Should The Cowboys Draft CJ Allen At Pick 20?! - Kris Kretschman Show

The Dallas Cowboys are at a crossroads… but the 2026 NFL Draft could be the moment that changes EVERYTHING.

On this episode of the Kris Kretschman Show, we break down exactly how the Cowboys can improve through the draft and what direction they NEED to take if they want to compete at a high level next season. From roster gaps to potential impact players, this is the blueprint for Dallas getting back into serious contention.

We also dive into one of the biggest debates in Cowboys Nation right now — should Dallas draft CJ Allen at pick 20? Is he the right fit, or would that be a reach the Cowboys regret?

And finally… the culture shift 👀
Has Brian Schottenheimer already started changing the identity of this team? We talk about the mindset, the leadership, and whether this feels like a NEW era in Dallas.

If you’re a Cowboys fan trying to figure out where this team is headed… this is the episode you need.

👉 Like, Comment, and Subscribe for daily Cowboys content!

Chapters:

0:00 - 0:32: Intro
0:33 - 8:20: The Cowboys WILL IMPROVE In The NFL Draft
8:21 - 8:26: Break
8:27 - 16:34: CJ Allen At Pick 20?!
16:35 - 25:15: Brian Schottenheimer Changing The Culture
25:16 - 25:23: Outro

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey, what's going on, everybody? Welcome to the Chris Cratchman Show for Thursday, March 19th, 2026. And on today's episode, we're going to talk about how the Cowboys are going to improve over the 2026 draft and the defensive side of the ball. I want to talk about CJ Allen. He had his pro day yesterday. And I want to talk about where I think this team is going during the Brian Schottenheimer era era, right? Like what direction they're going. So before we get into the episode, please make sure to hit that like button, subscribe. I would greatly appreciate it. Without further ado, let's get into the episode. So I want to start this episode off by talking about the NFL draft specifically for the Dallas Cowboys. And I must say, I am getting so annoyed by some of the chatter that I've been seeing online. Guys, look, the Cowboys have four needs in particular. They need, if depending on where Kenny Clark is playing, if he's playing at the zero, then they need to find a four eye. If he's playing at the four eye, then they need to find a zero. Whatever one that is, they need to find that. So let's just say, for sake of argument, like I think it's going to be a zero tech that they need to find. I think Kenny will actually play four eye. I know what Christian Parker said, like that he said uh that he thinks uh Kenny Clark could be a really good zero technique, but he also said that when Oso Degizu was on the roster. He's no longer on the roster, so things have changed. But I I'll I'll say they need a zero, a zero tech, right? They need to find a pass rusher that has juice, they need to find uh an off-ball linebacker, and I think they need to find another cornerback, particularly in the slot, right? So those are the four needs that the Cowboys have. As long as they address two of those four needs, they're going to be a better defense, a much better defense than they were last year. I think they already are a better defense than they were last year. But going into draft night, they will be a much better defense if they address two of those four needs. And as long as they do it, I don't think we need to be yelling at each other about no, we need this position, we need that position. Guys, you need multiple positions, you need multiple positions in this upcoming NFL draft. We're gonna get into CJ Allen, guys. Like, if if they draft an off-ball linebacker in this draft, guess what? That's gonna improve your defense. Whether I think that CJ Allen is worth the 20th overall pick or not, that's going to improve your defense because you did not have an off-ball linebacker and now you have an off-ball linebacker. That is a great thing. If you draft Dylan Thieneman at pick 12, that's great because now you have another player that you could put in the defensive backfield when you talk about, you know, hey, maybe he'll play as a slot corner, maybe he'll play over the top as a safety. That is a great thing. If they draft Akeem Mesidor, right now you have a legit pass rusher. That's a great thing. If you draft Caden McDonald, now you have a zero attack, and now your defensive line is really stout. That's a great thing. There are so many different ways they could go in this draft where they can improve their defense. So I I I I really wish we would just stop arguing about semantics when it comes to this. Okay, just get guys that are going to help improve your defense. You have four needs, and I think there are players in this draft that can fit in any one of those four needs. If you want another defensive back, Dylan Dienemans there. Uh maybe Mansur Delane falls to you. I don't think they're in on Jermon McCoy, but he's available if they want to go that route. If you want a zero technique, there is Kane McDonald and Lee Hunter. If you want a linebacker, I don't think Sonny Styles will be available at pick 12. I think CJ Allen, I'm gonna be 100% honest with you guys, at pick 20, I think that's a flat out reach. But guess what? I think I I don't because people are gonna hear that and be like, you think he's a reach? I think he's a reach because I think he's like the 33rd best player in this draft, and you're drafting him at pick 20. So I'm not saying you're drafting a bad player, I'm just saying that you're not drafting a player that equates to the value of pick 20. But if you draft CJ Allen, guess what? Now you have an off-ball linebacker. If you draft, I I I think I went through all them, all uh all those positions zero tech, defensive end, defensive back, and linebacker. If they if they end up with this draft with Dylan Dieneman at pick 12 and CJ Allen at pick 20, they improve their defense. If they come out of this draft with uh let's just say, because it's it's really difficult. Because I think the only defensive player at 12 that makes sense that you're really gonna have a shot at is Dylan Dieneman. But let's just say, hypothetically, they end up with Mansur Delane and Caden McDonald from Ohio State. You improve your defense. If you end up taking Akeem Mesador at pick 12, let's just say you're that high on him. You take Akeem Mesador and you take CJ Allen, you improve your defense. You're going to improve your defense as long as you take players on the defensive side of the ball. So when we're when we're arguing about we need this position, we need that position. Guys, you just need better players on your football team. Let's just be 100% honest here. You need better players on your defense. This was a defense last year that was bottom five in DVLA. Bottom five in the history of the game. Now you've made some good strides. You added a Rashawn Gary. I think that that's a really nice addition. You added Jalen Thompson, I think that's an outstanding addition. You added Kobe Durant, very, very solid addition. PJ Locke, very solid addition. The defensive tackle from the Chargers, very solid addition. Like, not superstar players, the guys that are calling and that I'm calling very solid, but for the money that you signed them for, and for them that are those guys to me are like borderline starters, starters in the NFL. Yeah, like I think they've done some really good work on the defensive side of the ball so far this offseason. And if they go into this draft, and let's just say they draft, for example, Deaneman at 12 and they draft Caden McDonald at 20, you improve your defense. Like you're gonna see improvement in your defense. So we need to stop arguing over semantics. This team is going to be a better football team as long as they just draft the best players that they think are available on the board. Look, I'm not that big of a CJ Allen fan at pick 20. But if the Cowboys say we think he's good enough to be the 20th overall pick, I'm gonna trust them. Okay, like he's a guy that I think day one could be a starting linebacker. I'm cool with that. If that's the way they want to go, I'm cool with that. But you know, I'm not gonna say if somebody says, hey, I want to draft CJ Allen at pick 20, I'm not gonna scream at them and throw a fit and tell them that they don't know what they're talking about. Because that's that's just so disrespectful. And I I think I think we could be better than that. I I think we can, right? Like we can have football opinions and we don't need to undermine people's integrity when we do that. We can we can have good-hearted football discussions. None of us work for the Dallas Cowboys. That's another thing I think people need to realize as well. You don't work for the Dallas Cowboys, right? Like, so and and and and to be honest with you, I don't work for the Dallas Cowboys either. So you screaming at me because you disagree with my draft takes and saying how stupid I am, I I I I just don't I don't think you're putting positivity in the world. Like, I think we need to be more positive as a society, to be honest with you. Like I I don't want to like take it there, but I'm just saying, like, I feel like we need more positivity in the world, and you screaming at me or you screaming at somebody else that they don't know what they're talking about, and they're an idiot just because they have an opinion about the draft that by the way has no outcome on what the cowboys are going to do, we don't need to do that. We can respect each other. So it's it's just something I've been seeing that that I've been I I get really upset about. We can have opinions, we can disagree, but let's just respect each other at the same time. We all want the same thing, we all want the cowboys to do great, we all want them to win Super Bowls, we just have different philosophies, different mindsets, we have different plans on how we think the Cowboys could get there. That's it. Hey, quick break. Please make sure to hit that like button, subscribe. I would greatly appreciate that. Let's get to the next topic. So I want to move on to CJ Allen, and here's my thing when it comes to CJ Allen, because I'm gonna get labeled a CJ Allen hater, and I I absolutely cannot stand that. I think CJ Allen is a fine football player. I think he's going to be a fine football player in the NFL. Do I think he is worth the 20th overall pick as an off-ball linebacker? I do not. Because I feel like over the last 24 hours with the pro day of CJ Allen, by the way, you can look on this page, and me and Sean Palumbo talked about uh CJ Allen about like a week and a half ago, and we said, yeah, if they pick him at pick 12, that's a gigantic reach. If they pick him at 20, it's a reach, not as as bad of a reach, but it's it's still a reach. I I think like over these past 24 hours, people have been laying it on a little too hard on CJ Allen. But my thing with CJ Allen has always been I never saw him as a guy who could be a pick 20 guy, in my personal opinion. I I never really saw that from CJ Allen. I think that he's going to go in the NFL and I think he's going to be a fine starting uh off-ball linebacker. But when I have pass rushers on the board, I don't know how comfortable I feel taking an off-ball linebacker that I worry can play on third and down. Like, guys, it it's not underwear Olympics when you see what CJ Allen is doing with his hips and seeing how he looks in coverage. That's not the underwear Olympics. That is what's on tape. He struggles in coverage on tape. And I worry that if we were to deal with, you know, the Shanahan tree or McVay guys or any any of these other offensive coordinators that can really dial it up, I am afraid that on third down they're going to be targeting him in coverage. And if I worry about how you're going to play on third down as an off-ball linebacker, I have a very, very difficult time selecting you at pick 20. At pick 20 is is where I want people to understand where I'm coming from with this. Look, Jihad Campbell last year was a much better prospect than CJ Allen was, and he got drafted at 31 overall. Much better, much better prospect. So if jihad cambul is going 31 overall a year ago, how am I how am I going to sit here and say, yeah, CJ Allen is is worth the 20th overall pick? Like to me, when I look at the 20th overall pick, a few guys that I look at, Akeem Mesdoor, I'm going to keep saying this. I think he is a top five player in this draft. I think that Akeem Mesdoor, now, I would not rank him in the top five on my big board, right? Because there's a difference between being a top five player in the class and being ranked in the top five on a big board because there's multiple things that come into factor, right? He's 25 years old. He uh he has injury history, he has a little bit of an injury history. Now, when I say he has a little bit of an injury history, apparently his medical is checked out and they're good, right? So that's something that you have to take into consideration. The the medicals have checked out. But like when I look at the fact that there's a pass rusher like Mesador, there's a pass rusher like R. Mason Thomas that could be, I mean, this guy could be a double double-digit sack guy. He could be a primary pass rusher. I look at a guy like Caden McDonald, who I think is going to be an outstanding player in the NFL. Uh, Emmanuel McNeil Warren, uh, Avion Terrell, guys like that, I just think they're better players than CJ Allen. And I I I don't know about Jacob Rodriguez or Anthony Hill Jr. I don't I don't think either of those guys are worth pick 20, to be honest with you. If I'm being 100% honest, I don't think either of those guys are worth pick 20. Just like I don't think CJ Allen's worth pick 20. And like here's the thing I I I know it kind of sounds like I'm crappy on CJ Allen, he does some things very well, right? Like, if you draft him at pick 20, will I say, yeah, that was a reach? Yeah, but you do not draft based on my opinion. Like, I know people say that, like, hey, they're not listening to your opinion when it comes to the draft. I get it, I I completely understand that. I have no problem with that. I actually I I'm actually glad that they don't draft based off my opinion because they do way more research than I do, they know these players way more than I do. They're in these meetings with these players on the whiteboard, and I'm I'm not, they know the medicals way more than I do. So, yes, they are not drafting somebody to make me feel better. I got it. But what I'm saying is like if they're if their mindset is we're gonna take CJ Allen here at pick 20, then the way I'm gonna look at that is yeah, a little bit of a reach. But hey, look, if this is their guy and they've evaluated this guy and they think that he's the type of linebacker that's gonna help this defense, then I'll live with it because they know more than us. Like, let's just be 100% honest with ourselves here. Like, if they draft Akeem Mesadur at pick 20, it's because they know more than us. If they draft Dylan Dieneman at pick 12, it's because they know more than us. Caden McDonald, they know more than us. They know more about what is going to fit their scheme, they know more about the type of guy he is, they've talked to these coaches, right? Like they've talked to a lot of people at the universities. They they have a better gauge on this. But like, if I'm just telling you, based off of my observation on what I'm watching when it comes to CJ Allen, I see a guy that is very instinctual, I see a guy that's not afraid to come downhill and make a tackle. He's a sure tackler, he gets tackles for loss, right? And those are very important. But how important is the tackle for loss? Then on third down, you're getting targeted in coverage because your hip fluidity is not that good. Like it and and that's ultimately the thing when it comes to CJ Allen with me, is that like I worry about playing him on third down, and when I have pass rushers on the board that I think could be a legitimate threat on third down, like you play you the the guys that you draft in the first round, you want to make sure they can play on third third down, right? Like you draft pass rushers that could play on third down, you draft cornerbacks that could play on third down. There's a reason why zero technique defensive tackles that play very well against the run do not get drafted in the top 20, usually. And I know I'm bringing up Caden McDonald, he's more than just a uh zero tech that could play well against the run. That guy can legitimately rush the passer. That's why he's looked at as a guy who could potentially be a top 20 pick. There's a difference. CJ Allen, I don't know. I I just worry about that. But if the Cowboys' observation is hey, we think this guy could be a legitimate player for our defense, then I'll trust them. I'll be like, you want to know what? Maybe, maybe I'm seeing it wrong. Not afraid to admit that I'm wrong, never afraid to admit that I'm wrong. But that's just my opinion on CJ Allen. I I think he's a fine player, and and I think people are gonna label me as a CJ Allen hater. I just look at him as like the 33rd, 34th best player in the draft. Like, I don't think that's hating at all. Like if somebody told CJ Allen when he was uh what is it, uh eight years old, that like, hey, you're more so looked at as like a second round linebacker, but you're gonna play in the NFL and you're gonna be a starter in the NFL, you'd be like, okay, sweet. Like I I don't I I I don't get it. I don't understand why people can't like just look at somebody having an opinion when it comes to hey, he's just not a 20th overall pick and and separate that from oh what what what so you think he's bad? No, I don't think he's bad. I not at all. Nobody's saying that. That's why I have him as a second round pick. You don't drop bad players in the second round. So that's the way I look at it. So I want to finish this episode off by talking about Brian Schottenheimer and just the direction of this football team under Brian Schottenheimer. I was talking to Foots last night, and and we were raving about Brian Schottenheimer. When you take a step back and look at everything he's done, guys, think about it like this the Cowboys were one second away from making the playoffs last year. If that one second runs off against Green Bay, they're eight and nine. And yes, the Packers would have been nine and eight, but that would have set up a winner-go-home scenario pretty much for the Cowboys going up against the New York Giants in week 18. And I'm sorry, at that point, like I think the Cowboys win that game. If they actually tried to win that game, I think they win that game. So they probably would have made the playoffs. Now we would see what happens because somebody was saying, hey, look, Green Bay was playing Minnesota week 18 and they sat their starters, so that's why they lost that game. I'm like, okay, I got it, but like the Vikings were playing better football than Green Bay. I think the Vikings would have found a way to win that game, right? Like they were just playing better football, and it's a division rivalry, division rival, especially in that division, the NFC North, they actually hate each other. NFC East isn't like that, right? Like it's not like that anymore. NFC North, they hate each other. That's besides the point. When I look at what Brian Schottenheimer has done with this team, he's trying to build a football program, and and that's what I appreciate the most. Year one, like, so let me go back to year one of Mike McCarthy. Year one of Mike McCarthy, he hired Mike Nolan, right? That was looked at as a buddy hire. That was I think he was a linebacker coach from the Saints, and even the Saints were like, Hey, cool, you you want Mike Nolan? Uh, we're not gonna block your request. As a matter of fact, like, take him. We'll we'll recommend him. Hey, this guy is very smart, he's genius. Take him. And that's how bad of a hire Mike Nolan was. He he wasn't wanted as a linebacker coach where he was at. As a linebacker coach, why don't we want a defensive coordinator? Mike McCarthy hired him because that was a buddy of his. It's a buddy hire. So going into year two, the Cowboys said, no, we're we're we're trying to win football games here. Like, we're gonna hire our guy. And they hired Dan Quinn because that was the right hire at the time. Dan Quinn brought some real juice to this defense. He he put a band-aid on this defense. I think it's a little different this time around. I don't think Christian Parker's trying to put a band-aid on this defense. I think what he's trying to do is he's trying to do surgery to this defense. There's a difference. Dan Quinn put a band-aid to this defense. Christian Parker is trying to do surgery. You can put a band-aid over something, and yeah, it'll it'll make it feel better for a little bit for a very short amount of time. But sometimes you need to go in there and do surgery, and that's what Christian Parker is doing. He's building it up from the ground up, which is why they traded Oso D. Yzua. Because he said, just not a fit on my defense, right? Like they have two first-round draft picks. We're gonna try and build this thing the right way. But that's besides the point. Schottenheimer is building a football program. And when you look at the hires that he had last year, when it comes to Clayton Adams and Connor Riley and Junior Adams and the offensive coaching staff that he put together, just a very impressive coaching staff. And when you look at what they're doing on the defensive side of the ball, very impressive coaching staff. They added some real names to that coaching staff, along with Christian Parker, who is a lot different than what you know I the Cowboys have had in the past. And and here's the thing when it comes to Schottenheimer, he gained some real trust in the building with that offensive coaching staff that he put together. And the the Cowboys were saying when Schottenheimer was on the podium that hey, like Shoddy had a real influence on bringing in Matt Eberflus. No, he didn't. Like, let's just be honest. Even the Joneses knew the Jones is probably respected that he took the bullet, but they probably also knew, like, yeah, we were we were kind of lying here about Schottenheimer having a big influence on Matt Eberflus coming to town. He was probably like, they what they what they this was probably the interaction. Hey, like we're hiring you as our head coach. Would you like this guy as your defensive coordinator? Like, this is a guy that we think is good. Schottenheimer was probably like, all right, like I just want the job, and and I'm okay with that. I'm okay with that. You want to know why? Because Schottenheimer understood getting this job with the Cowboys politics, with the organizational politics, he knew I had to give a little to get a little. And that was his give a little when it came to his first year, right? Matt Iberfluss. I I had to give a little so that I can get a little. And what he gave his first year was an offense that was just off the charts. It was, I mean, like, look, you know, uh parents will tell you, I'm not a parent myself, but parents will tell you that if you if you're nice to their kids, if you treat their kids very well, they'll really like you. And this is what I mean from this perspective. I'm not saying Doc is one of Jerry's kids. I'm not saying that. Obviously he's not. But it it kind of reigns true because. Jerry's paying Doc 60 million dollars, right? So that does not make him his kid, but you get where I'm going with this. If I'm paying somebody so much money and I'm putting so much responsibility in my quarterback, I want you to make him look good. And if you make him look good to the extent where he's an MVP candidate, and people are asking if he played his best football that he's ever played over the course of his career, that's gonna gain you a lot of trust. That's gonna gain you a lot of respect from the organization and the guy paying that quarterback a ton of money because that quarter Prescott looked like he was a $60 million quarterback this year. Dak was on another level. I have no problem that the Cowboys are paying Dak $60 million because he's playing to that level. I don't care if I'm paying somebody a lot of money, as long as they're playing like they deserve a lot of money, then I'm cool with that. And Dak this year played like he he he earned that money. That first year of that contract, because I know people last year said Dak Prescott has one of the worst contracts in the NFL, even though he's making like $40 million. Uh uh, he was on that $40 million contract in the 2024 season, and like three seasons that he was on that contract. That the the uh the first contract that he signed, like the first extension that he signed, made the playoffs three years in a row and was a second team all pro in one of them. I'll take that. Any any organization would take that, right? So, but going back to Schottenheimer, he made the quarterback look great, he made the receivers look great, he made the offense look great. You now have a unit where you look at and say, We feel really, really good about this unit. And you know, Mike McCarthy, his last year, you did not feel great about that offense. There, there were probably some real questions like, man, were we right to pay Dak that money? Fast forward a year later, nobody's questioning about whether or not you uh you are right for paying Dak that money because he looked like every bit of that $60 million quarterback that you paid. So uh, you know, Schottenheimer, one thing that I liked is that he understood the Cowboys' politics. The Cowboys have a lot of politics in the organization. He gave a little to get a little, and now he's reaping the benefits of it. Now he's able to run the team the way he wants to run it. Now it it may not, it may not be perfect this year, but I think it'll be a lot better than it was last year. I do. I think they're gonna make the playoffs. I think they have a real chance to be legit contenders next year, and I think in large part it's because a lot of the decisions that Brian Schottenheimer has made. And I think Cowboys fans should give him the credit he deserves because even though they were 7, 9, and 1 this year, what he was able to accomplish in his first year when it came to what they were able to do on the offensive side of the ball, and then going into year two, he had his pick of a defensive coordinator. They ran the search a lot differently, they brought in a ton of candidates. And when you factor in what happened with Marshawn Nealan and the way he was able to rally the troops, I I think Schottenheimer is is really being a difference maker for this organization. And I'm happy to have him as the head coach of this football team. So that's gonna be it for the episode. If you guys haven't already, please make sure to hit that like button, subscribe. I'll greatly appreciate it. And I will see you guys on the next episode. Peace.