What if the Dallas Cowboys knew CeeDee Lamb would fall to them?

In a parallel universe where Jerry Jones could see into the future…

It’s an intriguing scenario, isn’t it? Because there really would be this immediate question: Should the team have still signed Pro Bowl receiver Cooper? Or would they have been better off keeping the defensive Pro Bowler, cornerback Byron Jones, instead?

I know, just as above, most of us have a knee jerk reaction to this question. But in reality, a smart team would have to consider all the possible consequences. On the one hand, it’s true that if the Cowboys had let Cooper go, they would have gotten very little for their first-round pick.

On the other hand, that leaves out a number of considerations.  Such as:

• If Dallas had let Cooper go, they could have kept Jones.
• Plus, they would have had an extra five million dollars to sign another free agent or keep for quarterback Dak Prescott’s contract.
• On top of that, they would have gotten a compensatory third-round pick next year for Cooper. (They might get that for Jones anyway.)

Think about it. The first-round pick is already gone. It’s never coming back. So, the question really would be, who’d you rather keep: a shutdown cornerback in Jones, or one of the best wide receivers in the league in Cooper?

That’s the decision they faced last season and chose Cooper. But would they have made the same choice if they’d known Lamb was destined to have a star on his helmet?

Again, let’s look at the repercussions. With Cooper, Michael Gallup, and Lamb, Dallas is projected to have one of the best, if not the very best receiver corps in the NFL this year. But with just Gallup and Lamb, they’d still have two very talented pass catchers, maybe one of the better tandems in the league anyway, plus have an excellent pair of cornerbacks as well.