2026 NFL Draft rumors: Cowboys open to moving up, Jets have their man, Carson Beck a first-round pick?

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FRISCO, Texas -- The 2026 NFL Draft is finally here! The proceedings will kick off at 8 p.m. ET in Pittsburgh, but in the lead up to the Thursday night main event there are plenty of rumors to sift through.

This 2026 draft class is a unique one in that some of its top talent are non-premium positions. Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, Ohio State safety Caleb Downs and inside linebacker Sonny Styles are all ranked inside CBS Sports' top 10 prospect rankings for the 2026 NFL Draft. It's also a draft that some believe has a steep drop off in talent once the first round dips into the late teen's and into the twenties.

The Dallas Cowboys feel that there are at least 12 first-round-graded players in this draft class, and they coincidentally have the 12th and 20th overall picks this year. It's also clear they have a few needs on defense. The Cowboys surrendered an NFL-worst 30.1 points per game last year. That ranks as the second-most points per game surrendered in the 66-season history of the Cowboys. Only Dallas' inaugural 1960 team, which finished 0-11-1, was worse.

So how will Dallas handle a run on some of the draft's top defenders before their selection? Will they trade up? Not into the first five picks, but they could be open into moving up from pick No. 12 into the back half of the top 10. Dallas executive vice president/CEO Stephen Jones said Wednesday the team didn't have anything cooking in terms of trades up the draft board, but that could change once defensive players start getting snapped up early.

"Nothing concrete," Jones said.

Meanwhile, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones revealed they have already received calls from other teams offering them the chance to trade up before the draft gets going. If Dallas does trade up, it likely be after another team offers the chance to do so.

"They're [trade calls] usually better coming in [from another team ]than going out," Jerry Jones said on Wednesday. "The results are better for us. ... There's every kind of trade possible over these next few days. Players on other rosters, draft picks, all of that is very much in play."