The Dallas Cowboys put a pretty ugly bow on the 2025 season, losing to the New York Giants by a final score of 34-17. While Dak Prescott only played the first half, it was evident early in the first quarter that it was going to be a sloppy game.
While Prescott and Brian Schottenheimer wanted to win, losing was ultimately in the team's best interest as it pertains to the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Cowboys could have dropped to as low as the No. 18 pick had they won. By losing, they guaranteed that they won't fall out of the top-15. In fact, they are just outside of the top 10.
Updated 2026 NFL Draft order reveals significance of Cowboys' Week 18 loss
- Las Vegas Raiders
- New York Jets
- Arizona Cardinals
- Tennessee Titans
- New York Giants
- Cleveland Browns
- Washington Commanders
- New Orleans Saints
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Miami Dolphins
- Dallas Cowboys
- Los Angeles Rams (via the Atlanta Falcons)
- Baltimore Ravens
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- New York Jets (via Indianapolis Colts)
- Detroit Lions
- Minnesota Vikings
- Carolina Panthers
- Dallas Cowboys (via the Green Bay Packers)
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Los Angeles Chargers
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Buffalo Bills
- Chicago Bears
- Houston Texans
- San Francisco 49ers
- Cleveland Browns (via Jacksonville Jaguars
- Los Angeles Rams
- New England Patriots
- Denver Broncos
- Seattle Seahawks
The Cowboys entered Sunday with the No. 13 pick. While jumping up one pick doesn't seem significant at face value, they could've dropped out of the top 15 entirely. They could've climbed as high as the No. 11 pick, but the Miami Dolphins failed to beat the New England Patriots.
Given the alternative, Cowboys fans should be extremely happy with the No. 12 pick. They might be out of the range of Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey, but Miami pass rusher Rueben Bain Jr. and Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles could be in play. A lot can change between now and April, but the bottom line is that Dallas is in a good spot to land a big-time defensive player.
And it can't be overlooked that the Green Bay Packers' first-round pick ended up better than the Cowboys could have hoped. Injuries certainly played a role in Green Bay's December skid, including Micah Parsons suffering a torn ACL in Week 16, but Dallas won't apologize for that. A pick that was largely expected to be in the late-20s turned out to be 20th overall.
You take that all day, every day if you are the Cowboys. They will never admit to tanking, but it worked wonders.