Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has long been touted as a draft day dynamo, a wildcatting speculator who answers to nobody but himself. The real answer is far more boring, however, and his willingness to stand pat in the draft as it comes to him in recent years shows that fans might want to think twice before expecting a bombshell.
The 2021 NFL draft is unusual. As many as five quarterbacks could be coming off the board before the Cowboys hit the clock with slot 10. It’s quite possible they have their pick of the litter when it comes to defenders, something no team has had the luxury of that late in the draft since the Washington Football Team in 1999 when they took Hall of Fame cornerback Champ Bailey.
With all of that in mind, it would still be unwise to be so ill-prepared for a trade if the right opportunity presents itself, so it’s time to take a look at three possible trades that could occur.
Dallas Cowboys trades pick No. 10 to the Los Angeles Chargers for picks No. 13 and 77
In this scenario the Chargers are coming up for their tackle of choice. Depending on how the draft falls, Dallas could have three players closely graded that they’d be happy to take, likely the top two cornerbacks and an offensive tackle. They’d have to hold their breath that two of their NFC East rivals don’t make them pay for this small move.
Dallas Cowboys trades pick No. 10 to the New England Patriots for picks No. 15 and 46
The price for the Patriots is far higher than the Chargers had to pay because if this deal happens it’s likely that New England is moving up for a quarterback while Dallas will be, without some serious luck, missing out on their top targets available.
Currently dreams of working with the Patriots for a QB may be going up in smoke, with rumors connecting them to a reunion with Jimmy Garoppolo, but New England could still be interested in making a move for a wide receiver, for which they’d still consider jumping New York and Philadelphia. The bounty would be considerably less though.
Dallas Cowboys trade picks No. 44 and 75 to the Baltimore Ravens for pick No. 31
This could be a palatable move for both teams. For Dallas, there’s a player with the proverbial flashing light that is still available. Perhaps it’s an injury plagued pass rusher like Jaelan Phillips from Miami or Azeez Ojulari out of Georgia. Maybe it’s TCU’s safety Trevon Moehrig. For the Ravens, they move the lesser of their two late first-round picks.
It’s not impossible that a combination of the trades happen. As a matter of fact, a small trade back in the first round might increase the odds of a move up later on Thursday evening takes place as the extra capital gained can be used to aggressively pursue a player the team thinks highly of.
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