One intriguing draft/trade strategy for the Dallas Cowboys
By Matt Aaron
Local radio host Jeff Cavenaugh recently proposed a draft/trade strategy that has huge advantages for the Dallas Cowboys. But will they pull the trigger?
This time of year, most football punditry is pure speculation. It’s a little crazy, because no one knows what’s going to happen yet. But it’s so much fun.
Want to see all the different options for the Dallas Cowboys at safety in the draft? How about the top 10 free agent defensive tackles? Even better, let’s peruse 5,000 mock drafts! It’s a very specific kind of madness!
Last week, I was watching a Jeff Cavenaugh video on YouTube, and he had a very intriguing idea. Cavenaugh, a radio host on the Fan in Dallas, who also has a regular show on the video site, proposed a trade idea that I hadn’t heard before.
The opportunity arises from a dilemma. If you’re a draft junkie, you might have noticed that this looks to be a banner year for wide receivers in the draft. So, when it comes to pick number 17 in many mock drafts, the best player on the board is often a receiver.
That’s a little frustrating for fans who want the Cowboys to cast their highest picks on defense. On the one hand, you want Dallas to draft the best player available, but you also want them to bolster their defense. It’s a dilemma.
Cavenaugh came up with one strategy that might just address both issues successfully. The cream of this year’s wide receiver targets are CeeDee Lamb from Oklahoma, Jerry Jeudy and the speedster Henry, both from Alabama. All three have the potential to be stars in the NFL, and all are projected to go in the first round.
Let’s say that the best defensive targets are off the board when Dallas’s number is called on draft day, but one or more of those three receivers are still available. In his show Jeffrey Time, Cavenaugh suggested that the Cowboys draft the receiver, then trade Amari Cooper for draft picks.
The second I heard this, I was floored. It immediately struck me as a genius idea, because it cuts a Gordian knot of problems for the Cowboys. Though pretty far out in left field, it’s a tremendously fun idea. Follow me on this.
The Cowboys are in a little bit of a pickle with the salary cap. On paper, they have plenty of room, with $77 million in space according to overthecap.com.
But once you figure in quarterback Dak Prescott’s and star wide receiver Amari Cooper’s salaries, all of a sudden, they don’t have much capital left. In fact, the current speculation is that the team will let Pro Bowl cornerback Byron Jones walk in free agency because he’ll be too expensive to sign.
But what if you could dump Cooper’s salary, gain another Pro Bowl-level receiver, all without giving up the first-round draft pick the Cowboys traded away for Cooper? The thinking up till now is that Dallas has to either sign Cooper or let him walk.
But there’s a third option. Cavenaugh suggested the Cowboys franchise tag Cooper, then trade him.