Given that the Cowboys have so many holes to fill on their roster, do you think the team should trade in the draft to acquire additional picks? – Rob Riggeri/Rutland, Massachusetts
Nick Eatman: This may seem obvious to some, but it's worth repeating how trading actually works. I've heard people say over and over again that the Cowboys should trade up or trade down or trade for this player or that player. As long as everyone realizes that the deal needs to be agreed upon by both parties. I think everyone knows that, but sometimes we forget. When they drafted him with the 24th pick two years ago, many fans asked why they “took” him when they could have taken him in the second round. I remember that. Fans argued that the pick should have been traded away. Well, if no one proposes a deal, it doesn't always work out. Sometimes teams entertain it, but that doesn't mean they can get meaningful picks on the back end. But in a perfect world, the Cowboys would be sitting at No. 24 on him, he'd have five or six players they could take there, and someone would be looking to move up for that pick, giving you Are you going to give him a third-round pick, or probably will? If it's number 4 and 5, I'll definitely consider it. The Cowboys need more draft picks, but they also need good players to help them right now. Therefore, moving too far down is also a risk. If a suitable trade is available, the Cowboys should consider it, and knowing Jerry, he would do it.
cart: In short, I think the Cowboys need to trade for additional picks. Last week, a reporter from The Athletic published an article digging into this topic and what's seriously wrong with the way NFL teams draft. In a nutshell, thorough research has shown that the draft is so bad that there is usually more value in having more picks than picking higher. Consider that less than 10 percent of the players selected actually go on to have careers that are considered great, and the remaining 20 percent or so are considered average or good players. In other words, 70 percent of players drafted don't make it, including first-round picks. A total of 14 quarterbacks were selected in the top five from 2011 to 2020, according to an article in the Washington Post. Only five of those players can be considered franchise quarterbacks. Do you like those probabilities? The Athletic goes on to say, “The more darts you hit, the more likely you are to end up hitting the target.” While this is certainly an interesting perspective, no NFL team seems to consistently follow that philosophy. However, given the situation the Cowboys are in this year, I think they will make a trade on draft day to acquire additional picks. They are in a perfect situation to move down for more draft capital while acquiring a player (hopefully a player) who can help them right away. That makes sense.
