The NFL draft is next week and teams are doing their best to come up with strategies to build their rosters for the 2021 season.
This is normally the time when phones start ringing about moving up or down in the draft, and with the No. 10 pick in their possession, the Dallas Cowboys are in a prime spot to receive some calls. Executive Vice President Stephen Jones recently joined the K&C Masterpiece on 105.3 The Fan, and when asked if teams have started to hit the Cowboy’s phone lines, he had this to say.
“It’s really just starting to pick up in terms of — I’m sure up at the top it’s hot because you could — we’ve already seen one trade been made,” Jones said. “But probably where we sit it’s we’re starting to get a few calls, and I think it will only pick up as we get closer to next Thursday. It will only pick up. They finally give you the call, ‘hey, if our guy’s there, we’d be interested in moving up to the pick’ and maybe even want to fill out a few things like what would it take and those type of things. So, you start to get yourself in a mode where you’re prepared that a particular team could call if their player, whether it’s a quarterback or an offensive lineman or a defensive player. They won’t divulge that usually, which shouldn’t surprise you. But they do say, ‘hey, we got a player, two, or three, that if they’re there, we might be willing to be aggressive and give you something to move up to that pick.’”
The Cowboys would likely trade down instead of up if the right offer materialized. A situation where a team was looking to move up to select a quarterback, or say a division rival looking to target a specific player would likely require a premium for Dallas to move away from the spot. Getting a future first round pick may or may not be possible, but a second-round pick could serve them well.
This could land the Cowboys a shot to grab a top-flight cornerback plus an elite safety. while also allowing them to address the interior of their defensive line with the 44th pick.
There are numerous configurations which could turn the bounty from finishing as one of 2020’s worst teams into multiple prospects.