J aishawn Barham came off the board Saturday night as the Dallas Cowboys used the 92nd overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on the Michigan linebacker and edge rusher, adding a defender they believe can line up inside or outside. The move gave Dallas another piece after a Day 1 trade-up for Caleb Downs and a Day 2 run that included a trade with the San Francisco 49ers for Dee Winters.
Barham arrives in Dallas at 22 years old with a résumé that made him one of the more recognizable defenders in Michigan’s recent pipeline. He began his college career as a Freshman All-American, led all freshmen in the country in tackles and stayed a four-year starter for the Wolverines after coming out of St. Frances Academy in Baltimore as the 10th-ranked linebacker in his high school class. The Cowboys also linked him to a familiar number: Barham went 92nd overall, the same spot where Jourdan Lewis was selected by Dallas years earlier.
The weight behind the pick is in what Barham did in 2025, when Michigan moved him to the outside and he answered with 10 combined tackles for loss, four sacks and 21 pressures through 12 games. That production fits what Dallas was chasing on draft weekend, especially after the club traded back from No. 20, picked up two additional fourth-round picks from the Eagles and then kept working the board until Barham was still there at No. 92. Malachi Lawrence later became the first player selected out of UCF by the Cowboys, underscoring how active Dallas was in adding bodies across the draft.
Barham’s profile is appealing because it is not tied to one spot. The Cowboys are treating him as a player who can help at inside linebacker and outside linebacker, and his tape gives them that option. At the same time, there is a clear unfinished part of the projection: he had an outlier year for missed tackles in 2025 after rarely missing tackles in earlier seasons, and he will need more mass if Dallas wants him to become a sturdier run defender off the edge. That makes him both a ready-made sub-package option and a longer-term build for the front seven.
For Dallas, the bet is straightforward. Barham has early Year 1 impact potential, and the Cowboys did not wait long to get him. For Michigan, he leaves as a four-year starter and a player whose growth from freshman production leader to disruptive outside defender carried him all the way to the third round.
