FRISCO, Texas – After trading two fifth-round picks to the Dolphins to move up a spot and select Caleb Downs 11th overall, then trading back three picks to 23rd overall and picking up two fourth-round picks from the Eagles, the Cowboys went from having three fifth-round picks to three fourth-round pick on Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft.
The third fifth-round pick was sent to the 49ers for linebacker Dee Winters. With their first and own fourth-round pick, the Cowboys selected Penn State OT Drew Shelton, marking the sixth straight year the team has drafted an offensive lineman.
The Cowboys feel like they have a player in Shelton, who played left tackle in college, that can play on both sides of the line and also potentially even kick inside to guard.
Let's take a look at some film from Shelton's collegiate days and break it down:
Shelton on the move to spring a big play
When Penn State's run game with clicking, it was one of the best in college football. The running backs Nicholas Singleton (Titans fifth-round pick, who is #10 on this play) and Kaytron Allen (Commanders sixth-round pick) got a lot of the attention, but the Nittany Lions' offensive line did work up front.
Shelton, who is the left tackle on all of these clips, gets on the move this play with Olaivavega Ioane (14th overall pick by the Ravens). Ioane takes away the defensive end, and Shelton goes up to the second level and takes the linebacker. It looks like he gets popped back a little bit initially, but he does his job of taking the linebacker away from making a tackle, and ultimately pushes him right back and gets a pancake block.
With the left side of the defense taken care of by the remainder of Penn State's offensive line, Singleton has a cutback lane and hits it, breaks an arm tackle and has nothing but the end zone in front of him. It's a touchdown that's sprung by the offensive line doing their work, and Shelton's part was an important one.
Giving the QB time to launch the deep ball
Of all the jobs a left tackle has, typically the most important is to protect the blindside of the quarterback (assuming they are right-handed). That's especially crucial when you're trying to hit a deep pass, because the receivers need time to run their routes and the quarterback needs time to get the ball down the field.
On this play, Shelton is working against Ahmed Hassanein (who was a sixth-round pick by the Lions in 2025) and was Boise State's best pass rusher in their CFP run. As Hassanein gets to the top of his rush, his arms swat away Shelton's attempt to land a punch/make contact with him. Quickly thought, Shelton recovers and gets both of his hands on Hassanein, which is all he needs.
The running back comes over and "chips" a little bit, but it didn't really have much of an impact on the play. By the time Hassanein turns back to the quarterback, Shelton's already got him right where he wants him, with both hands and his base set. Hassanein tries to push Shelton back, but to no avail, as the quarterback steps up into a clean pocket and launches the 38-yard touchdown throw.
Going beyond the first blocking assignment
Remember Shelton and his buddies on the offensive line helping spring a big rushing touchdown? They'll be doing the same thing this time around too. Instead of Shelton and the left side pulling though, they're crashing towards the middle of the line and it's the right guard and right tackle that're on the move the opposite way.
Same concept, different sides. Shelton and the left side do their part at the start of the play to take the middle of the defensive line away at the snap. Once that's secure, Shelton goes up to the second level and finds a linebacker that is unblocked with his eyes in the backfield, seeing what the running back will do before making a decision on where to fill.
Before he decides, Shelton's already got both hands on him and is driving him to the left side of the field. That also happens to be the same way the running back is headed, but by the time they get near each other, the back can make one cut behind Shelton's back and take it to the house, which is what he does. All the while, Shelton continues to finish the play and his block, even picking up a block on a third defender that's nowhere near his running back heading to the end zone just for good measure.
