Examining Dane Brugler’s ‘The Beast’ as it relates to the Cowboys 2026 NFL Draft

Christmas comes early. Dane Brugler of The Athletic recently released “The Beast”, the most extensive and in-depth 2026 NFL Draft guide available. It’s an essential tool for those who want to learn as much as possible about this year’s prospects and where they most likely get selected when the draft gets underway on April 23, now just a little over a week away.

For Dallas Cowboys fans, “The Beast” gives us a better idea of potential prospects the Cowboys could target and where each of their draft picks this year rank. Dane Brugler’s rankings will vary from Dallas’ to some of degree, but it’s probably safe to assume they’ll both be pretty similar. With that in mind, below are some of the takeaways as it relates to the Cowboys 2026 draft this year.

First-round grades According to Dane Brugler, only 14 players have a first-round grade for him this year in the 2026 draft class. That seems to be pretty close to the consensus conclusion for many scouts and personnel people around the league, emphasizing the lack of top-level talent available this year. Brugler also assigned an additional 23 players with a 1st/2nd-round grade, bringing the total to 37 players who could potentially be drafted in the first round.

Currently holding No. 12 and No. 20 in the first-round is reason to believe the Cowboys get a couple of players from this group, barring any trades of course.