The Dallas Cowboys are in the unenviable position of having several holes in need of filling and not many arrows in the quiver. After trading their fourth-round pick to the San Francisco 49ers for backup quarterback Trey Lance, Dallas is set to go over 80 selections between their third and fifth round slots.
Most Cowboys fans see this as a reason, an imperative really, to bail on either their first or second rounder in order to acquire another third or fourth round pick.
In a new mock scenario, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell has envisioned fair compensation for all 32 first round picks, and for the Cowboys, he plots out moving down in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs. He goes further though, also laying the ground work for a scenario where the Cowboys trade up in the first round, too.
Trade Details:
Chiefs get 1.24 (740 pts on Jimmy Johnson trade chart)
Cowboys get 1.32, 3.95, 5.159 (590+120+27.8 = 738.8 pts on chart)
The Cowboys are about to make a big financial splash, but it’s going to be on players they already have. CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons are due new deals that should reset their respective positional markets. Dak Prescott holds all the leverage in his negotiations with the Cowboys, as the quarterback is entering the final year of his deal and cannot be franchised before the 2025 campaign. Those three players have combined to make just under $48 million per year on their current deals; their new contracts could add up to $135 million per season.
The only way to make that work is to cut back elsewhere, which is why the Cowboys have let a handful of starters leave this offseason without replacements. They are going to need to draft well and draft often to thrive with such a top-heavy roster, so moving down and adding two extra picks is logical.
Trade details:
Cowboys get: 1.20, 4.119 (850+58 = 908 pts)
Steelers get: 1.24, 3.87, 5.174 (916.8 pts)
It’s rare to see two of the league’s most storied franchises come together on a trade, but there’s some logic here for both parties. For the Cowboys, this is a chance to move up ahead of the Dolphins and Eagles for interior offensive line help. Assuming that Dallas pushed Tyler Smith to left tackle on a full-time basis, it could be looking to add Graham Barton (Duke) — Mel Kiper Jr.’s top-ranked center — to play guard or center.
While it’s enticing to move up and get the better prospect, Dallas simply can’t afford to end up with less picks than they currently have. It Dallas did the Steelers trade as proposed and grabbed a center, they are likely okay on offensive line with TJ Bass starting at left guard.
The problem is they would only have 2.56 and 4.119 to fill the linebacker and DT holes, and if they did that they’d be waiting until the sixth round, again, to address running back, but that would now be in competition with adding a wideout to the mix, plus getting depth for any other position.
Of the three options, standing pat or moving back seem like the only sensible ones for Dallas.