By Megan ArmstrongShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberPrefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.Never underestimate what Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones might do.
It was unimaginable that the Cowboys would even consider trading All-Pro pass-rusher Micah Parsons, and then Jones dealt him to Green Bay last August.
There isn't a move that drastic to make this offseason, but with the 2026 NFL draft less than two weeks away, speculation is rampant about what Jones and the Cowboys might do with two first-round picks.
Dallas earned the No. 12 overall pick by finishing with a 7-9-1 record last season, and it holds the No. 20 overall pick as a result of trading Parsons to Green Bay. The team could craft a package to move up even higher on the draft board.
Rich Eisen said on his "Rich Eisen Show" that he's "hearing" former Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles connected to the Cowboys, who "love him so much." Eisen asked NFL Network's Tom Pelissero how far the No. 12 and No. 20 overall picks could get Dallas in an attempt to trade up for Styles.
..."Not all the way to 2," Pelissero said. "Depending on which chart you're going off of here, 20 has a lot of points, but it's not enough to get you to 2 or 3 in my mind, especially in a draft like this."
Pelissero added: "Drafting a pure linebacker is not something we see happen very often at the very top of the draft, but you also don't see many guys test the way Sonny Styles is and be as big of a freak show athletically. If you're gonna make a case for somebody, it's that guy right there."
Styles was the darling of the 2026 NFL Combine in late February. His 43.5-inch vertical was the highest vertical posted by anyone 6-foot-4 or taller and 240 pounds or heavier since 2003, per Warren Sharp. Styles also ran the 40-yard dash in 4.46 seconds and posted an 11'2" broad jump.
Longtime NFL draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah ranks Styles as the third-best overall prospect in this class and compared him to the San Francisco 49ers' four-time All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner.
On "The Mina Kimes Show Featuring Lenny" last week, Jeremiah called Styles "the perfect chess piece" for a defense and specifically believes Styles is "made for" the NFC East.
With Kimes, Jeremiah projected Styles to either go to the New York Giants at No. 5 overall or to the Washington Commanders at No. 7 overall. The Cowboys are an NFC East team, so technically, Jeremiah would still be proven correct if Jones goes nuclear and bets everything on trading up for Styles.
The first round of the 2026 NFL Draft will commence on April 23. Styles is among the 16 draftees planning to attend in Pittsburgh.
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