When it comes to the NFL draft process, it couldn't be easy to evaluate Jaishawn Barham.
The former Michigan football player, also played two seasons for Maryland. He was an off-ball linebacker and also an EDGE. Barham is strong against the run, he can cover, and he's also really good at getting to the quarterback, even if that ability is raw.
In short, Barham is one of the most versatile defenders available in the 2026 NFL draft, and the Dallas Cowboys were smart to pounce in the third round.
Barham became the third Michigan football player selected on Friday. Derrick Moore and Marlin Klein each went in the second round, even though Klein's selection was a bit of a surprise.
The upside with Jaishan Barham is huge with Dallas Cowboys
The thing with Kelin is that the Houston Texans are projecting what he could be, not what he was at Michigan. Dallas has to do the same thing with Barham, although in a different sense.
Barham was productive in college with 193 total tackles, with 119 being solo stops. He's finished with 23 career tacles for loss and 12 sacks, four of which came last season, when he played more EDGE.
The EDGE experiment wasn't great, at least against the run, but Barham was thrown into the fire midseason. It's not like he spent an entire offseason working on playing EDGE. So there's a chance that could be his best position in the NFL.
Barham could also be one of those guys who plays off-ball on first and second down, then is used as a pass rusher. He's an even better blitzer, so I could also see him being a traditional linebacker, who has four or five sacks a year.
For the kind of talent, production, and upside Dallas is getting, it's hard to find more value in the third round of the NFL draft.
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