The 2023 NFL Draft is only a few hours away. For the most part, we have a pretty good idea how the first 10 picks will play out.
What remains to be seen is how the night will play out for Dallas. They only have three options: Move up, stay put at #26, or move back – possibly out of the round itself. Jerry Jones’ comments earlier this week shed little light on their plans.
So lets take a look at all three options and what that means for the Cowboys. We’ll start with the safest option first, staying put with the 26th pick.
Standing Pat At 26
It really is the safest bet. You don’t give up other picks and you still end up with a solid player. Unless of course you pick the second coming of Taco Charlton.
Depending on how the round plays out, Dallas should be in great position to address needs on their offensive or defensive lines.
Barring an unexpected plunge by a player such as Jalen Carter or Bijan Robinson, Dallas will likely take a lineman from either side of the ball.
There are a couple of other players who could drop to them at 26. Tight Ends Michael Mayer and Dalton Kincaid could be there. Some reports have the Cowboys eyeing both players.
Running back could be addressed here if Robinson, or Alabama’s Jahmyr Gibbs are available. Wide receivers Quentin Johnson or Jaxson Smith-Njigba could fall to 26 as well.
Clearly, the Cowboys will have plenty of options – and a high probability – of selecting a solid player with their pick tonight. And they wouldn’t have to give up anything to get him.
The smart move here is to make no move at all. Stay at 26 and pick the best player available.
Trading Up
I would be fine with this move provided they don’t give up too much to do it, and that they don’t draft a tight end with the move.
Neither Mayer nor Kincaid are going to be worth the kind of contract a higher first round pick commands.
If they do move up they should target Atlanta’s eighth pick and take Robinson. He is going to be a game-changer in the NFL. The last thing the Cowboys need is to be facing him twice a year in an Eagles uniform.
Photo by Austin American Statesman
The only other move-up that they might pull off could be with the Patriots at #14.
New England’s needs could be filled at #26. But I doubt Robinson would still be there and the move would only be made for an ill-advised pick of a tight end.
The smart move here is to target the eighth pick. Otherwise, stay home at 26.
Trading Down
This move makes my eye twitch. Rarely has trading out of the first round worked out that well in the Jerry Jones’ Era. Too often players they could have taken have gone on to have great careers.
With only five picks behind them in the first round, any trade would almost certainly move them out of the round entirely.
There are too many solid players in positions of need for them to pass on.
The smart move here is to cut the phone lines to the War Room if a trade to move up doesn’t happen. The Cowboys will regret trading out of the first again.