A lot of Dallas Cowboys fans were upset when Caleb Downs trotted out for his first official practice with the team in the No. 18 jersey. It looked unnatural, but Downs quickly proved on the field, even in what were glorified walkthroughs, that he's the real deal.
The Cowboys are surely still feeling grateful that 10 teams passed on Downs. That includes the Miami Dolphins, who could have taken Downs at pick No. 11, before agreeing to take two fifth-round picks from Dallas to move down one spot to pick 12.
What if we told you Downs almost wasn’t a Cowboy? ESPN’s draft special, The Pick Is In, revealed that Dallas finalized its trade with Miami with seconds left on the 8-minute clock and rushed the Downs selection in just before time expired.
A stressed Stephen Jones asked the war room to be quiet while he filed the trade to the NFL Command Center. You can watch the footage behind this link.
The Dallas Cowboys' trade-up for Caleb Downs went right down to the wire
Phew.
If the Dolphins truly wanted Downs, they would’ve hung up immediately. They were never a real threat, but had Dallas not finalized the trade in time, another team could have jumped them.
Ironically, that’s exactly what happened to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were on the phone with a USC wide receiver while Dallas was on the clock at No. 20, right before the Philadelphia Eagles and Cowboys finalized a trade that sent the pick to Philadelphia for Lemon.
The Cowboys' trade-up from No. 12 was all about guaranteeing Downs and avoiding the risk of another team beating them to the punch. He was their guy all along, and they got him.
But Miami didn't make it easy.
The behind-the-scenes footage also revealed that the Cowboys first offered a single fifth-rounder. The Dolphins declined, saying they were going to stick and pick. That prompted Dallas to up its offer to two fifth-round picks, which got it over the line.
Just imagine the outrage if Stephen Jones didn't finalize the trade in time, or wasn't willing to offer a second fifth, and another team jumped Dallas for Downs. Luckily, we don't have to spend more than five seconds thinking about that.
The Cowboys had to act fast to secure Downs. It came uncomfortably close to falling through, but they got it done.
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