The Dallas Cowboys have a multitude of options when it comes to the 2025 NFL draft. One might think that a lesser draft class would prohibit movement, but perhaps the opposite is true. Perhaps teams are going to be more willing than ever to move around in the draft. The Cowboys free agency ways, filling up their depth chart with responsible contracts who could start if needed, allow Dallas the ability to make decisions based on what happens ahead of them.
But what if Dallas wants to take a stronger approach to roster building? The Cowboys have made themselves at home in recent years in the trade market. Could they revisit that in this year's first round and if so, which strategy would be the most beneficial? This series will examine and grade the six different types of first-round trades Dallas could make.
Trade No. 12 for a veteran
The Dallas Cowboys no longer look to trade up in the first round of the NFL draft. It's been 13 years since they went that route, packing their No. 14 and No. 45 picks in 2012 together to go up for cornerback Morris Claiborne. That failed trade changed a lot about how Dallas approached the draft process. They still will consider trading back in the first round in order to acquire additional draft assets, they tend not to stray too far down the draft order and they don't leave the first round completely.
Draft first rounders is the ultimate cheat code. Draft picks are available at wholesale prices; it's why it's the team's preferred method of talent acquistion. Rookie deals, especially after the wage scale was agreed to, are the way to get premiere talent for cheap prices. First rounders, thanks to the fifth-year option that allows an extra year of team control, are ridiculously valuable.
The Cowboys have only bailed on the first round three times in the Jerry Jones era. Interestingly enough, each time was to trade the pick for a wide receiver. The club gave up both their 2000 and 2001 first-round picks to bring in Seattle wideout Joey Galloway. In 2009, they used their first rounder to bring in Detroit wideout Roy Williams. Both of those trades were disasters, souring the club from doing so again for an entire decade.
In 2018 though, the team was so bereft of wide receiver talent, the gave up their 2019 first-round pick to the Raiders to bring in Amari Cooper.
Most of the wideouts Dallas would've considered trading for are already on new teams, and they weren't worth a first rounder. A couple names who could be on the move are from the AFC East, Miami's Tyreek Hill and New York's Garrett Wilson. Also possible is San Francisco's Brandon Aiyuk, though it's hard to imagine Hill or Aiyuk commanding the No. 12 pick considering their contracts.
Wideout isn't the only position to consider, though it's the one with a high dollar cost where a move might make sense. The team may also consider adding a defensive tackle this way if there's one on the market.
Our Rating: C+
Maybe it's a lack of foresight into who NFL teams would put on the trade block, but the window is small. The trade would have to be a young player, who has proven to be a star and has multiple years of control remaining. Then his original team would have to be disgruntled with him. Outside of that, this would be an unwise move.
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire:
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