{"id":44505,"date":"2026-04-29T04:01:49","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T04:01:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44505"},"modified":"2026-04-29T04:01:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T04:01:49","slug":"cowboys-praised-for-draft-pick-steal-with-6-foot-4-240-pound-edge-rusher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44505","title":{"rendered":"Cowboys Praised for Draft Pick \u2018Steal\u2019 With 6-foot-4, 240-Pound Edge Rusher.."},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"has-video wp-caption \">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2235235950-e1777429331402.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2235235950-e1777429331402.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2235235950-e1777429331402.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2235235950-e1777429331402.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Jaishawn Barham\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" data-img-load-time=\"370\" data-dom-ready-time=\"605\" \/><\/figure>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">It\u2019s hard to make an argument that the\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0didn\u2019t immediately get better over the 3 days of the 2026 NFL draft. Most notably on defense, where they may have added one of the draft\u2019s great value picks in edge rusher\u00a0Jaishawn Barham\u00a0in the 3rd round (No. 92 overall).<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">ESPN\u2019s Field Yates singled out Barham, 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, as the biggest \u201csteal\u201d of the 3rd round.<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">\u201cThe weekend went very well for the Cowboys, including this selection of Barham,\u201d Yates wrote on Tuesday. \u201cThe former Maryland standout began his college career as a stand-up linebacker before moving to a hybrid role during his final season at Michigan. Barham has aggressive hands and is explosive when rushing the passer. Still, he needs to develop a better rush plan at the NFL level.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">What that means is that Barham turned himself into not just an All-Big Ten player but a\u00a03rd round pick at edge rusher\u00a0with just 1 season at the position \u2014 meaning there\u2019s a pretty incredible upside if the Cowboys can coach him up correctly.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Cowboys Drafted Multiple Edge Rushers in 2026<\/h2>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">The Cowboys drafted another edge rusher in the 1st round with UCF\u2019s\u00a0Malachi Lawrence\u00a0at\u00a0No. 23 overall.<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">They also used a defensive pick at No. 11 overall with Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, who may have been the best pound-for-pound player in the draft.<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">\u201cBarham logged most of his snaps at off-ball linebacker, but his 2025 tape showed explosiveness that will attract teams seeking a developmental rush \u2018backer in an odd front,\u201d\u00a0NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote. \u201cHe\u2019s raw as a rusher, relying heavily on athleticism, but the missing elements are teachable. Whether outside or inside, he\u2019s a professional block-beater with the tools to stack or slip blocks, though his edge-setting needs work. His bend and reactive agility create unlikely tackle chances that few can find. His intensity and motor are top-tier but he needs to play with better discipline to avoid negative snaps. With explosive traits and inside-outside versatility, he projects as an impactful future starter once his technique catches up.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Cowboys Looking to Reboot Edge Rusher Position<\/h2>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">The Cowboys have had zero identity at edge rusher since trading NFL All-Pro\u00a0Micah Parsons\u00a0to the\u00a0Green Bay Packers\u00a0just weeks before the 2025 season.<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">Lawrence, 6-foot-5 and 253 pounds, ran a 4.52-second 40-yard dash at the\u00a0NFL scouting combine but wasn\u2019t a 1st round pick in most mock drafts.<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">From Bleacher Report: \u201cMalachi Lawrence is a late riser in the 2026 NFL draft class, catching people\u2019s attention with a strong performance in both the East-West Shrine Bowl and NFL combine. Even better, he has the tape to match with the potential to become a high-quality pass-rusher in the league.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">The Cowboys added another edge rusher in the 4th round with Alabama\u2019s\u00a0LT Overton. At 6-foot-4 and 274 pounds, there are already rumors that Overton could switch positions in the NFL to defensive tackle. There, he might have the opportunity to be the primary backup to Pro Bowl starters\u00a0Quinnen Williams\u00a0and\u00a0Kenny Clark.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty It\u2019s hard to make an argument that the\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0didn\u2019t immediately get better over the 3 days of the 2026 NFL draft. Most notably on defense, where&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":44506,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44505","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 Praised for Draft Pick \u2018Steal\u2019 With 6-foot-4, 240-Pound Edge Rusher.. - 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=44505\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cowboys Praised for Draft Pick \u2018Steal\u2019 With 6-foot-4, 240-Pound Edge Rusher.. - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Getty It\u2019s hard to make an argument that the\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0didn\u2019t immediately get better over the 3 days of the 2026 NFL draft. Most notably on defense, where...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44505\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-29T04:01:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"779\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"437\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrThoang\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrThoang\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44505\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44505\",\"name\":\"Cowboys Praised for Draft Pick \u2018Steal\u2019 With 6-foot-4, 240-Pound Edge Rusher.. - Breaking News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44505#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44505#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3-2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-29T04:01:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-29T04:01:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1c4c6e26f5ce69e0b14457ac28e0543a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44505#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44505\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44505#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3-2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3-2.jpg\",\"width\":779,\"height\":437},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44505#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Cowboys Praised for Draft Pick \u2018Steal\u2019 With 6-foot-4, 240-Pound Edge Rusher..\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"Breaking News\",\"description\":\"Explore top US sports stories, and live updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1c4c6e26f5ce69e0b14457ac28e0543a\",\"name\":\"MrThoang\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d84ceff2e61b1f6e91b0d106001a17b83281b38e31f8c327485d589c225c1cf0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d84ceff2e61b1f6e91b0d106001a17b83281b38e31f8c327485d589c225c1cf0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MrThoang\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?author=4\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Cowboys Praised for Draft Pick \u2018Steal\u2019 With 6-foot-4, 240-Pound Edge Rusher.. - Breaking News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44505","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Cowboys Praised for Draft Pick \u2018Steal\u2019 With 6-foot-4, 240-Pound Edge Rusher.. - Breaking News","og_description":"Getty It\u2019s hard to make an argument that the\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0didn\u2019t immediately get better over the 3 days of the 2026 NFL draft. Most notably on defense, where...","og_url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44505","og_site_name":"Breaking News","article_published_time":"2026-04-29T04:01:49+00:00","og_image":[{"width":779,"height":437,"url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"MrThoang","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MrThoang","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44505","url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44505","name":"Cowboys Praised for Draft Pick \u2018Steal\u2019 With 6-foot-4, 240-Pound Edge Rusher.. - Breaking News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44505#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44505#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3-2.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-29T04:01:49+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-29T04:01:49+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1c4c6e26f5ce69e0b14457ac28e0543a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44505#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44505"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44505#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3-2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3-2.jpg","width":779,"height":437},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44505#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Cowboys Praised for Draft Pick \u2018Steal\u2019 With 6-foot-4, 240-Pound Edge Rusher.."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/","name":"Breaking News","description":"Explore top US sports stories, and live updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1c4c6e26f5ce69e0b14457ac28e0543a","name":"MrThoang","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d84ceff2e61b1f6e91b0d106001a17b83281b38e31f8c327485d589c225c1cf0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d84ceff2e61b1f6e91b0d106001a17b83281b38e31f8c327485d589c225c1cf0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MrThoang"},"url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?author=4"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44505"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44507,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44505\/revisions\/44507"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/44506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}