The great thing about mock draft season is seeing the different opinions out there as to who the Dallas Cowboys, and the rest of the league, should draft in the first round this year. It’s only natural opinions will vary depending on the source, and it’s not just the player selected, but different positions as well. It’s what makes these exercises interesting and fun at the same time.
Bleacher Report recently released their latest first-round mock draft prediction and named a couple players we haven’t
seen linked to the Cowboys much so far throughout the draft process. Both selections make sense from a “need” standpoint, but will let you decide whether this is a viable path for the Cowboys.
12. Dallas Cowboys: Edge David Bailey, Texas Tech
The Dallas Cowboys made a massive mistake by not getting a long-term contract extension done with Micah Parsons last year, then compounding the problem by trading him to the Green Bay Packers. But the organization continues to rectify the issue by investing in their pass-rush to improve the defense.
Donovan Ezieruaku provided a promising rookie campaign after being a second-round pick in 2025. The Cowboys acquired Rashan Gary from the Packers this offseason. Now, add the class’ best peer pass-rusher in Texas Tech’s David Bailey to the rotation and Dallas can really get after opposing quarterbacks.
“This is a case where the best player available approach lines up perfectly with the team’s needs,” Holder said. “Bailey ranks seventh on B/R’s big board, and the Cowboys still need more of a pass-rush. Gary’s acquisition could complicate the defensive line rotation to some degree, but a team that finished among the bottom 10 in sacks last season should welcome the problem.”
David Bailey, or even Ruben Bain Jr., would be a dream come true for the Dallas Cowboys with the 12th overall pick in the first round. Even after offseason moves of trading for Rashan Gary and signing Sam Williams and Tyrus Wheat, they can still use more depth and definitely some juice to upgrade their pass rush. David Bailey would accomplish that goal. He should legitimately push for a starting job as a rookie.
Would he really be around at pick 12?
20. Dallas Cowboys (via Green Bay): LB Jake Golday, Cincinnati
The Dallas Cowboys could and should continue to load up on defense. That side of the ball significantly disappointed in 2025, particularly with the team’s offense performing so well.
Earlier, the organization added David Bailey to provide last year’s anemic pass-rush. Now, it targets the second line of defense, with the versatile and athletic linebacker in Cincinnati’s Jake Golday, who might just remind Cowboys faithful of a former Dallas defender.
“The Cowboys surrendered a league-high 30.1 points per game last season to completely justified double-dipping with defensive players in this first-round projection,” Holder said. “Linebacker was a significant sore spot last year. While Georgia’s CJ Allen is graded higher on B/R’s board, Golday has better physical traits in the makings of becoming and every-down linebacker.
“It wouldn’t be surprising if the owner Jerry Jones sees a lot of Leighton Vander Esch, who Jones chose with the 19th pick in 2018, in the Cincinnati product.”
Drafting a linebacker at 20 for the Cowboys isn’t much of a surprise, but who B/R went with certainly is. We’ve mostly seen some kind of combination of CJ Allen, Anthony Hill Jr., and Jacob Rodriguez. This might be the first time we’ve seen Jake Golday’s name be linked the Cowboys in the first-round. His athleticism and skill set fits with Christian Parker looks for in an MLB, so maybe B/R is onto something here and the rest of us may need to pay closer attention.
What’s your take on both of these picks?
