Dallas Traded Up, Then Traded Down, and the League Called It a Win

SWN Analysis · August 30, 2026

Dallas traded up one spot to No. 11, took the best defensive back in college football, then traded down from No. 20 and collected an edge rusher at 23 anyway.

That’s the kind of weekend that gets a team named in everyone’s winners column.

Caleb Downs, S — No. 11, Ohio State

The player. Downs was one of four Ohio State defenders taken in the top 11 — alongside Arvell Reese to the Giants at 5 and Sonny Styles to Washington at 7, plus receiver Carnell Tate to Tennessee at 4. That’s a program sending a full defensive unit into the league in one night.

He left college as arguably the best defensive back in the sport, and Dallas moved up a spot from 12 to make sure it got him.

Why it works. Safeties rarely make first-year All-Pro cases, and Downs has the instincts and range to be the exception. More to the point, he’s an immediate starter rather than a package player — the rarest thing to find at No. 11.

Playing time projection. Week 1 starter, every-down role.

Malachi Lawrence, EDGE — No. 23, UCF

The second first-rounder, acquired in the trade that sent No. 20 to Philadelphia — where the Eagles took USC receiver Makai Lemon amid A.J. Brown trade rumors.

Getting an edge rusher at 23 after moving back three spots is the transaction that made this draft look clean in hindsight.

Playing time projection. Rotational pass rusher immediately, with snaps expanding through the season.

Jaishawn Barham, EDGE — No. 92, Michigan

Dallas went back to the position in the third round. Two edge rushers in one class is a front office that decided pressure was the roster’s real problem.

Playing time projection. Situational pass-rush snaps, special teams.

Drew Shelton, OT — No. 112, Penn State

A fourth-round tackle in a draft where nine offensive linemen went in the first 32 picks and the position stayed valuable throughout.

Playing time projection. Swing tackle and depth, which on an NFL offensive line usually means eventual starts.

Devin Moore, CB — No. 114, Florida

Paired with Downs, part of a secondary getting rebuilt from two directions at once.

Playing time projection. Nickel and dime packages, with special teams work.

Two to close it out

LT Overton, EDGE — No. 137, Alabama makes it three edge rushers in one class, and Anthony Smith, WR — No. 218, East Carolina closes it out as a seventh-round flier.

Two to close it out of the NFC East

Makai Lemon, WR — Philadelphia Eagles (No. 20). The other half of the Dallas trade-down, and an NFC East problem for the next decade. Philadelphia moved up with the Cowboys to take him, and Lemon reportedly learned about it while on the phone with Pittsburgh. Dallas will see him twice a year and will be asked about the trade every time.

Arvell Reese, EDGE — New York Giants (No. 5). Downs’ Ohio State teammate and now a division rival. The Jets took David Bailey over Reese at No. 2, and the Giants scooped him three picks later to add to a defensive front that has been accumulating pass rushers for years.

Sonny Styles, LB — Washington Commanders (No. 7). The third Ohio State defender in the NFC East, and the one who has already earned the green dot helmet — the defensive play-calling role — in Dan Quinn’s minicamp. Three of the four Buckeyes taken in the top 11 landed in this division.

The pattern

Seven picks, three of them edge rushers, two defensive backs. Dallas drafted almost exclusively for defense and almost exclusively for pressure and coverage — the two things that decide games in January.

That’s a coherent draft, which is not always a phrase that applies here.

Where this gets settled

Downs from Week 1. Elite safeties announce themselves quickly, and there is no version of a successful Cowboys season where the 11th pick isn’t starting by September.

The longer question is the pass rush. Three edge rushers in one draft is a bet that volume produces pressure. It’ll be answered by December.

DFW Sports Wire covers Cowboys news, schedules and game coverage all season. See the Cowboys schedule for kickoff times and broadcast info.