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The Dallas Cowboys bolstered their defense by selecting linebacker/edge rusher Jaishawn Barham with the 92nd overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. This follows their earlier picks, including first-rounder Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence.
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Dallas adds more to the defensive side of the ball by selecting linebacker/edge rusher Jaishawn Barham.
**FRISCO, Texas â** Itâs all smiles for the Dallas Cowboys following Day 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft. With only a 12 percent chance of it happening, former Ohio State superstar safety Caleb Downs was still available for the Cowboys after the first ten picks went off the board, and Dallas traded up from No. 12 to grab him at No. 11 â taking no risk on losing him by waiting one more selection. Their next decision was to stick and pick at No. 20 or to trade back for more picks, and they chose the latter while hoping Malachi Lawrence, the former UCF sack machine, would still be there for the taking. He was, and  and two additional fourth-round picks from the Eagles in the trade. On Day 2, they made an additional move to trade with the   and then, with the 92nd-overall pick in the draft, they selected linebacker/edge rusher Jaishawn Barham out of Michigan.
The Cowboys drafted linebacker/edge rusher Jaishawn Barham with the 92nd overall pick.
Jaishawn Barham plays as a linebacker and edge rusher.
In addition to Jaishawn Barham, the Cowboys selected first-round defensive back Caleb Downs and pass rusher Malachi Lawrence.
The Cowboys traded up to secure Caleb Downs, who was a highly sought-after safety, ensuring they didn't miss out on him.

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How first-round pick Caleb Downs got to Dallas.
FRISCO â Cowboys first-round defensive back Caleb Downs sat next to Nick Saban at Alabama so much that they started calling him âLittle Nick.â
Saban had Downsâ undivided attention, and Downs had Sabanâs respect. They spent only one season together, but it was enough for Saban to call Downs one of his favorite players heâs ever coached.
With that respect came honesty. So, when Downs entered the transfer portal in 2024 after Sabanâs retirement, Saban was honest with his young protege. Downsâ father, Gary, recalled Saban telling Downs he could transfer to Georgia and play in a similar system to what he ran at Alabama, or he could transfer to Ohio State, where an entirely new system and an entirely new position would be waiting. Downs wanted a new challenge.
âWhen he got to Ohio State I asked him, âHow long is it going to take to learn coach [Jim] Knowlesâ system?'â Gary recalled on Thursday. âHe said, âProbably a week or week and a half.â And sure enough, within a week to a week and a half, he had it.â
Youâll never guess what Downs, the 11th overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft, said to Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker after they hugged inside The Star in Frisco on Friday morning.
âWhereâs the playbook at?â Downs said. âWhen can I get it?â
That mindset has helped Downs excel for his entire football career. He started on varsity as a freshman at Mill Creek High School and had five interceptions â a rarity inside a high school football hotbed like Gwinnett County, Ga. He later became a consensus five-star recruit, the Gatorade National Player of the Year and the No.1 safety recruit in the country. It continued in college where he became a three-time All-American in three seasons. He was considered by many to be one of the best prospects in the entire draft.
Malachi Lawrence makes his goal in Dallas known.
**FRISCO, Texas** â Malachi Lawrence is officially a part of the Dallas Cowboysâ rebuilt defense and, needless to say, his smile couldnât possibly be any bigger. Only hours after getting the nod with the 23rd-overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the former UCF pass rusher was on a charter flight to North Texas to join his new team. Lawrence was instantly taken aback the moment he stepped off of the charter bus that brought him from the airport, standing on the marble floor just inside the main entrance while looking up at the hanging chandelier lights and over toward the five Super Bowl trophies that are on constant display. âThis is crazy,â he said. The 22-year-old becomes only the fifth player from UCF ever drafted in the first round and the only ever selected by the Cowboys in the first round.
âItâs like a standard to be set now,â he said. âYou can go to UCF and be a first-round pick on defense. I just want to represent my family in the right way and to put a good name on UCF.
For Lawrence, who was once a little bright-eyed boy in Louisville, Kentucky with dreams of one day being an NFL player, itâs all still so surreal. His path to this point included playing both linebacker and tight end at duPont High School before heading to the University of Central Florida, where he wound up being one of the best pass rushers in the country.
âWhen I first got to college, I didnât really have any pass rush skills that I knew about yet,â Lawrence said.â
Thatâs obviously all changed, and in part with the assistance of Cowboysâ assistant defensive line coach Demeitre Brim, previously a defensive analyst at UCF who, throughout the pre-draft process, helped Dallas understand exactly how high the ceiling could be for Lawrence.
The Cowboys get their linebacker.
Only 10 picks into the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft the Dallas Cowboys made a move.
The Dallas Cowboys made a trade with the San Francisco 49ers for veteran linebacker Dee Winters. Winters was a sixth-round pick for the 49ers back in the 2023 NFL Draft, but he is a local name for the Cowboys what with having played collegiately at TCU. Winters started all 17 games for the 49ers last season and helps to really raise the floor of the linebacker spot for the Cowboys, the lone position that they had yet to really address so far this offseason. That Dallas was able to acquire him for only a fifth-round pick is great business. ***Daily Discussion Question:* What is your take on the Cowboys trade for LB Dee Winters?**