As the tradition has been laid out for years in the NFL draft, the Dallas Cowboys’ first-round pick — and in this case, picks — arrived in Frisco on Friday morning to walk through The Star for the first time as official selections of the team and to meet with the media.
Ohio State defensive back Caleb Downs departed early this morning from Pittsburgh — where he heard his name called in the draft’s green room Thursday — on the Cowboys’ private plane bound for Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Shortly after, Central Florida defensive end Malachi Lawrence made the short drive from his family’s home in the area of Louisville, Kentucky, to make the flight down to DFW himself. Downs landed around noon, while Lawrence landed around 1 p.m.
The first to arrive was Downs, as he walked through The Star’s atrium for the first time with a big grin on his face and his parents and sister alongside him.
“It’s a great feeling, honestly,” Downs said in his introductory press conference. “Everyone is so welcoming upstairs. As you can tell, everyone has a real family feel around here. It’s awesome.”
Lawrence arrived about a half-hour after Downs. Just like his fellow first-round pick, he walked through the atrium and was fitted for custom Lucchese boots, which are his first pair of boots, he said.
“It’s been great,” Lawrence said in his presser. “This is such a great fit for me defensively in that 3-4 scheme and having a familiar face.”
That face, former UCF defensive analyst Demeitre Brim, is now the Cowboys’ assistant defensive line coach and was one of the first people to greet Lawrence as he stepped off the bus.
The work now begins for each touted first-round draft pick, as the Cowboys will begin voluntary offseason workouts Monday in Frisco. Both will have to quickly figure out how to move to Frisco for the time-being ahead of what is a critical offseason and rookie season for each player.
“I feel like I’m ready just because I wouldn’t be put in this opportunity if I wasn’t [ready], I believe,” Lawrence said. “God makes no mistakes. I’m here, it wasn’t a mistake, and I’m ready for it.”
“I feel like God’s put me on this stage to glorify him through everything that he’s put me through,” Downs said. “So, I’m excited for the next level, excited for the challenge and excited to get to work.”
Game schedule dates, times, locations
NEXT UP: Game dates, times, locations, channel
Rangers ▶
June 1 Rangers 2, St. Louis 1
June 2 Rangers 7, St. Louis 4
June 3 St. Louis 5, Rangers 3
June 5 Rangers 3, Cleveland 2
June 6 Cleveland 6, Rangers 0
June 7 Rangers 10, Cleveland 0
June 9 at Kansas City, 6:40 p.m., RSN
June 10 at Kansas City, 6:40 p.m., RSN
June 11 at Kansas City, 1:10 p.m., RSN
June 12 at Boston, 6:10 p.m., CW
June 13 at Boston, 3:10 p.m., RSN
June 14 at Boston, 6:20 p.m., NBC, Peacock
Wings▶
May 22 Atlanta 86, Wings 69
May 24 Wings 91, New York 76
May 28 Wings 95, Las Vegas 87
June 1 Wings 79, Seattle 56
June 5 Wings 104, Los Angeles 96
June 9 at Minnesota, 7 p.m., KFAA
June 11 vs. Phoenix, 8 p.m., Amazon Prime Video
June 13 at Portland, 7:30 p.m., KFAA
June 15 vs. Las Vegas, 7 p.m., KFAA, USA
June 17 at Golden State, 9 p.m., KFAA
TCU Football ▶
2026 season
Aug. 29 vs. North Carolina (at Dublin), 11 a.m., ESPN
Sept. 12 vs. Grambling State, 7 p.m., ESPN+
Sept. 19 vs. Arkansas State, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Sept. 26 at Central Florida, TBA
Oct. 3 vs. BYU, TBA
Oct. 17 at Baylor, TBA
Oct. 24 vs. West Virginia, TBA
Oct. 31 vs. Kansas, TBA
Nov. 6 at Arizona, 9:15 p.m., ESPN
Nov. 14 vs. Kansas State, TBA
Nov. 21 vs. Utah, TBA
Nov. 26 at Texas Tech, 7 p.m., ESPN
Cowboys ▶
Sept. 13 at N.Y. Giants, 7:20 p.m., NBC
Sept. 20 vs. Washington, 3:25 p.m., Fox
Sept. 27 vs. Baltimore (at Rio de Janeiro), 3:25 p.m., CBS
Oct. 4 at Houston, 12 p.m., Fox
Oct. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, 7:15 p.m., Amazon Prime Video
Oct. 18 at Green Bay, 7:20 p.m., NBC
Oct. 26 at Philadelphia, 7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC
Nov. 1 vs. Arizona, 12 p.m., Fox
Nov. 8 at Indianapolis, 12 p.m., Fox
Nov. 15 vs. San Francisco, 3:25 p.m., Fox
Nov. 22 vs. Tennessee, 12 p.m., Fox
Nov. 26 vs. Philadelphia, 3:30 p.m., Fox
Dec. 7 at Seattle, 7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC
Dec. 20 at L.A. Rams, 3:25 p.m., CBS
Dec. 27 vs. Jacksonville, 7:20 p.m., NBC
Jan. 3 vs. N.Y. Giants, 12 p.m., Fox
Jan. 9 or 10 at Washington, TBA
World Cup ▶
All local matches at AT&T Stadium
Group stage
June 14 Netherlands vs. Japan (Group F), 3 p.m., Fox
June 17 England vs. Croatia (Group L), 3 p.m., Fox
June 22 Argentina vs. Austria (Group J), 12 p.m., Fox
June 25 Japan vs. Sweden (Group F), 6 p.m., FS1
June 27 Argentina vs. Jordan (Group J), 9 p.m., Fox
Knockout round
June 30 Round of 32: Group E runner-up vs. Group I runner-up, 12 p.m., Fox
July 3 Round of 32: Group D runner-up vs. Group G runner-up, 1 p.m., Fox
Nick Harris is the Dallas Cowboys beat reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has experience working on the beat for DallasCowboys.com and previous work experience at Yahoo Sports/Rivals and 247Sports.
