Cowboys 2021 NFL Draft: 5 first-round scenarios to ponder

Make the Pick – #5 Overall Pick

With the fifth pick, the Dallas Cowboys select receiver Ja’Marr Chase out of Louisiana State University. Those words would give some fans meltdown material as the Cowboys took Ceedee Lamb just a few months ago.

Take a closer look at this though as it could be surprising. The Cowboys will be looking to find a way to keep Michael Gallup which would be a cheaper deal than what Amari Cooper currently has. Is it possible that the Cowboys carry all four of these receivers until the 2022 offseason then release or trade Coop?

Doing so would leave Dallas with two superstar receivers on their rookie deals and Gallup happy with a fair but lucrative deal. The firepower for Prescott would rival that of the Kansas City Chiefs. The defense would be neglected yet again but outscoring your opponents seems to be the focus for this new coaching staff.

With the fifth pick, the Dallas Cowboys select Miami defensive end, Gregory Rousseau. Now Rousseau has put up some big numbers in his career at Miami but my initial impression is that he is almost a K’Lavon Chaisson clone.

I get that spending a pick on a guy that resembles a first-round reach is funny but the tools this guy has are just as impressive as Chaisson but he has actually applied what he has learned in college. Chaisson was more about potential last year and has struggled thus far this season.

Rousseau has the potential to be a very good defensive end in this league. While his ceiling is very high, his floor looks to be like Randy Gregory.

Trade the Pick

Trading the pick is more feasible here than before. If the players the team targets are no longer here, I would expect the Cowboys to trade down and the entire first round seems plausible. Drafting a player with a premium pick simply because he is available is not enough. His grade has to fit the selection spot.

Not doing so results in high expectations and fan fallout. That is how teams end up with players like defensive end Taco Charlton. The Cowboys had a second-round grade on taco but took him with their first-round pick.

If Charlton was the team’s second-round pick, there is a chance he is still on this team.

The Verdict

Trading the pick feels like the likely route if both Surtain and Parsons are gone and that is what I am going with. There are different stages in NFL draft evaluations and my extremely early overview of the potential prospects feels like there is a big gap with regard to talent.

We are a long way from NFL draft scenarios but one thing is for certain, the Dallas Cowboys will have plenty of options if they indeed land a top-five selection.