Cowboys fans have been obsessing for months- and will continue to for another three weeks- over who the team should select with the 12th overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft. The roster needs are certainly plenty: running back, wide receiver, cornerback, offensive line, even defensive line, to name just the biggies.
Grabbing an elite talent in the first half of the first round is indeed a tantalizing notion, a silver lining that makes the previous year's disappointing 7-10 finish a little easier to stomach.
But Jerry Jones & Co. have shown themselves more than willing, especially in recent years, to slide back just a few spots in the opening round in a trade. The idea, of course, is to let some other eager team jump the line to get their guy- usually with at least a gut feeling that it's not who the Cowboys were targeting- while still ending up with a top option... and also collecting extra draft capital to use somewhere down the line.
NFL.com draft analyst Chad Reuter believes they should go to that well again in 2025.
In a list of six win-win first-round trades teams should make, Reuter's first order of hypothetical business is a deal between Dallas and Denver that leaves both clubs in better shape than they currently are.
The Cowboys and Broncos should swap first-rounders, Reuter says, with Denver taking over the 12th overall pick and also getting Dallas's fifth-rounder, No. 149. The Cowboys get the 20th pick plus an additional second-rounder, No. 51, to go with the 44th overall selection they already own.
With the 12th pick, Broncos head coach Sean Payton would likely have his choice of this year's two premier tight ends, Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland. He could also look at wide receivers Tetairoa McMillan (Arizona) and Matthew Golden (Texas), he writes, "if Courtland Sutton is not in the team's plan past his upcoming contract season."
Granted, McMillan and Golden are probably high on Dallas's big board, too, given the Cowboys' need for an upgraded pass-catching threat opposite CeeDee Lamb. But Reuter suggests there's a good chance Golden or Emeka Egbuka (Ohio State) would still be there for the team to take with the 20th pick obtained from Denver.
Dallas would no doubt be thrilled with either player. But, of course, they also get an extra early pick in the process.
That strategy worked out beautifully in 2021. The Cowboys originally held the 10th pick, but traded it to Philadelphia in exchange for the 12th overall selection plus a third-rounder. They ended up with Micah Parsons and Chauncey Golston.
The Cowboys did it again last year, dropping from 24th to 29th in a deal with Detroit. Dallas still got Tyler Guyton plus a third-rounder that they used on Cooper Beebe, and it cost them just a seventh-round pick this year.
Reuter points out that the entire scenario may hinge on Ashton Jeanty's availability. If the Boise State running back is there for the taking when Dallas is on the clock with the the 12th pick, then all bets may be off. The need for a top-flight workhorse back is too important to head coach Brian Schottenheimer's offensive plans, and Jeanty may be simply too intriguing a prospect to pass on if he's there.
But, Reuter acknowledges, if the Cowboys thought they could do this deal and come away with North Carolina ballcarrier Omarion Hampton at 20... and then still get one of the top receivers with their 44th overall pick... and still have another ...
