The best possible first round the Dallas Cowboys could have asked for after drafting Malachi Lawrence with the 23rd overall pick after Caleb Downs dropped to them at 11 when they traded up with the Miami Dolphins.
The Cowboys originally had the 20th overall pick, but after trading with the Eagles, the Dallas Cowboys flipped the 20th pick, for 23, and No. 114, No. 137, which are both fourth round picks.
A very good day by Jerry Jones, to be fair.
This could not have gone any better on Thursday night than it did for Dallas, and honestly, the way it started, I thought there might not be a chance it ended up well at all.
Let’s dive into what they did with the 23rd overall pick.
“I love this fit for him..
I love what the Dallas Cowboys have done tonight”
Malachi Lawrence
After trading with the Eagles, the Cowboys moved back three spots and still probably got the guy they wanted at the 20th pick and that was Malachi Lawrence.
The first-team All-Big selection was one of the biggest risers since the NFL Combine, and it’s not hard to see why. Lawrence ran a 4.52 40-yard dash at 253 pounds and had the second-best vertical jump (40”) among all defensive linemen at the NFL Combine.
The Cowboys needed another pass rusher, and they got just that and got a guy who has been the definition of constant.
The defensive end completed his collegiate career with First-team All-Big 12 honors after recording 28 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, and seven sacks in his final season.
His 20 career sacks rank 10th in UCF program history, placing him among the most productive pass rushers to ever play for the Knights.
I did not do much looking into Lawrence, but he was on my big board as the 26th guy taken, so the Cowboys got him right in the area I thought he would go, so great job at trading back and getting two more 4th round picks and still giving themselves a chance to draft him a few picks later.
This might have been the best first round from Jerry Jones and the front office in a long time!
Now the Cowboys can go into the weekend feeling really good at whatever they do next for depth and they still might be able to hang onto George Pickens after the news dropped about an hour before the draft that he would sign that tag, I thought they would trade him.
At the end of the day the Dallas Cowboys front office did what they needed to do tonight and did it in a big way!
The Cowboys allowed 511 points – most in NFL and franchise history – and dedicated their two first-round picks in safety Caleb Downs and DE Malachi Lawrence. Lawrence had seven sacks and 31 pressures in 2025 for UCF. And his 4.52-second 40 time was third among edges at the combine.
I think now the rest of the draft if an offensive player is there that has slipped a little bit, grab one, but think they need to focus in on either a cornerback or linebacker in the third round and use those two fourth round picks to add to the depth.
This was a great night for this team and really gives us some hope. Of course, some people are going to hate it no matter what, but read my posts from this week, I can give credit when it is due, and tonight they earned the credit. Now finish it out with good picks.
It would be perfect if they hang onto GP as well, but we will worry about that when we get to it. Let’s enjoy the rest of this draft this weekend.
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