It is the week of the NFL combine which means information about the upcoming months is going to be passed around all over the place. What happens in Indianapolis will certainly impact the way that the NFL draft goes. Information is the most important commodity this time of year and that spirit applies to mock drafts from the league’s top insiders.
Mel Kiper certainly qualifies for that criteria and any time he mocks it is worth paying attention to. He released his second of the season and has the Cowboys
going defense with both of their first-round picks.
12. Dallas Cowboys
Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU
No team gave up more passing plays of 25 or more yards last season than the Cowboys (46). Trevon Diggs was cut at the end of the season, and DaRon Bland is coming off his second surgery on his left foot in two years. If there weren’t already enough signs for Dallas, the entire cornerback class is still available at No. 12 here. Delane can shut down opposing receivers while also making a bunch of plays on the ball. He broke up 11 passes and pulled down two interceptions last season.
20. Dallas Cowboys (via GB)
Akheem Mesidor, DE, Miami
It’s an all-defense first round for Dallas — first cornerback (Mansoor Delane at No. 12), now edge rusher. Of course, Mesidor wouldn’t be a one-for-one replacement for Micah Parsons, who was sorely missed in Dallas last season. But with 12.5 sacks in the final season of a six-year college career, Mesidor would at least jump-start the pass rush and start to build that unit back up. Jadeveon Clowney was the lone Cowboys player to crack six sacks in 2025 (8.5), and he’s a free agent. Jerry Jones has to commit to using premium picks on the edge, especially with one of the league’s tighter cap situations.
There is no denying that the Cowboys could stand to improve their defense in every aspect. Adding Delane to the secondary and Mesidor to the pass rush group is a very solid infusion of talent that the team is in sore need of.
There are several fans who are against Mesidor given that he is set to be 25 years old this season. It is very fair to want your rookie to be young enough to where you can envision a second contract for them, and given that he will be around the 30-mark when his rookie deal fully expires that hesitation is understandable.
Mesidor is a popular name for the Cowboys and who Kiper slotted to Dallas at number 20 in his initial mock of the year. He had Sonny Styles as the pick at 12 originally and has flipped that to Delane, and given that he now has Styles going seventh overall to the Washington Commanders a pivot is necessary.
Names are going to rise and fall throughout the cycle and this week is going to be a big part of that. For now, what do you think of these two players potentially joining the Cowboys?
