper even if that same north star was the general destination. This mock draft marked his first of the year where he did not give the Cowboys an edge rusher.
For all three Kiper mocks the Cowboys have double-dipped on defense (again, it is a pretty safe bet). This latest installment is the first where he goes cornerback and then linebacker, and obviously the state of things has changed in more ways than one after the NFL combine.
That latter point impacted Ohio State’s Sonny Styles more than anybody who Kiper has mocked to Dallas. Initially it was somewhat thought that Styles might last to 12, but that feels like a pipedream these days.
How Kiper’s current Cowboys picks have moved through his mocks
If you have been following along then you know that Jermod McCoy has been a popular name to connect to the Cowboys for some time as well. McCoy, his teammate Colton Hood, and the aforementioned Mansoor Delane are all popular corner picks.
We are just reaching a stage where CJ Allen is picking up some momentum, and a lot of that is likely due to what did not happen in free agency for the Cowboys. Dallas was not able to land a linebacker so their need at the position is rather large. Allen makes a ton of sense as a result.
Here is where he and McCoy, the two Kiper picks for Dallas in this latest mock, have gone in all three Kiper mocks to date.
Looking at this we can see that this latest mock is the highest that Kiper has Jermod McCoy going, and even if he makes it past Dallas at 12 note the Rams fixed their cornerback need by trading for Trent McDuffie. Kiper has them taking Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson now which would make their team all the more incredible.
This is clearly the lowest that Allen is going in a Kiper mock though and that means the Cowboys would be getting much more value than would have been though in say January.
What do you make of this latest Kiper mock? Do you like this duo better than any previous?
