The Dallas Cowboys only made seven selections in the 2026 NFL Draft, but they made the most of their opportunities, using five of their picks on defensive players.
Part of the reason the Cowboys only had seven picks is that they've made a lot of trades the last couple of years. They even traded one of their fifth-round picks for 49ers linebacker Dee Winters on Day 2.
Some of those recent trades were finalized over the weekend, including the panned Kaiir Elam deal, which somehow looks a lot worse.
The Elam trade is now complete after the New York Jets used the No. 228 pick on Kansas State safety VJ Payne, a supreme athlete (9.74 Relative Athletic Score) whom The Athletic's Dane Brugler had as a top 150 player in the class.
While Dallas improved its safety room by stealing Caleb Downs in Round 1 and signing veteran Jalen Thompson in free agency, Payne would have been an intriguing value add.
The Dallas Cowboys never should have traded for Kaiir Elam
Last March, the Cowboys sent a 2025 fifth-round pick (No. 170 overall) and a 2026 seventh-round pick to the Buffalo Bills for Elam and a 2025 sixth-round pick (pick No. 204).
You're probably thinking how that seventh (pick No. 228) ended up with the Jets. Well, Buffalo dealt it to the Las Vegas Raiders in the Taron Johnson trade. The Raiders then flipped the pick to New York to help facilitate the Geo Smith trade. Las Vegas got pick No. 208 back from the Jets.
Hopefully, the Elam and Kenneth Murray trades finally drove home that not every former first-round pick can be salvaged. While Elam looked the part in training camp, the regular season exposed that he had no business being on the roster, let alone playing meaningful snaps.
In 10 appearances, Elam allowed a 112.9 passer rating when targeted, three touchdowns, and 12.9 yards per catch, per PFF. He was arguably the weakest link in a Dallas secondary that allowed the most passing yards (4,521), second-most touchdowns (31), and second-highest EPA per pass (0.22).
Elam's coverage statistics don't account for his unwillingness to defend the run. When he didn't shoot the wrong gaps, he was often blocked out of a play, exerting minimal effort to shed and make a play on the ball.
The Cowboys benched Elam against the Raiders in Week 11, the first game following the bye, and released him the following weekend to sign running back Malik Davis to the active roster, marking the end of an experiment that was doomed from the start.
Elam's struggles in Buffalo were not the product of a poor fit. No, Dallas didn't give up much to get him, but Jerry Jones and Co. will be kicking themselves even more if VJ Payne carves out a role in Florham Park.
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