Due to the Micah Parsons trade, the Dallas Cowboys are sitting pretty with two selections in the top 20 of the 2026 NFL Draft. The expectation is that Jerry Jones use both of those selections to address a laughably bad Dallas defense, especially with a new defensive coordinator coming to town.
However, the top of the draft order may have just been flipped upside down. The Kansas City Chiefs just hired Cowboys legend DeMarco Murray to be their new running backs coach, which may have swung the pendulum in Dallas' favor assuming they pivot to Jeremiyah Love as their new target.
This matters because the Chiefs have the No. 9 pick and have been linked to several top defensive prospects. So now that they have Murray, they could use him as a mentor for Love while also addressing a major need, which should benefit the Cowboys' thought process with the 12th pick.
In all honesty, this is best for all parties, as Murray was an All-Pro RB of his own, so the Notre Dame superstar would be in a perfect situation learning from the former Cowboys' star as the instant bell-cow in Kansas City and is a player their pathetic rushing attack has badly needed for years now.
Dallas Cowboys' hopes of drafting elite defensive prospect improve after Chiefs' DeMarco Murray hire
This is already a strong defensive draft, so the Cowboys already have a real shot of landing an instant contributor at No. 12, but they could land a true blue-chip prospect. The name I'm circling here is Caleb Downs, as positional value could be the reason he slides down the board as Kyle Hamilton did.
Downs could go as early as the top five, but if the Chiefs are pivoting away from BPA like the Murray hire suggests, his odds of falling into Dallas' lap get a massive boost. And even if he gets wiped off the board, it could help top cornerbacks Mansoor Delane or Jermod McCoy be the pick as Christian Parker's new CB1.
The other name who has consistently been linked to the Chiefs is Texas Tech pass-rusher David Bailey, which would have Cowboys fans in a state of euphoria if he fell. An in-state prospect at arguably their biggest position of need? With how much the defense missed Parsons, sign me up.
Bailey was one of the best players on an elite Red Raider defense, and he's started to garner some major top 10 buzz these last few days. But even guys like Peter Woods and Sonny Styles are players who can help transcend this offense, so thankfully, this is an impossible situation for Jerry to mess up.
The problem with the potential Love-to-KC marriage is that there's a chance he's off the board before they pick, since the Saints and Commanders both need offensive difference-makers.
Regardless, the earlier he goes, the better for the Cowboys, and Murray may have done his old team a major solid.