Jaishawn Barham to Cowboys as 2026 third-round pick

FRISCO, Texas — It's all smiles for the Dallas Cowboys following Day 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft. With only a 12 percent chance of it happening, former Ohio State superstar safety Caleb Downs was still available for the Cowboys after the first ten picks went off the board, and Dallas traded up from No. 12 to grab him at No. 11 — taking no risk on losing him by waiting one more selection.

Their next decision was to stick and pick at No. 20 or to trade back for more picks, and they chose the latter while hoping Malachi Lawrence, the former UCF sack machine, would still be there for the taking. He was, and so the Cowboys walked away with Lawrence and two additional fourth-round picks from the Eagles in the trade.

On Day 2, they made an additional move to trade with the San Francisco 49ers to land linebacker Dee Winters and then, with the 92nd-overall pick in the draft, they selected linebacker/edge rusher Jaishawn Barham out of Michigan.

Scouting Report + Fit:

Barham is a football player, period. What does that mean? It means you're going to see him playing inside linebacker sometimes and, at other times, he'll line up and rush off the edge as an outside linebacker in Dallas. Barham began his career at Michigan as a Freshman All-American and went on to become a four-year starter for the Wolverines, the tenth-ranked linebacker out of high school at St. Frances Academy in Baltimore. Leading all freshman in the country in tackles as a freshman is a testament to one of his biggest calling cards: making tackles.

Barham saw an increase in missed tackles in 2025, but rarely missed any in seasons prior (could be for a variety of reasons but it was an outlier year in that area). As for rushing the passer, when moved to the outside by Michigan last season, Barham produced 10 combined tackles for loss, four sacks, and 21 pressures through 12 games. He quickly diagnoses plays and react with lightning speed to shut it down, and Hands — violent. First step — explosive. Coverage ability — solid but needs refinement as an inside LB. Bend — above average for an outside LB. Experience — elite. Football IQ — high (Academic All-Big Ten selection).

The 22-year-old was the best EDGE player on my board when the Cowboys went on the board at No. 92, though his frame will need some more mass to become more of a run stopper off the edge; but there's very good potential here for Barham to make an impact as early as Year 1. As a related aside, he's also the first player from Michigan drafted in the third round since Jourdan Lewis, and they both went at 92nd-overall (hmm).

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