Cowboys' draft trade with Lions looks even more genius as near-deal is revealed

The Dallas Cowboys have been harshly criticized because of their passive offseason. Despite being the NFL's most valuable franchise, they've spent the least money of any team by a significant margin. With training camp on the horizon, the draft is the only leg the front office has to stand on.

The Cowboys' 2024 draft class has already shown signs of promise. Second-round pick Marshawn Kneeland had multiple wins at OTAs against the first-team offensive line, while fourth-round choice Maris Liufau has drawn praise from Mike Zimmer and linebacker Damone Clark. Perhaps the biggest surprise thus far is fifth-rounder Ryan Flournoy, who was utterly dominant in team drills at minicamp.

All of that bodes well for the Cowboys, but the success of their 2024 class will hinge on the performance of Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe, whom were taken with the two picks they received in their first-round trade-back with the Lions.

The trade was a thing of genius and it looks so much better after the Cowboys were in deep talks about moving back with the Cardinals, who had the No. 27 pick.

Near-deal proves Cowboys fleeced Lions in first-round trade during NFL Draft

Per the clip (via the Cardinals YouTube channel), Arizona wanted the No. 24 overall pick (Dallas' original pick) and pick No. 174 for picks 27 and 104. The Cowboys ultimately traded back with the Lions for pick No. 29 and No. 73.

Essentially, Dallas moved back five picks in round one instead of three and still got their offensive tackle of choice in Guyton. Their interest in Guyton was evident throughout the pre-draft process. Seemingly every mock draft projected Guyton to the Cowboys with the 24th pick.

That alone is great business, but Dallas also got a third-round pick from Detroit instead of a fourth-rounder from Arizona. The No. 73 pick was the eighth pick in round three and a whopping 31 choices higher than what the Cardinals offered.

This allowed the Cowboys to take Beebe, one of the best interior offensive line prospects in the entire draft. The Athletic's Dane Brugler ranked Beebe as his No. 38 overall prospect in the class. As far as working the phones and getting the best deal possible, it simply does not get better than that.

Due to trades made last offseason, the Cowboys' entered the draft with just seven picks, including only three in the first 174 picks. With several roster holes, they needed to find a way to add an extra day two pick. They did just that and netted two day-one starters for their offensive line.

While Jerry Jones and Co. undoubtedly deserve criticism for how they've navigated the offseason (and previous trades), they deserve credit for knocking this deal out of the park. We could look back on it in two years as the trade that helped Dallas rebuild its offensive line on the fly.

The latest Cowboys news