Dallas Cowboys Trade Up in 2024 NFL Draft? The Cost of the Deal

With plenty of holes on both sides of the ball, and with a talented draft class, the Dallas Cowboys have a chance to be aggressive on selection night.

Apr 28, 2022; Las Vegas, NV, USA; A general view while the Dallas Cowboys make their pick during the / Gary Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Cowboys have never been against trading their picks on draft night.

They just haven't traded up for prospects very often recently.

Apr 28, 2022; Las Vegas, NV, USA; A general view while the Dallas Cowboys make their pick during the / Gary Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

In the last 10 seasons, the Cowboys have either traded back from their current draft slot, or stayed and took a particular player. The last two times Dallas has moved back in the draft were in 2021, when they swapped picks with the Philadelphia Eagles to acquire Micah Parsons, and in 2013 when they traded back with the San Francisco 49ers for center Travis Frederick. The last time Dallas traded up in the draft was 2012 when the Cowboys moved up to the sixth overall pick to take Morris Claiborne.

In short, it's happened before, but it isn't something recent that owner Jerry Jones is looking to accomplish.

With as deep a class as the 2024 group is, though, securing top talent should be the top priority for the Cowboys. That means potentially trading up with teams to acquire to players at high positions of value like offensive lineman, edge rusher, or even wide receiver.

What would a trade up cost, though? According to Drafttek.com - a site dedicated to scoring specific draft picks to determine potential trades, Dallas' 24th overall pick is valued at 740 points. Their second round pick (56th overall) is valued at 340 points. Together, that's 1,080 points.

The overall draft pick selection that matches that kind of value is the 15th overall pick - currently owned by the Las Vegas Raiders. At 15th overall, it could be a perfect spot to acquire top offensive linemen like Taliese Fuaga, or to net the best edge rushers in the draft like Dallas Turner. The drop off between Turner and a player like Chop Robinson or Fuaga and the likes of Tyler Guyton is significant. Guyton and Robinson could be available when the Cowboys pick at 24, but they are project players who may need a year to develop.

Fuaga or Turner are Day One starters immediately.

Should Dallas be reluctant to give up a second round pick, and instead look to trade their third-rounder (155 points), a potential trade could move them into the top 20 of the draft for players like Jared Verse out of Florida State, or even JC Latham out of Alabama.

In short, where the Cowboys currently stand, their draft needs are such that trading up for plug-and-play performers might be the best course of action to keep the entire group a contender. They may not have done so recently, but the 2024 draft class is ripe with talent, especially in places where Dallas is deficient in.