Cowboys played beat the clock to draft Caleb Downs at No. 11

The reduction of the round one selection window from 10 minutes to eight minutes made things move more quickly in the 2026 NFL draft. It also made things very interesting in Dallas.

The new documentary, The Pick Is In, shows the internal machinations within the Cowboys' draft room regarding the effort to trade up from No. 12 to No. 11, with the Dolphins.

Initially, the Dolphins rejected an offer of a fifth-round pick "plus something" from Cowboys executive Stephen Jones. As Miami's eight minutes continued to tick away, the Cowboys tried again.

This time, the "plus something" was another fifth-round pick. Miami accepted.

So the deal was done. But there was one detail remaining. The Cowboys needed to get the pick in, or the Dolphins would have been able to take a player before the Cowboys could.

Jones communicated the terms to the league. When he hung up, Jones pointed to the clock and said, "We got ten seconds!"

The Cowboys made the pick without incident, selecting Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. But it wouldn't have been the first time there was an incident.

In 2003, the Vikings let the clock expire at No. 7 (they apparently thought they had a trade with the Ravens, at No. 10). The Jaguars (who were at No. 8) and the Panthers (who were at No. 9) made their picks before the Vikings selected defensive tackle Kevin Williams at No. 9.

It would have been odd, to say the least, if the Cowboys had blown the window and the Dolphins would have picked before the Cowboys, despite getting two fifth-round picks to let the Cowboys go first.

Obviously, that didn't happen. But The Pick Is In gives everyone a look behind the curtain into the sausage-making process. And the Cowboys nearly ended up with something in the sausage that was definitely not a caper.