Despite putting up a 13-3 mark and earning the NFC’s top seed last season, the Dallas Cowboys have numerous holes they must fill on the defensive side of the ball.
The team lost both of its starting cornerbacks and safeties in free agecny. It also struggled big time in terms of putting pressure on the quarterback last season. All areas must be addressed in order for Dallas to improve off what we saw in 2016.
It’s in this that there has been some rumors floating around that Dallas may look to wheel and deal during next month’s draft in order to acquire more picks.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones touched on this recently, pretty much confirming that this could be the case when the draft comes calling next month.
“Near the bottom of the first, moving toward the top … this sets up for a little potential trade action to try to gain some value or try to hit an opportunity,” Jones said, via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
If Dallas were to move out of the 28th pick, it wouldn’t necessarily be that big of a surprise. Teams such as the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers, both picking at the top of Round 2, could look to move up for a quarterback.
We’ve seen this story repeated over and over again recently, with the Minnesota Vikings’ pursuit of Teddy Bridgewater at the end of Round 1 back in 2014 being the most-recent example.
This would enable Dallas to pick up more early-to-mid round picks in order to fill the vast amount of holes they have on the defensive side of the ball.
Then again, a trade-up scenario could be in the works as well. Should Dallas fall in love with a specific pass rusher or cornerback, it could decide to pay a bounty to acquire said player. It’s something Jones and Co. have not been afraid to do in the past.
“I have never looked at where we were when we started a draft and thought we are not going to get a very good player right there. The assumption being that is where you are going to be when you have to make a decision,” Jones continued. “All that plays out as it unfolds. There are some opportunities.”
Either way, it sure looks like Dallas might be wheeling and dealing come draft time. Whether that includes trading Tony Romo remains to be seen.