The Dallas Cowboys are banking on their 2026 rookie class to do something special, because the bar has already been set once before.
Back in 2015, everything seemed to go sideways. Tony Romo’s Week 1 heroics were followed by another broken collarbone the next week against the Philadelphia Eagles, and Dallas spent the rest of the season cycling through Brandon Weeden, Matt Cassel, and Kellen Moore. After the high of 2014, the future looked murky.
Then the 2016 draft class changed everything.
Ezekiel Elliott gave the offense a jolt and revived the run game in Dallas in a way that hadn’t been seen since Emmitt Smith. Dak Prescott, a compensatory fourth-round pick, stepped in at quarterback and delivered efficient play with a kind of leadership that pulled the locker room together. Almost overnight, the Cowboys went from the basement to the best record in the NFC.
Now the franchise is hoping the 2026 class can deliver a similar kind of lift.
Dallas didn’t take a skill player with its first first-round pick, even though Jordyn Tyson had been heavily rumored. Instead, the team traded up for Caleb Downs, a move that could end up carrying the kind of immediate weight Elliott once did on offense. Some viewed the former Ohio State safety as the best player in the draft, and Dallas chose him because it believed he could help right away, both on the field and in the room.
That part matters. The Cowboys have long searched for the next answer after Emmitt Smith and never truly replaced Darren Woodson, and Downs gives them a chance to change that.
Paired with defensive coordinator Christian Parker, he has the chance to reshape the defense quickly. Rookie growing pains are real, but Downs’ football intelligence suggests he may be able to sidestep some of them.
The Cowboys’ second first-round pick, Malachi Lawrence, is expected to help the pass rush immediately. That need is obvious after Dallas traded away Micah Parsons and was left without a true pass rusher last season. The hope is that Lawrence, along with Rashan Gary and Donovan Ezeiruaku, can help fill that gap.
Lawrence came out of UCF with 27.5 sacks over his final three college seasons, including 11 as a senior. Christian Parker specifically targeted him as a key piece of the defense. Edge rushers often need time, but the combination of Parker’s plan and Lawrence’s work ethic could put him in position to work with the first-team defense for most of training camp, depending on where Ezeiruaku stands in his rehab.
The rookie class does not stop there. Jaishawn Barham, a third-round pick, brings versatility to Parker’s defense.
He begins at linebacker, but he also showed pass-rushing ability at Michigan. With DeMarvion Overshown’s long-term health uncertain and Dee Winters already making an immediate impact, Barham could move into a starting role sooner rather than later.
Then there’s LT Overton, a dark horse who could help fill the void left by Osa Odighizuwa and Solomon Thomas. Dallas does not have much depth behind Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark at pass-rushing defensive tackle, and Overton’s ability to move around gives him a path to playing time.
He said the team asked him to line up in different spots, and he’s comfortable doing whatever they need. That flexibility, combined with the lack of depth behind the starters, could get him on the field more than expected.
It’s a big ask for a rookie class to arrive and change a team’s identity. But it has happened before, including the Cowboys’ own 2016 class, the 2017 draft for the New Orleans Saints, and the 2023 draft for the Detroit Lions. Dallas is hoping this group can catch that kind of lightning again.
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