"At least one" draft-day trade for Cowboys - Jon Machota, SportsDay
In a recent chat Machota was aked whether there would be any draft-day trades for the Cowboys. Here's his reply.
Jon Machota: My guess is there will be at least one. The Cowboys have been known for their wheeling and dealing during the draft. In recent years they've moved up to get Morris Claiborne and DeMarcus Lawrence and moved back to gain an extra pick before drafting Travis Frederick.
Jerry Jones recently said sitting at the 28th spot in the first round "sets up for a little potential trade action to try to gain some value or try to hit an opportunity." The Cowboys currently have seven picks. I believe they'll try to acquire an extra one somehow. I wouldn't be surprised if they make eight selections when everything is said and done.
Twitter mailbag: Trading down in the first round? - Todd Archer, ESPN
A reader wonders which player would have to fall to 28 to entice another team to trade with Dallas. Archer's response:
I think you always look for a quarterback to fall for that scenario to come to fruition. Last year, the Cowboys attempted to trade back into the first round with the Seattle Seahawks at No. 26 but were rebuffed when the Denver Broncos got the deal done. In 2014, the Seahawks gave up the 32nd pick so the Minnesota Vikings could take Teddy Bridgewater.
For the Cowboys, it is best to hope a Mitch Trubisky, Deshaun Watson, DeShone Kizer, Davis Webb or Patrick Mahomes is still there when they pick at No. 28 and a team with an early pick in the second round wants to make a move up and secure the chance for a fifth-year option on a quarterback.
If it’s not a quarterback, I don’t see the Cowboys making a move. I would stick and pick the best defensive lineman available. No need to get cute.
Under what scenarios could Packers trade their first-round pick? - Tex Western, Acme Packing Company
The Packers are sitting one spot below the Cowboys, and while they might like to move down in the draft, they might have a hard time finding takers.
Moving down into round two and picking up an additional pick or two seems like a plausible strategy to pursue. The question there is whether the Packers can find a trade partner when they go on the clock at 29.
Perhaps the key will be whether any of the quarterbacks begin to tumble and if a QB-needy team would like to sneak back into the bottom of round one to snag somebody. If a player like Patrick Mahomes is still there, that scenario seems feasible.
Why we likely won't see many first-round trades - Michael Renner, PFF
Renner hypothesizes why there could be only few teams interested in trading up into the first round.
In this draft — more than any in recent memory — I anticipate a first round with very few trades. The reason being: I can’t think of too many players I’d fall in love with enough to part with picks. Outside of edge defender Myles Garrett and linebacker Reuben Foster, there’s a legitimate debate for the top player at almost every single position on the field. Now, there is some scarcity at positions, like offensive tackle and maybe wide receiver, where if you don’t get one of the top three there’s a dropoff, but that’s about it.
The loaded nature at the top is only one half of the equation. The other half is that there are guys who’ll go in the second round this year that would have easily been first-rounders a year ago. The 36th player on PFF’s final draft board in 2016 was Noah Spence, who at the time we knew was limited to a pass-rusher-only role in the pros. This season, the 36th player on our 2017 board is Taco Charlton, a complete defensive end who will be able to do it all right away. If Spence was in this class, he’d likely be slotted around 72nd, where we have Illinois’ Dawuane Smoot at the moment. Position-by-position, those same sorts of translations can be made. The fact of the matter is, if you’re forfeiting an early-round pick via trade, chances are you’re passing up an immediate starter.
2017 NFL mock draft: Big trades shake up latest 3-round projections - Luke Easterling, The Draft Wire
Interesting mock in which Easterling has the Bengals trading up into the Cowboys' 28th spot for picks 41 and 73. Here's what Easterling has them doing with their four picks in rounds two and three
28. Cincinnati Bengals (from DAL)* - Joe Mixon, RB, Oklahoma
The Bengals have two fourth-rounders, so they use their third-round pick to jump back into the first round for a difference-maker at running back. His off-field concerns are serious, but his on-field talent could easily entice the Bengals to make this move.
41. Dallas Cowboys (from CIN)* - Carl Lawson, EDGE, Auburn
60. Dallas Cowboys - Justin Evans, S, Texas A&M
73. Dallas Cowboys (from CIN)* - Carlos Henderson, WR, Louisiana Tech
92. Dallas Cowboys - Howard Wilson, CB, Houston
DeMarcus Ware had offer from Cowboys, two other teams before deciding to retire - SportsDay Staff
The DMN quotes a story from the Denver Post that says DeMarcus Ware had offers from three NFL teams - including the Cowboys, the team that drafted him - before deciding to retire. We're sticking with the DMN headline, but we're pulling the quote directly from the Denver Post.
In February, during the week of festivities for Super Bowl LI in Houston, Ware told anyone who would listen that he was coming back for a 13th NFL season. And he meant every word. Two months had passed since his back surgery, and he felt better than he did when he signed with Denver in 2014.
Something changed in Ware between early February and mid-March, and it had nothing to do with opportunity, or lack thereof. Ware says he had offers from three teams — the Rams, Cowboys and Broncos — and he believes he could have performed well for any of them. In fact, he admits that had his contract with the Broncos not expired, he would have been back this year. But his recent thoughts extended beyond 2017.
"You start thinking about your quality of life," he says. "You still have the desire to get out there and play and compete and win championships. But my body was talking to me."
What if his troublesome back were to give out when he tried to lift his 9-year-old daughter? What if he could no longer playfully wrestle with his 6-year-old son, or help coach him in flag football?
"Football life is pretty short," says Ware, 34. "But your life after football is a long time, and what type of quality do you have?"
Re-signing Darren McFadden pleases player, owner - Tim Cooper, Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Some home-state perspective on McFadden coming back to the Cowboys.
Darren McFadden's re-signing with the Dallas Cowboys last month did not produce national headlines, but Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says the former player with the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville will play an important role in the Cowboys' future.
"Darren is such a leader," Jones said Thursday. "We talk about Jason Witten and his leadership but Darren McFadden is unbelievable. ... He can add such a dynamic aspect to our offense. We have Zeke (running back Ezekiel Elliott) out there, but he can't carry them all. I don't think Darren has lost a second in his step. Unfortunately he had an injured wrist last year, but now he's as healthy as he has been in his career."
Odds on Richard Sherman's future NFL team: Cowboys 3rd - SportsDay Staff
The bookmakers have weighed in on Sherman's future and offer the following odds:
New Orleans Saints, +175
Tennessee Titans, +250
Dallas Cowboys, +350
Oakland Raiders, +500
Atlanta Falcons, +750
Jacksonville Jaguars, +1,000
New England Patriots, +1,250
Seattle Seahawks, +3,000
Green Bay Packers, +3,500
Field (Any Other Team), +450
Seth Russell, Jerod Evans, Matt Davis among Dallas Day workouts - Todd Archer, ESPN
The Cowboys are looking for a No. 3 QB, and may end up finding him among the six college quarterbacks with local ties who worked out for the Cowboys on Friday.
They have not had a quarterback among their national visitors to The Star so far, but with their "Dallas Day" workouts Friday, they will have six local quarterbacks in for workouts, including Baylor’s Seth Russell, Virginia Tech’s Jerod Evans and SMU’s Matt Davis.
The Cowboys also have West Virginia’s Skyler Howard (Fort Worth), UT-San Antonio’s Jared Johnson (South Grand Prairie) and Tulsa’s Dane Evans (Mansfield) in for the workout.
At Least 20 Local Prospects Work Out At "Dallas Day" - Blogging The Boys
The Cowboys hosted "Dallas Day" on Friday for draft-eligible players with local roots. Here are 20 of the approximately 50 or so players the Cowboys worked out on Friday.
CBS Rank | Name | POS | College | Proj. Rd. | Height | Weight | Source |
121 | Daeshon Hall | DE | Texas A&M | 3-4 | 6-5 | 266 | DMN |
193 | Jerod Evans | QB | Virginia Tech | 5-6 | 6-3 | 232 | Bill Jones |
297 | Seth Russell | QB | Baylor | 7-FA | 6-3 | 213 | Charean Williams |
455 | Dane Evans | QB | Tulsa | - - | 6-0 | 210 | Todd Archer |
615 | Money Hunter | S | Arkansas State | - - | 6-1 | 210 | |
675 | Dontre Wilson | WR | Ohio State | - - | 5-10 | 183 | Brandon George |
711 | Tyrone Swoopes | TE | Texas | - - | 6-3 | 249 | |
742 | Chris Odom | DE | Arkansas State | - - | 6-4 | 262 | Bobby Belt |
762 | Kendall Sanders | WR | Arkansas State | - - | 5-11 | 196 | Bobby Belt |
780 | Skyler Howard | QB | West Virginia | - - | 5-11 | 207 | Todd Archer |
858 | Lenzy Pipkins | CB | Oklahoma State | - - | 6-0 | 196 | Aaron Wilson |
885 | Raheem Wilson | CB | Southeastern Oklahoma | - - | 5-10 | 179 | Arrowhead Addict |
- - | Dakota Austin | CB | Oklahoma | - - | 5-10 | 163 | Aaron Wilson |
- - | Trent Gow | TE | Tarleton State | - - | 6-2 | 260 | |
- - | Collin Rison |
TE | Sam Houston State |
- - | 6-4 | 235 | |
- - | Matt Davis | QB | SMU | - - | 6-0 | 212 | Todd Archer |
- - | Jared Johnson | QB | UTSA | - - | 6-1 | 225 | Todd Archer |
- - | Erick Evans | RB | Tennessee State | - - | 5-10 | 185 | |
- - | Lance Evans | WR | Texas AM-Commerce |
- - | 6-3 | 180 | |
- - | Curtis Riser | OL | Sam Houston State | - - | 6-4 | 320 |
Why NFL Owners Won't End Marijuana Testing Even Though They Don't Want It Anymore - Dom Cosentino, The Onion
If you thought the NFL would change its stance on marijuana anytime soon, you're probably going to be disappointed.
So: At a time when teams are being smacked from all directions by lawsuits from former players alleging those teams distributed addictive pain killers like they were Milk Duds, management doesn’t seem too concerned with all the knock-on effects of banning weed. But rather than make a show of magnanimity or common sense, the owners still intend to treat marijuana as just another bargaining chip. This news is at once deeply cynical and wholly unsurprising.