All we know about the Dallas Cowboys' first-round blueprint is that they are planning to address the defensive side of the football with both of their first-round picks. What we don't know is which prospects Jerry Jones has circled on his draft board with the Cowboys' 12th and 20th overall picks.
However, NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah floated an interesting possibility while appearing on the Joel Klatt Show. He thinks that Dallas could consider drafting Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman with their 12th overall pick, which, while unexpected, could make more sense than Cowboys fans realize.
The 21-year-old is firmly entrenched as the second-best safety in the draft, and would likely be the top safety in any draft that does not contain Caleb Downs. But Jeremiah noted that there are teams that have Thieneman rated higher on their draft board than Downs, even if most people disagree.
"I think Thieneman could be the 12th pick in the draft."@MoveTheSticks and @joelklatt weigh in on where the @oregonfootball safety will likely land in this year's draft 👀 pic.twitter.com/cmtDpzyblI
— The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football on FOX Pod (@JoelKlattShow) April 13, 2026
The Dallas Cowboys may be looking at Dillon Thieneman with the 12th overall pick
Jeremiah's argument was backed up by an interesting connection. Former Oregon defensive coordinator (now Cal head coach) Tosh Lupoi coached Thieneman at Oregon, but during his four seasons at Alabama from 2014-2018, he coached alongside Dallas DBs coach Derrick Ansley.
Thieneman is one of my personal favorite players in this draft class. He put his speed, instincts, and range on display on tape time and again, and did the same at the NFL combine. And across his time at both Purdue and Oregon, he has all the tools it takes to be Dallas' perfect Dovovan Wilson successor.
The only reason the All-American may slip down the draft board is because of positional value, as the NFL doesn't often value safeties in the same respect they do other positions. But there's no doubting his talent, as Thieneman would be the perfect DB for Christian Parker's revamped secondary.
Something worth noting is that Thieneman has yet to conduct a 30 visit with the Cowboys, and Jerry Jones typically tends to draft players Dallas hosts on visits. This is not to say that they won't draft him or that they won't conduct a 30 visit at some point in the next week or so, but time is not on their side.
The Cowboys could look at one fellow DBs Jermod McCoy or Mansoor Delane if one of them slips to 12, but Thieneman deserves to be in the same breath as them. If the secondary is the priority at 12 like it should be, one of them should be the pick before addressing the defensive front at pick 20.
Thieneman would not be a bad pick at 12 by any means, but it wouldn't have been something fans would see coming if it's what Dallas turned out to do if not for Jeremiah.
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