Cowboys find Micah Parsons replacement, take 10 sack SEC star in first 2026 mock draft

Jarrett Bailey

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Cowboys find Micah Parsons replacement, take 10 sack SEC star in first 2026 mock draft image

The Dallas Cowboys are in a bit of a hole. At 3-5-1, they are fading fast in the NFC playoff race following their surprising loss to Jacoby Brissett and the Arizona Cardinals.

Dallas did do all they could to improve their struggling defense at the trade deadline, though, acquiring Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson and New York Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams.

Looking ahead to the NFL Draft for the first time this season, Vinnie Iyer has the Cowboys continuing to address the defense, taking Auburn edge rusher Keldric Faulk.

"After trading for former Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, the Cowboys can further boost their pass rush to help replace Micah Parsons as part of their huge defensive rebuild," Iyer writes.

Faulk has two sacks this season and five tackles for loss with the Tigers. In totality for his career, he has 10 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss in three seasons.

The Cowboys' pass rush has certainly been lacking this season after trading Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, ranking 23rd in the NFL in sack percentage, per Next Gen Stats. However, they do have an additional first-round pick in the 2026 draft because of it. Iyer predicts Dallas will select cornerback Colton Hood from Tennessee with that additional pick.

"The Cowboys extended their big corner playmaker, DaRon Bland but Trevon Diggs has turned into an injury-marred liability in coverage," Iyer writes. "Hood can handle all styles of coverage and assignments well with his sound technique, blending well with ballhawking skills."

Should this be what the Cowboys end up doing in the draft, they could quickly rebuild their struggling defense with two young building blocks on the first night of the draft.

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