New Cowboys OT Drew Shelton Receives 'Super' High Praise from Exec After 2026 NFL Draft

While most of the focus for the Dallas Cowboys' 2026 draft class is understandably on Caleb Downs landing in their lap with the No. 11 overall pick, team officials are making sure fourth-round pick Drew Shelton gets his flowers.

Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, one person with the Cowboys praised Shelton for being "super athletic" and a strong belief that he can be a starting tackle in the NFL.

"Only so few humans can play tackle in the NFL, and he's one of them," the Cowboys source told Fowler.

Fowler noted there were some Cowboys officials pushing to take Shelton, who appeared in 48 games over four seasons at Penn State, on Day 2 of the draft. They only had one pick on Day 2, using the 92nd pick on Michigan linebacker Jaishawn Barham.

Shelton tested well at the NFL scouting combine, with the lone negative outlier being his height at just under 6'5".

B/R's NFL scouting department had Shelton ranked as the 16th-best offensive tackle and No. 202 player overall in the class. He was compared to veteran tackle Geron Christian, who spent part of last season on the Cowboys' practice squad, in his scouting report from Brandon Thorn.

Shelton wound up being the third tackle selected in the fourth round, after Jude Bowry went to the Buffalo Bills and Kage Casey went to the Denver Broncos.

The Cowboys have frequently done a good job of developing offensive linemen. Terence Steele has been a solid starter at right tackle for six seasons after going undrafted out of Texas Tech in 2020.

If Shelton hits in the way Cowboys official expect him to, getting him in the fourth round would be an incredible value given how expensive the market is for a starting-caliber tackle.