Inside The Star
At this point in the season, I know Cowboys fans are split. Some are still holding onto playoff hopes, and others are already looking ahead to April.
I’m not here to tell anyone how to feel, but if this season continues to slip, I think it’s important to understand how the rest of the league can help Dallas, even if the Cowboys don’t win another game.
If Dallas loses out, draft position becomes the one thing that still matters, and it’s determined by math, not emotion.
If it were emotion, I’m pretty sure Cowboys fans would vault the team up to the number 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Cowboys sit at 6-7-1, and that tie matters more than most people realize when it comes to the draft order.
Let’s say the Cowboys lose the rest of their games, and they finish 6-10-1. That record doesn’t put the Cowboys in position for a top-five pick, but it doesn’t doom them to the middle of the draft.
Instead, we will watch Dallas drop into a volatile range where just a few wins by other teams can move the Cowboys up several spots.
I’m not chasing an unrealistic top-three pick because, with a tie on the Cowboys’ record, that isn’t happening.
What I’m focused on is pushing the Cowboys into the top-10 to top-12 range, where elite talent and trade flexibility still exists.
If we watch Dallas lose out, the draft order comes down to win percentage. That means I want teams near Dallas in the standings to finish with better records.
The three teams I’m watching closest are:
These teams are either tied with Dallas or slightly behind them in winning percentage. If two of these teams win one more game, the Cowboys jump them in the draft order.
This could be the difference between picking in the early teens or just outside the top 10.
I don’t need these teams to go on a run or playoff pushes. I need these teams to avoid losing out. One win is enough to help Dallas.
If you were to look at the NFL standings, there are teams slightly ahead of the Cowboys that I don’t want to collapse late in the season.
These teams aren’t tied with Dallas right now, but a losing streak could push them up to the same draft tier and muddy up the waters.
Teams like the Steelers and Packers are positioned ahead of Dallas in the standings, and as long as the Steelers keep winning, they stay out of the way. We want the Packers to keep losing.
Many fans could still be scoreboard-watching teams. The ones who come to mind are the Giants, Titans, Raiders, and Jets. I’m not, because at this point those...
