Recent whispers have emerged suggesting that Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones could make a trade with Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry so the Cowboys can move up from the 12th overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft to choice No. 6 with a defensive player in mind.
Meanwhile, the Washington Commanders hold the draft’s seventh selection. While speaking with reporters on Thursday, Commanders general manager Adam Peters acknowledged that he “more likely than not” will stay at No. 7 in the draft order. However, he also hinted that he’d pick up the phone if an NFC East rival called about trading up.
What would impact Commanders’ thoughts on draft trade with Cowboys?
“No, I don’t think it impacts it at all,” Peters said about how having a rivalry with a team would affect whether or not he would trade picks, per Kevin Patra of the NFL’s website. “Obviously, I think there’s more scrutiny with that, but it certainly doesn’t change. You know, the thought process is always, is this the right decision for our team? And if that’s the case, then we’ll do it. And it doesn’t really matter what the team is. We got to beat them on Sundays and Mondays and Wednesdays and Thursdays and Fridays regardless. So, you know, to me, that doesn’t make it a huge difference there. It’s just whatever is best for our team.”
Previous stories have linked the Cowboys with Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles, Miami Hurricanes pass-rusher Rueben Bain Jr. and Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. While it was recently learned that Bain was involved in a fatal vehicular crash when he was a sophomore in March 2024, neither the emergence of that story nor arm-length concerns related to his status are expected to cause him to drop below the 10th overall pick of the draft.
Thus, Jones likely will have to move up the draft order to grab a talent who could prove to be a replacement for Micah Parsons, who was traded by the Cowboys in August 2025.
Are Commanders open for business regarding the seventh pick of the draft?
“You never know,” Peters added about what he may or may not do with the draft’s seventh pick. “You never know, and it’ll depend on who’s on the board, if a team wants to move up, and then we have to decide if we want to do that. But I would say more likely than not, we’d stay and pick.”
In short, it sounds like Peters may be waiting to receive a so-called “‘Godfather’ offer” from the Cowboys for the seventh pick either before or during the evening of April 23.
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