Don’t be surprised if the Cowboys’ ‘BPA’ strategy shows up in the first round
For years, Dallas Cowboys vice president of player personnel Will McClay has hammered the point of having to take the “best player available”, or “BPA”, when drafting rather than reaching for needs on a roster.
The perfect example is from 2025 when the Cowboys took guard Tyler Booker with the No. 12 overall pick rather than a wide receiver such as Emeka Egbuka or Matthew Golden. Even though there was a case to be made to take a guard to slide in for the retired Zack Martin, wide receiver was by far and away the bigger need. But, BPA.
We’ve seen the concept show up more in the second round in recent years by selecting defensive ends Donovan Ezeiruaku and Marshawn Kneeland in the last two drafts even with Micah Parsons in the building (maybe they knew something) and other bigger needs existing.
Now, even in 2026 with ginormous needs at multiple defensive positions such as linebacker, cornerback and defensive end, this concept could still show up in the first round.
Let’s play out a theoretical scenario for a moment. Let’s say the premier defenders are off the board when the No. 12 overall pick rolls around (LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane, Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles, Ohio State safety Caleb Downs), but a talented wide receiver in Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson or Ohio State’s Carnell Tate is staring down the pipe as a clear game-changing weapon in the pass game.
“I’m not saying we’re for sure going to pick defense,” executive vice president Stephen Jones said in the end-of-season press conference in January. “If CeeDee Lamb is sitting there again, you have to look at it.”
Lamb is possibly the best example of the Cowboys not reaching for need, taking the best player available and it working out pretty well for them in the end. Dallas had no expectation of Lamb making it all the way to the No. 17 overall selection in the 2020 draft, but it fell just right for the pick to be made. Even with Amari Cooper in the building and similar strong defensive needs prevalent in that draft as they are today, it was an easy pick for the front office.
Could Tyson or Tate reinforce that theory once again? Instead of reaching for a player at a position of need, how about taking a first-round graded player in a draft that is only expected to have 12-to-14 first-round grades league-wide? On top of that, the Cowboys will have another selection just eight picks later. Say they were to reach for a cornerback that is not in the first-round stack, who’s to say that same player wouldn’t be available at No. 20?
The top 12 picks have multiple different ways of shaking out on Thursday night. Chaos is almost certain with trades within the top group of selections and a surprise name or two inching its way into the conversation. But if the wipe-out scenario plays out for Dallas with no premier defender left on the board, don’t forget about the long-proven strategy that McClay and the front office have enacted so many times before.
BPA.
