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 ▶
April 17 Rangers 5, Seattle 0
April 18 Seattle 7, Rangers 3
April 19 Seattle 5, Rangers 2
April 21 Rangers 5, Pittsburgh 1
April 22 Pittsburgh 8, Rangers 4
April 23 Rangers 6, Pittsburgh 1
April 24 vs. Athletics, 7:05 p.m., CW
April 25 vs. Athletics, 6:05 p.m., RSN
April 26 vs. Athletics, 1:35 p.m., RSN
April 27 vs. N.Y. Yankees, 7:05 p.m., RSN
April 28 vs. N.Y. Yankees, 7:05 p.m., RSN
April 29 vs. N.Y. Yankees, 1:35 p.m., RSN
TCU Baseball ▶
April 14 TCU 12, Tarleton State 5
April 17 Baylor 11, TCU 4
April 19 TCU 5, Baylor 4 (doubleheader)
April 19 TCU 10, Baylor 2 (doubleheader)
April 21 TCU 6, Dallas Baptist 5 (10 innings)
April 24 vs. Houston, 6 p.m., ESPN+
April 25 vs. Houston, 2 p.m., ESPN+
April 26 vs. Houston, 1 p.m., ESPN+
April 29 vs. UT Arlington, 6 p.m., ESPN+
May 1 at Oklahoma State, 6 p.m., ESPN+
May 2 at Oklahoma State, 6 p.m., ESPN+
May 3 at Oklahoma State, 1 p.m., ESPN+
Stars ▶
First-round playoff series (Stars lead 2-1)
Game 1: April 18 Minnesota 6, Stars 1
Game 2: April 20 Stars 4, Minnesota 2
Game 3: April 22 Stars 4, Minnesota 3 (2OT)
Game 4: April 25 at Minnesota, 4:30 p.m., TBS, truTV, HBO Max, Victory+
Game 5: April 28 vs. Minnesota, 7 p.m., ESPN2, Victory+
Game 6 (if necessary): April 30 at Minnesota, TBA
Game 7 (if necessary): May 2 vs. Minnesota, TBA
Wings▶
April 30 at Indiana (preseason), 6 p.m., Ion
May 3 vs. Las Vegas (at Austin) (preseason), 6 p.m., Ion
May 9 at Indiana, noon, ABC
May 12 vs. Atlanta, 7 p.m., KFAA
May 14 vs. Minnesota, 7 p.m., Amazon Prime Video
TCU Football ▶
2026 season
Aug. 29 vs. North Carolina (at Dublin), TBA
Sept. 12 vs. Grambling State, TBA
Sept. 19 vs. Arkansas State, TBA
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, TBA
Nov. 14 vs. Kansas State, TBA
Nov. 21 vs. Utah, TBA
Nov. 26 at Texas Tech, TBA
Cowboys ▶
2026 season
TBA vs. TBA (at Rio de Janeiro), TBA
2026 opponents (dates and times TBA; one home game will be in Rio)
vs. N.Y Giants
vs. Philadelphia
vs. Washington
vs. Arizona
vs. San Francisco
vs. Tampa Bay
vs. Jacksonville
vs. Tennessee
vs. Baltimore
at N.Y Giants
at Philadelphia
at Washington
at L.A. Rams
at Seattle
at Green Bay
at Houston
at Indianapolis
FC Dallas ▶
March 14 FC Dallas 3, San Diego 3
March 21 FC Dallas 4, Houston 3
April 4 FC Dallas 4, D.C. United 0
April 11 FC Dallas 1, St. Louis 1
April 18 FC Dallas 2, LA Galaxy 2
April 22 vs. Minnesota, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV
April 25 at Seattle, 9:30 p.m., Apple TV
May 2 at NY Red Bulls, 6:30 p.m., Apple TV
May 9 vs. Salt Lake, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV
May 13 vs. Vancouver, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV
Texas Motor Speedway ▶
April 23-25 Pate Swap Meet
April 25 FuelFest
April 30-May 2 High Limit Racing Stockyard Stampede
May 1 NASCAR Truck Series: SpeedyCash.com 250
May 2 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series: Andy's Frozen Custard 340
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.
