2026 NFL Draft rumors: Cowboys open to moving up, Jets have their man, Carson Beck a first-round pick?

Buckle up for a wild opening round Thursday night

FRISCO, Texas -- The 2026 NFL Draft is finally here! The proceedings will kick off at 8 p.m. ET in Pittsburgh, but in the lead up to the Thursday night main event there are plenty of rumors to sift through.

This 2026 draft class is a unique one in that some of its top talent are non-premium positions. Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, Ohio State safety Caleb Downs and inside linebacker Sonny Styles are all ranked inside CBS Sports' top 10 prospect rankings for the 2026 NFL Draft. It's also a draft that some believe has a steep drop off in talent once the first round dips into the late teen's and into the twenties. 

The Dallas Cowboys feel that there are at least 12 first-round-graded players in this draft class, and they coincidentally have the 12th and 20th overall picks this year. It's also clear they have a few needs on defense. The Cowboys surrendered an NFL-worst 30.1 points per game last year. That ranks as the second-most points per game surrendered in the 66-season history of the Cowboys. Only Dallas' inaugural 1960 team, which finished 0-11-1, was worse. 

So how will Dallas handle a run on some of the draft's top defenders before their selection? Will they trade up? Not into the first five picks, but they could be open into moving up from pick No. 12 into the back half of the top 10. Dallas executive vice president/CEO Stephen Jones said Wednesday the team didn't have anything cooking in terms of trades up the draft board, but that could change once defensive players start getting snapped up early. 

"Nothing concrete," Jones said.

Meanwhile, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones revealed they have already received calls from other teams offering them the chance to trade up before the draft gets going. If Dallas does trade up, it likely be after another team offers the chance to do so. 

"They're [trade calls] usually better coming in [from another team ]than going out," Jerry Jones said on Wednesday. "The results are better for us. ... There's every kind of trade possible over these next few days. Players on other rosters, draft picks, all of that is very much in play."

Who goes second to the Jets? Jonathan Jones says it's ...

In his annual draft day intel notebook that was just published Thursday morning, Jones reported sourcing that points to the Jets taking Texas Tech's David Bailey at No. 2. 

The Jets have had numerous touchpoints with Bailey over the months. I know the markets and insiders have fluctuated on whether it's Bailey or Arvell Reese, and Reese certainly made it seem like he could be the pick during his meeting with media Wednesday, but I'm sticking with my Bailey pick. Someone recently raised the point that Jets offensive coordinator Frank Reich was Stanford's interim head coach just after Bailey entered the transfer portal, so he has had access to unique insights on him. 

Not only would that push dynamic talent Arvell Reese down to at least No. 3, but Jones wonders if Reese slides even further should Arizona get fancy with its selection. 

Could Carson Beck be a first-round pick? 

Former Georgia Bulldogs and Miami Hurricanes quarterback Carson Beck hasn't profiled as a first-round quarterback in 2026 NFL mock drafts this offseason. He's the No. 202-ranked prospect in CBS Sports' 2026 NFL Draft prospect rankings. However, there's a little bit of steam building for that to be the case. Beck leads college football in quarterback (37), passing yards (11,239) and passing touchdowns (82) since 2023. 

Multiple sources, including a player personnel director, a Southeast area scout and a pass game coach, told CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz they coud envision a scenario where Beck goes late in the first round or early in the second round. Their reasoning is that finding a solid, cost-controlled quarterback is harder than ever these days. 

"I know the public perception but he's an experienced, good, talented thrower that's really smart and he's ready to go," a player personnel director told Zenitz. "So I could see a team taking him as early as [Round 1]."

Zenitz wrote it is still more likely that Beck is a Day 2 pick than a Day 1 pick.