- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 413,725
- Reaction score
- 43
The Dallas Cowboys could go in multiple directions during the first round of the 2025 NFL draft; they aren't resigned to doing one thing or another. Returning to the free agency period this year, after a frustrating hiatus in 2024, allows Dallas the ability to make decisions based on what happens ahead of them in the first round.
What happens if things ahead of them wipe out their preferred options? This series will examine and grade the six different types of first-round trades Dallas could make.
If the Cowboys are interested in grabbing additional draft resources, how they feel about the group of second-round graded talent will be paramount in deciding how far down they'd be willing to drop. The standard trade value chart, or at least each team's internal ranking of value per pick, is pretty stagnant. What changes year over year is how much wiggle room a team assigns based on that year's prospect group. Pick No. 12, where Dallas sits, is always worth 1200 points, but in a weak class they may end up putting a markdown on the pick and accepting an offer of 1100-1180 for the pick.
Dire draft classes may mark it down even further. In what's perceived as a lackluster class though, the Cowboys aren't likely willing to drop outside the top 25 just to get multiple picks. Giving up that many options, Dallas would likely require a team to part with their first-round pick in the 2026 draft class.
While teams have different opinions on the value of draft picks in any given class (why both teams involved routinely brag about winning the trade), things are even more convoluted when adding in future compensation. A team can give up a future first rounder predicted to be in the 20s, lose their quarterback and all of a sudden it's a top-10 pick. The reverse, a team bubbling up from the doldrums could turn an expected top-15 pick into a late-round haul.
Some feel a future first-round pick should be valued as the equivalent of that team's current second rounder. Others feel like it should be seen as half of a middle-of-the-first pick, around 400-500 points.
In the Jerry Jones era, the Cowboys have never engaged in a trade where they brought in another team's first rounder, making it difficult to judge how Dallas views such things.
Our Rating: A+
If all of the Cowboys preferred targets are wiped out, but another team's target remains, the best-case scenario may be to look towards the 2026 draft class. If a team from pick 26 or later wants to move up and give Dallas their first rounder next season, this would be an ideal scenario.
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys' perfect draft move would be trading back, getting 2026 first
Continue reading...
What happens if things ahead of them wipe out their preferred options? This series will examine and grade the six different types of first-round trades Dallas could make.
Trade Down outside Top 25, grab future first-round pick
If the Cowboys are interested in grabbing additional draft resources, how they feel about the group of second-round graded talent will be paramount in deciding how far down they'd be willing to drop. The standard trade value chart, or at least each team's internal ranking of value per pick, is pretty stagnant. What changes year over year is how much wiggle room a team assigns based on that year's prospect group. Pick No. 12, where Dallas sits, is always worth 1200 points, but in a weak class they may end up putting a markdown on the pick and accepting an offer of 1100-1180 for the pick.
Dire draft classes may mark it down even further. In what's perceived as a lackluster class though, the Cowboys aren't likely willing to drop outside the top 25 just to get multiple picks. Giving up that many options, Dallas would likely require a team to part with their first-round pick in the 2026 draft class.
While teams have different opinions on the value of draft picks in any given class (why both teams involved routinely brag about winning the trade), things are even more convoluted when adding in future compensation. A team can give up a future first rounder predicted to be in the 20s, lose their quarterback and all of a sudden it's a top-10 pick. The reverse, a team bubbling up from the doldrums could turn an expected top-15 pick into a late-round haul.
Some feel a future first-round pick should be valued as the equivalent of that team's current second rounder. Others feel like it should be seen as half of a middle-of-the-first pick, around 400-500 points.
In the Jerry Jones era, the Cowboys have never engaged in a trade where they brought in another team's first rounder, making it difficult to judge how Dallas views such things.
Our Rating: A+
If all of the Cowboys preferred targets are wiped out, but another team's target remains, the best-case scenario may be to look towards the 2026 draft class. If a team from pick 26 or later wants to move up and give Dallas their first rounder next season, this would be an ideal scenario.
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys' perfect draft move would be trading back, getting 2026 first
Continue reading...
