After the two players the Dallas Cowboys were most connected to prior to the draft, Jaycee Horn and Patrick Surtain II, went off the board to the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos, respectively, Dallas traded down two spots with the Eagles. A little bit later, the Cowboys used the 12th overall pick on Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons.
This pick will be extremely polarizing. Opinions on Parsons range from him being the best defensive player in the draft to being a possible misfire. There are analysts who didn’t have Parsons as the top linebacker in this class, while others had him as a top eight prospect.