NFL
Cowboys Trade-Up Talk Doubted by NFL GMs as Draft Smokescreen Emerges
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Philadelphia Eagles v Dallas Cowboys by Sam Hodde | Getty Images
The Dallas Cowboys continue to be mentioned in the media as a team most aggressively attempting to trade up in the top 10 of the draft, but NFL decisions makers SportsBoom have chatted with seem less convinced of that prospect.
Dallas is one of six teams with two selections in the first round of the draft on Thursday and are expected to lean heavily into the proposition of using both picks on defensive players, with their roster still a mess on that side of the ball and their offense boasting considerably more talent.
And while several teams are quite interested in moving down a few spots, Cleveland, Tennessee, Arizona, dropping all the way back to 12th overall is problematic for some of those clubs.
“I keep reading (Cowboys owner) Jerry (Jones) wants to move up, but I’m not sue why,” one general manager told SportsBoom.
“If he has a thing for (Ohio State safety Caleb) Downs, or (LSU corner Mansoor) Delane, you don’t think he gets one at 12…? Is the price you pay to get into the top three worth it, if you think about the value of that player versus what you get at 12?”
Did The Giants Trade Change Anything For The Cowboys?
The Giants landing the 10th overall pick via trade certainly altered the scope of the selections ahead of Dallas, but if New York becomes one of a growing number of teams we hear are very intrigued with the offensive line talent in that area of the draft, that will continue to drop defensive backs to the Cowboys at 12.
Their second pick could be a nice spot to land a pass-rush prospect. Or, perhaps…
“Maybe he moves up with the other pick (20th overall)?” one longtime evaluator told SportsBoom.
That might provide more value and would certainly come at a lower price.
While pass rushers like Arvell Reese and Davis Bailey are being viewed as the best of breed, this draft class is a shell of what the defensive line had to offer a year ago, and even those potential blue chip edge players who will invariably be taken in the top five come with some legitimate risk and warts.
It makes you wonder if some of the hype that continues to swirl around the Cowboys wanting to make a blockbuster move up the first-round draft board is being fueled by general managers who aren’t in love with the options they are looking at selecting in the top five.
La Canfora has covered over 20 Super Bowls and League Meetings and NFL drafts, building a wide network of sources throughout all aspects of the game. He was an award winning print journalist as well, working at The Detroit Free Press and The Baltimore Sun prior to his first stint at The Washington Post. He has covered sporting events around the world, including two Winter Olympics and all of the 2006 World Cup. He attended his first NFL game in 1978, and would soon kindle what has become a lifelong love and appreciation of the sport. La Canfora is also a professional handicapper, specializing in the NFL, creating a daily sports wagering game show - "Wanna Bet?" He also hosts nationally broadcast NFL radio shows in the US, as well as a daily sports radio show in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.