Cowboys Conspiracy: Same NFL Draft Trade Predicted By Kiper, Brugler & McShay; How?

FRISCO - The Star just sprung a leak.

The Cleveland Browns are sitting on the No. 6 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, and with a week to go before the first round on Thursday, April 23, there is ample gossip about the Browns wanting to trade down.

Meanwhile, the idea that the Dallas Cowboys love Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles is no secret, but the likelihood of him dropping to pick No. 12 seems slim.

So ... a Dallas trade-up with Cleveland makes speculative sense.

But on Wednesday, something a bit more than "speculative'' happened. And maybe something a bit more than "coincidental,'' too.

Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN shared his latest mock draft.

So did Todd McShay of The McShay Report.

So did Dane Brugler for The Athletic.

And if they were students turning in a test to you, the teacher? You'd assume they cheated off of one another.

They all made the same essentially the same exact trade prediction, as Kiper, McShay and Brugler - three of the biggest names in the game - all predicted the Browns would trade down from No. 6 with Dallas.

There was a bit of variation in the exact structure of each deal, but not much. To wit ...

1 - Kiper has Cleveland sending the 6th and 39th picks to the Cowboys for the 12th and 20th picks; that is precisely the formula we've been using off the Trade Value Chart to make a connection here.

"Styles is my No. 4 prospect," Kiper writes.

In his mock, Dallas gets Styles and then uses the No. 39 pick on Clemson edge rusher T.J. Parker, who has been linked to Dallas in the past.

Kiper has the Browns landing Alabama tackle Kadyn Proctor with the 12th pick and Washington receiver Denzel Boston with the 20th pick.

2 - McShay has a more complex setup, as his mock draft has Cleveland moving the No. 6 pick to the Cowboys for the No. 12 pick in Round 1, the 92nd pick in the third round, and a 2027 second-round pick.

(The future pick makes the TVC measurement tougher, but the points are close enough.)

"Defensive coordinator Christian Parker covets athleticism and intelligence at linebacker for his scheme, and Styles checks both boxes," McShay writes.

The Cowboys would get Styles and would keep their No. 20 pick, which McShay links on Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy.

McCoy, as you know, ranks a possible "redshirt'' problem due to his injury history; we're dubious about this suggestion.

The Browns, by the way, would in this scenario take Proctor with the 12th pick. So McShay and Kiper are on the same page there.

3 - Brugler has - speaking of "the same page'' - a mock draft that has the Browns sending 6 and 39 to the Cowboys for 12 and 20 (standard stuff) with Dallas throwing in a 2027 fourth-rounder.

Dallas gets Styles and at 39 takes Treydan Stukes, the Arizona cornerback.

"The Cowboys could sit at No. 12 and have an impact defender fall to them, but it won’t be surprising if the organization gets aggressive," Brugler writes. "Styles would not only be an immediate starter at a position of need but also wear the green dot as a rookie."

The Browns then take Utah tackle Spencer Fano and Texas A&M receiver KC Concepcion at No. 20.

So ... three prominent national analysts. Predicting almost exactly the same things. And coming out with the info at almost exactly the same time.

It's almost as if somebody inside the Cowboys organization shared/leaked good info ... (or, less likely, we think, bad info.)

Conspiracy theory? Let's go with one that sees, say, Cowboys COO Stephen Jones replying to text questions with a pat (and maybe true) answer. 

This doesn't mean the Cowboys and the Browns have fully put in place the groundwork for such a trade. But we can suggest that the Cowboys are thinking about it here inside The Star ... and maybe putting some groundwork in with an information-hungry media that might just end up getting this prediction right.