Cowboys brass zeroed in on Texas' star linebacker and cornerback at Pro Day, maybe hinting at their draft priorities.
FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys - led by head coach Brian Schottenheimer - have hit the road for college Pro Days, and on Tuesday, Texas football took center stage at Longhorns Pro Day ...
And maybe two Longhorns defensive stars are near the center of Dallas' focus when it comes to the late-April NFL Draft.
NFL scouts packed the facility to get another close look at some of the program’s top draft prospects.
For Texas football and Steve Sarkisian, the event doubled as both a showcase of elite talent and another sign of how far the Longhorns have climbed as an NFL pipeline.
A year after Texas produced a program-record 14 NFL draft picks, another strong group of Longhorns stepped up in front of evaluators, hoping to boost their draft stock.
And for the Cowboys? Fourteen players worked out, but much of the attention centered on the defensive side, where projected early-round names like linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. and cornerback Malik Muhammad drew plenty of eyes.
Hill, one of Texas’ top NFL Draft prospects, already carried momentum into the day after a strong pre-draft process.
The linebacker said, “This process is so unique,” a reminder that for even the most highly regarded prospects, Pro Day is still about proving you belong and finding the right fit at the next level.
Hill (6-3, 240), a projected early-second round pick, is seen as so attractive to the Cowboys (who own picks Nos. 12 and 20 in the first round but no second-round pick at present) that Schottenheimer was part of a Monday dinner meeting with the prospect.
Schottenheimer was also seen at the workout rubbing elbows with superagent David Mulugheta, who reps Hill ... oh, and also franchise-tagged Cowboys star George Pickens, who is hoping for a new long-term deal in Dallas.
Malik Muhammad (6-0, 190) also used the day to highlight not only his skills, but also what the Longhorns’ culture has become under Sarkisian.
Muhammad, who could be a second- or third-rounder, said Texas prepared him with a routine that feels “like a professional program,” pointing to the structure, accountability, and daily standard inside the building.
Added Muhammad, who like Hill is a DFW-area native: "It (would) mean everything to get drafted by Dallas and I got the resume for it to be a huge history-type story."
"This is a huge stop for us here coming to Texas," Schottenheimer said via DallasCowboys.com. "A spot right down the road with coach Sark, great relationship between him and the Cowboys and the University of Texas, so excited to be here."
Schotty was joined by a number of Dallas staffers, including defensive coordinator Christian Parker, and player personnel boss Will McClay.
The 2026 NFL Draft begins April 23, 2026, in Pittsburgh, and the Cowboys' planning continues, as the staff is at Texas A&M on Wednesday at at Texas Tech on Thursday.
But as it regards Austin: Could Hill be worthy of pick No. 20, or maybe taken in a trade-down from there? Could Muhammad be the right guy in Round 3?
Longhorns Pro Day made at least two things clear: One, Texas football is still sending NFL-ready talent into the league, and that’s become part of the program’s identity again. And two, the Cowboys are interested in bringing some of that Longhorns talent to The Star.