Cowboys Have 6 Trade Up Targets in NFL Draft?

The Cowboys are making trade calls. And in the case of a move up, it's not, in the eyes of other teams, just "chum.”

FRISCO - The word is out on the Dallas Cowboys' exploration of a trade in this year's NFL Draft, two teams front-office sources telling CowboysSI.com that Dallas has been making phone calls in attempts to trade up into the "top 14 or so.''

One of the sources added that the Cowboys are "desperate'' to do and that they have a specific and singular player in mind. That may still be true. But at another level - two levels, actually - there may be six targeted prospects.

The first level: Mississippi State tackle Charles Cross, USC receiver Drake London and Northern Iowa tackle Trevon Penning, maybe in that order. As NFL Network's Jane Slater noted, a move up into that aforementioned "top 14 or so'' would likely be necessary here, and such a move could cost Dallas its pick at No. 24 and maybe its second-rounder as well.

The next level, useful for players maybe before the No. 20 pick or so: Boston College guard Zion Johnson, Arkansas receiver Treylon Burks and Texas A&M guard Kenyon Green. That trade-up price could be a first and a third; it could be argued that Dallas might be better off sitting at No. 24 for one of these players, or a similarly "tiered'' prospect.

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The Cowboys are making trade calls. And in the case of a top-14 move, it's not, in the eyes of other teams, just "chum,'' the word owner Jerry Jones used to describe some of the deceptive action.

It is instructive to know that the Cowboys believe there are only 14 to 16 first-round-graded players in this class, meaning to truly acquire a blue-chip guy, a move up might be needed.

The scenarios really are all over the place for Dallas. I told you what 12-15 looked like for a trade up. 17-23 introduces a few more names and what it would cost. I’ll have the potential wipeout scenarios in the next hour. #Cowboys pic.twitter.com/dqldUKoAgo

— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) April 28, 2022

Said COO Stephen Jones: “(In the) first and second (rounds), it’s a little more thin than we’re used to. But I still think we’re going to have a great opportunity to really improve our football team, whether it’s at the 24th pick or if we decide to make a move to go up. There’s some players that would fit that category that you might be intrigued by.''

Are the Cowboys in the mood to "take a risk'' by paying for a potential home run, something less likely to exist by staying at 24?

"There is nothing dangerous about thinking crazy things,'' Jerry said. "We should think out of the box. We should be contrarians. That doesn’t mean that has to be that on that particular decision. But it is a part of thinking unconventionally.”

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