The Pride of Detroit 2026 NFL mock draft—as completed by our commenters—rolls on.
It’s time for the Dallas Cowboys to pick again, which means commenter 1951LION is on the clock. With the Cowboys’ previous pick, 1951LION selected cornerback Mansoor Delane with the 12th overall pick. Now what will they do with Pick 20?
Before we get to the pick, head to our 2026 Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft tracker. There you’ll find the previous 19 picks, along with links to each article and a grade for each pick, as decided by you, the readers. Don’t forget to cast your vote for each pick with the poll at the bottom of the articles.
Now, onto this pick:
With the 20th pick in the 2026 Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft, the Dallas Cowboys select Keldrick Faulk, edge defender out of Auburn.
Here’s 1951LION explaining the pick:
The incoming class of rookie pass rushers is an intriguing group, led by Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr., Texas Tech’s David Bailey, and Auburn’s Keldric Faulk.
Faulk is an imposing physical profile at 6-foot-6 and 285 pounds with verified elite strength (700-pound squat, 415-pound bench) that translates directly to violent hand usage and anchor ability at the point of attack.
Run defense is already NFL-caliber, as evidenced by his 62 run stops leading all FBS edge defenders over three seasons, consistently dominating at the point of attack regardless of scheme or alignment.
Joseph Acosta had this to say about him last July (2025) in his top ten edge rushers:
“Faulk is very similar to the freakish prospects who went at the top of last year’s draft like Mykel Williams and Shemar Stewart. Faulk has the size, length and strength to dislodge linemen at the point of attack in the run and passing game. He’s got a good feel for blocking on the inside as a 4i, and as a pass rusher he has the versatility to win from multiple alignments. I would love to see him work more of a pass rush plan going into next season, but for now he’s my top EDGE in the class.”
This year he is much, much, more.
His long-arm stab has become a legitimate weapon that maximizes his reach advantage, creating separation before offensive tackles can establish chest-to-chest contact and control the rep.
Relentless motor from snap to whistle shows up in cleanup sacks and effort plays, particularly in the fourth quarter when opposing linemen begin to wear down from his constant physicality. His 2025 junior season was a different story statistically, with only two sacks and 29 tackles through three games before his draft declaration, though the context matters. Auburn deployed him across multiple alignments, including interior looks at 2-tech through 4-tech on roughly 30% of his snaps, a role far less conducive to pass-rush production than his previous edge-heavy deployment.
The floor here is a high-quality starter who makes the entire front seven better by controlling his gaps and forcing offenses to account for him on every play design.
Oh yeah, he’s only 20 years old.
Time to grade the pick. Vote in the poll below and share your expanded thoughts in the comment section:
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