Defense is the area where the Dallas Cowboys are looking for the biggest improvement after a disastrous 2025 season, and many mock drafts have the team addressing those needs.

Which defenders do pundits believe will the Cowboys will take with their two first-round picks in the upcoming NFL draft? Or will they use one of those picks to trade up?

Mel Kiper Jr., ESPN

Kiper has the Cowboys trading up with the Cleveland Browns to the No. 6 pick.

Selection: LB Sonny Styles, Ohio State

Dallas wasn’t stopping anyone last season. It allowed 6.1 yards per play, second worst in the NFL. It allowed 30.1 points per game, worst in the NFL. And it was far and away the league’s least effective defense by EPA. We’ve all wondered whether the Cowboys would use both of their first-round picks on defense this month, but this trade up the board might have a greater impact, even if it means sacrificing one of those Day 1 selections. Styles is my No. 4 prospect, and he is explosive (43½-inch vertical jump), rangy (4.46 in the 40-yard dash) and productive (77 tackles last season).

Adam Rank, NFL.com

Rank has Styles falling to the Cowboys at No. 12.

Selection: LB Sonny Styles, Ohio State (No. 12) and CB Jermod McCoy, Tennessee (20)

This is one of those selections that good teams make. So maybe not you, Cowboys. I’m kidding! If you let Styles’ slide continue, he ends up in Baltimore, where he becomes an All-Pro. I really like Styles going to Dallas — he could be the Cowboys’ Fred Warner. The former safety is exceptional in coverage. This would be a tremendous pick.

Tom Fornelli, CBS Sports

Selection: CB Jermod McCoy, Tennessee (12) and EDGE Keldric Faulk, Auburn (20)

The closer we get to the draft, the less fears there seem to be among teams about McCoy missing the 2025 season with an ACL. The Cowboys take a chance on a player who could prove to be a lockdown corner.

Dane Brugler, The Atheltic

Selection: LB Sonny Styles, Ohio State

*Projected trade: Browns receive Nos. 12, 20 and a 2027 fourth-round pick; Cowboys receive Nos. 6 and 39*

The Cowboys could sit at No. 12 and have an impact defender fall to them, but it won’t be surprising if the organization gets aggressive. Styles would not only be an immediate starter at a position of need, but also wear the green dot as a rookie.

Charlie Campbell, Walter Football

Selection: CB Mansoor Delane, LSU (12) and EDGE Keldric Faulk, Auburn (20)

Trevon Diggs was a cap casualty, and the Cowboys could use more cornerback talent. They could target a corner to go with DaRon Bland and Shavon Revel. Delane had 45 tackles with two interceptions and 11 passes broken up in 2025. Delane is an instinctive defender with a quality skill set for the next level. In 2024, he had four interceptions with seven passes defended, two forced fumbles, and 54 tackles with Virginia Tech. In 2023, he had one interception, one pass batted, and 54 tackles. He had eight breakups with an interception in 2022 as a freshman. The 6-foot-1, 188-pounder has good size to him with upside to continue to get better as he gains experience.

Bradley Locker, PFF.com

Locker had the Cowboys trading up to the No. 3 pick to make this selection while also retaining their first-round pick at No. 20.

Selection: EDGE David Bailey, Texas Tech (3) and CB Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Toledo (20)

With Bailey still available, multiple teams seem likely to try to move up the board to nab him. Arguably, no franchise is better-positioned than Dallas, with the chance to dangle extra first-round picks in both 2026 and 2027. The Cowboys did trade for Rashan Gary and have Donovan Ezeiruaku returning, but Bailey’s 21.6% pass-rush win rate provides the team with a game-changing presence at the position.

Rob Rang, Fox Sports

Selection: LB Sonny Styles, Ohio State (12) and CB Jermod McCoy, Tennessee (20)

This exercise shows the lack of value teams place on ILBs in today’s era, with many teams already possessing at least an average starter at the position amid bigger needs, dropping Styles a bit further than his talent warrants. The Cowboys would be a big winner in this case, adding a top-10 talent to push the gifted but injury-prone DeMarvion Overshown. Each of Dallas’ first-round picks should be spent overhauling a defense that allowed an NFL-worst 30.1 points per game.