There is an old adage in the NFL that you build championship teams through the trenches. And for the most part, that’s accurate and has been proven out in the last few Super Bowl winners. It’s very hard to win in the NFL with a poor offensive line and the same is true on defense. But there is a point where teams can invest too much into one particular unit and it can cause the rest of the roster to suffer.
That is where the Dallas Cowboys are currently with their offensive line. They’ve spent three first-round picks over the last four drafts on offensive linemen, and while it sure seems like they’ve hit on all of them, there is still a push for the Cowboys to draft another in 2026. With Tyler Guyton’s injury concern and Terence Steele’s lackluster play, there is some momentum building for the Cowboys to use another first-round pick on an offensive tackle.
In theory, that’s not a bad idea as the Cowboys could have a hole at right tackle in 2026. But that’s a move they can’t make right now for several reasons.
The Cowboys should not draft another offensive tackle in Round 1
The Dallas Cowboys already have one of the NFL’s highest-paid offenses, and it’s only going to get more expensive moving forward. According to OverTheCap.com, they are projected to spend over $200 million on their offense in 2026, and that doesn’t include the likely contracts of George Pickens and Javonte Williams.
The Cowboys have (smartly) invested a lot of money and assets into their offense, and that’s why it’s not a surprise that they have one of the league’s best units. But that’s not why they are losing games. They are scoring a bunch of points, but players like Russell Wilson, Caleb Williams, Jacoby Brissett, and J.J. McCarthy are all having career performances against the Cowboys because they lack talent on defense.
Dallas is set to have two first-round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, and they desperately need those picks to go on defense. They’ve drafted a total of two defensive players in Round 1 since 2019 (Micah Parsons, Mazi Smith), and neither of those players is on the roster. They have needs on all three levels of their defense, and until that unit becomes passable, it’s hard to view the Cowboys as contenders in a very crowded NFC.
Every team builds their roster differently. And there is no one fool-proof way of ensuring that you have a championship-caliber team. But there isn’t really any proof that drafting first-round offensive linemen every single year is the way to go. It’s also not proven that having a bunch of first-round picks on the offensive line guarantees success, either.
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The Eagles won a Super Bowl in 2024 and they had the league’s best offensive line by a mile. They had used just one first-round pick on that unit (Lane Johnson) and that was back in the 2013 NFL Draft. Mekhi Becton was a cast-off from the Jets and the rest of the line was filled with mid-round picks and undrafted free agents.
Their opponent, the Kansas City Chiefs, did not use a single first-round pick on their offensive line. But they managed to find multiple Pro Bowlers on the unit without having to spend any top-end draft capital. That changed in 2025 with the selection of Josh Simmons, but the fact is that you can have a great offensive line without needing to spend every single first-round pick on the unit.
Take that even a step further with the two other teams in the Championship Round. The Bills and Commanders did not spend a single first-round pick on their offensive lines, and yet they had two of the league’s top offenses. That’s not to say that drafting offensive linemen in Round 1 is bad, because of course, that’s not true. It’s just that you don’t need three or four first-round picks on the offensive line to have a good unit.
A good example of this is the latest offensive line rankings by Pro Football Focus that was published on Wednesday. Of the top 12 teams in the rankings, only three teams have spent multiple first-round picks on their offensive line in the last five years. But no team has spent more than two first-round picks during that span. And there are multiple units inside the top-12 who have not spent a single first-round pick on their offensive line. That is very telling.
The Cowboys currently have the No. 26-ranked unit, according to Pro Football Focus, despite three first-round picks in the group. Adding another first-round pick to the unit isn’t going to dramatically shoot them up the rankings. They need better coaching and development on the offensive line like the teams ahead of them.
Dallas has managed to become one of the league’s best offenses with an average offensive line this year. And while the offense might be able to improve incrementally with an upgrade at offensive tackle, that’s not going to make the difference in this team contending in 2026 and 2027.
The only way Dallas can get back to being a contender is by having an improved defense. They need at least four new starters on defense, including a safety and a cornerback. They need another pass rusher and could certainly use an upgrade at linebacker, despite what the Kenneth Murray truthers might try to sell you. And with no second or third-round picks in the 2026 draft, burning another high-end asset on an offensive tackle doesn’t make sense from a team-building perspective.
There is no doubt that Dallas has had success drafting offensive linemen early, but it’s time for them to shift their attention to the other side of the ball and finally get serious about upgrading one of the league’s worst defenses.
Taking another offensive lineman in Round 1 would be a massive mistake for a team that can't stop even the worst offenses in the league. They've already spent enough picks on the offensive line. It's time for that unit to grow up and start performing at a more reasonable level without further investments.