{"id":42786,"date":"2026-02-02T13:11:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T13:11:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42786"},"modified":"2026-02-02T13:11:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T13:11:19","slug":"cowboys-predicted-to-land-no-1-player-after-draft-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42786","title":{"rendered":"Cowboys Predicted to Land &#8216;No. 1 Player&#8217; After Draft Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2254203894-e1770034079254.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2254203894-e1770034079254.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2254203894-e1770034079254.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2254203894-e1770034079254.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Cowboys Predicted to Land 'No. 1 Player' After Draft Trade\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">It\u2019s been a quick transition for new Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker, the 34-year-old former Eagles defensive backs coach who will take over one of the NFL\u2019s worst defensive units coming out of 2025. The team, of course, ranked No. 32 in points allowed and No. 30 in yardage allowed, wasting what was a thrilling season from the offense and finishing 7-9-1.<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">Parker has had some immediate momentum in filling out his staff. Already, Parker hired former Packers coach Derrick Ansley as their defensive backs coach\/defensive pass game coordinator and former Arizona Cardinals cornerbacks coach Ryan Smith for the same role in Dallas. There have been multiple interviews, too, and this weekend saw\u00a0Eric Henderson (USC run game coordinator), Denzel Martin (Steelers outside linebackers coach) and Marcus Dixon (Vikings defensive line coach and former Cowboy) have had in-person interviews.<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">Still, no matter what the Cowboys do with Parker and his staff, it will all be moot if they can\u2019t improve the personnel. And they\u2019ll have multiple first-round draft picks as well as free agency, to achieve that goal.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2 data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">Cowboys Trade Up for Safety Caleb Downs<\/h2>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">To that end, the folks at USA Today\u2019s Cowboys Wire site have put together a mock draft that sees the Cowboys make a pretty bold move\u2013trading way No. 12 and No. 20 in the first round to move up to No. 8 and select Caleb Downs of Ohio State.<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">The Cowboys would get the Saints\u2018 second-rounder and third-rounder as well, with New Orleans receiving No. 112 overall in the fourth round.<\/p>\n<p>Downs is a safety, and if he played pretty much any other position, he might well be considered the No. 1 pick in this draft. The Cowboys, like much of the NFL, have not typically valued safeties, though that is changing around the NFL.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Cowboys Would Gamble on Safety<\/h2>\n<p>Downs is a two-time All-American who transferred to Ohio State after leading the SEC in tackles as a freshman, and helped the Buckeyes tot he 2024 championship. It\u2019s Downs\u2019 versatility as an excellent tackler in the run game and a terrific cover man in the passing game that makes him stand out.<\/p>\n<p>Writes Cowboys Wire: \u201cMany draftniks have Downs as the No. 1 player on their board, only he plays a position that isn\u2019t as highly valued in the NFL as others. Getting this level of defender into the mix for the new regime is crucial, as he can become the centerpiece to the new-look defense. Parker stresses intelligence from his players and Downs has that in spades, as well as the tenacity and physical ability to put those smarts to great use.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5608420\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2236620379.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 761px) 100vw, 761px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2236620379.jpg 3128w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2236620379.jpg?resize=150,100 150w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2236620379.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2236620379.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2236620379.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2236620379.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2236620379.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2236620379.jpg?resize=782,522 782w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2236620379.jpg?resize=780,520 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2236620379.jpg?resize=425,283 425w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2236620379.jpg?resize=253,169 253w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2236620379.jpg?resize=270,180 270w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2236620379.jpg?resize=225,150 225w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2236620379.jpg?resize=242,161 242w\" alt=\"Cowboys Predicted to Land 'No. 1 Player' After Draft Trade\" width=\"761\" height=\"507\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5608420\" data-lazy-load=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5608420\">Michael Reaves\/Getty ImagesCowboys safety Malik Hooker, left, returned to practice Thursday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Caleb Downs a Big Secondary Upgrade<\/h2>\n<p>No doubt, safety is a position of need for the Cowboys, even if they do keep much of the room\u2013starting with Malik Hooker and Markquese Bell, who are both under contract\u2013intact. It\u2019s likely that Donovan Wilson, and perhaps others, will be out as the team must remake its defensive backfield, which was rated last in the NFL by Pro Football Focus.<\/p>\n<p>The Cowboys still have not gotten into the details of rebuilding their defensive roster with parker at the helm, but personnel chief Will McClay says that is coming.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve had general conversations to begin with, but you know he wants good players and he wants smart players, which every coach does,\u201d McClay said. \u201cWe\u2019ll get down to the nitty gritty once they get the rest of the staff together, but we talked about our roster. He has a vision for the guys that we have, so it\u2019s off to a good start right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Cowboys need upgrades on the defensive side of the ball and adding what might be the No. 1 player in the draft, Caleb Downs, would help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42788,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dallas-cowboys"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Cowboys Predicted to Land &#039;No. 1 Player&#039; After Draft Trade - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42786\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cowboys Predicted to Land &#039;No. 1 Player&#039; 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