As Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones came out Wednesday saying he would trade up in the NFL Draft (which was a surprise for many), I was inspired to write up three predictions for the upcoming Draft.
As the biggest storyline is arguably around who they’re going to draft with their first-round pick, I give my three predictions that fans could expect to happen.
With that being said, check out my predictions below.
1. Cowboys trade up to the Top-15.
While some fans are hoping the Cowboys stay put at Pick 24, or even trade down, I’m rocking with what Jerry said and predicting that they move up in the first round. Every year you see prospects slide down than their projected rankings, so I envision the same happening in this draft, and the front office goes after a homerun selection early.
Now I understand that the franchise would lose draft capital and given their many needs on the team, it would be hard to justify moving multiple picks. However, Jones did say if another “CeeDee Lamb or Micah Parsons” type player was there, they would go after them.
Although his message was likely implied towards meaning if a top prospect fell to them at 24, I’m using the same energy towards them moving up. I can already hear Jones’s post-draft interview of how elated they were to see “x-player” within striking distance, and they felt obligated to trade up.
(Additionally, my bet is Jones uses some crazy analogy to justify the pick and all of us will be confused about how it relates.)
With the trade-up, I would expect them to target players like Ohio State Wide Receiver Chris Olave, LSU Cornerback Derek Stingley, USC Wide Receiver Drake London, Northern Iowa Tackle Trevor Penning, Florida State EDGE Jermaine Johnson, Mississippi State Tackle Charles Cross, and Georgia Defensive Tackle Jordan Davis.
2. The franchise drafts their Starting RB and TE of the future.
Entering this draft, the biggest needs for the Cowboys are arguably at OL, EDGE, and WR. Now you may be thinking: Well, why are you writing about them drafting an RB and TE if they aren’t a part of their biggest needs?
If you peek at next year’s free agency, you see that the only RBs the Cowboys will have under contract are Ezekiel Elliott and JaQuan Hardy. RBs Tony Pollard, Rico Dowdle, and Ryan Nall will all be free agents, so I see a big need for them to add depth.
On the TE side, although the franchise does have TE Dalton Schultz, he will be playing on a franchise tag this season, and if the club can’t work out a long-term deal with him they could be in trouble in 2023. Beyond Schultz, there is no proven backup and if they went the draft route they could find his possible successor while also saving money.
Jumping back to the RB situation, some may think that having Elliott on the team shouldn’t mean the franchise necessarily needs to draft an RB, but because of the rumblings that they may cut him next offseason to save money, you may be wrong.
Also, I understand the crowd that offers the idea of just resigning Pollard in free agency to help solve their RB situation, but if Elliott gets cut, there would still be no depth behind him.
With two prospects on rookie contracts, the franchise would set themselves up for the future and would be able to devote money to other players. For those who are curious about which prospects could be in play for them, check them out below.
RB Targets: Texas A&M RB Isaiah Spiller, Arizona State RB Rachaad White, UTSA RB Sincere McCormick, Notre Dame RB Kyren Williams, Georgia RB James Cook, Oklahoma RB Kennedy Brooks, and Alabama RB Brian Robinson Jr.
TE Targets: Iowa State TE Charlie Kolar, Washington TE Cade Otton, Texas A&M TE Jaden Wydermyer, Ohio State TE Jeremy Ruckert, SMU TE Grant Calcaterra, and Virginia TE Jelani Woods.
3. The Cowboys trade a late pick for Patriots WR N’Keal Harry.
Man, I’m just all about trades in this piece, huh?
With my last prediction, I have the Cowboys trading a late pick for Patriots WR N’Keal Harry. Harry, who has made it known publicly that he wants out of New England, would be a WR that the franchise can take a risk on and be someone they can get for cheap.
While it’s obvious that Harry hasn’t had the best start in his young NFL career, he still is a former first-round pick that NFL Draft Analyst Lance Zierlein once compared to Los Angeles WR Allen Robinson. Harry would add more competition to their WR Room and despite the possibility of them drafting a WR, adding Harry along with a potential prospect wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Overall, I’m not guaranteeing these three predictions are going to materialize, but it’s exciting to predict what’s going to happen on Draft Night. I admit that it would be more exciting if the franchise had a super-high pick or multiple picks, but the thought of them making moves in the draft is what keeps me engaged.
