The Dallas Cowboys are going to get a great football player in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. I mean, they should because picking 10th overall will put them in fabulous position to score one of the elite college prospects. It would be fantastic if that talented player also played a position where the team needed some help, but that might be asking for too much. Hopefully, they just take the most talented player and let everything else sort itself out.

While the Cowboys should get someone good, the same is likely to also be true for their division rivals. We all know the NFC East was a dumpster fire this past season, so all the non-division winning teams from this group will pick in the top 11 of the draft. Even the division champs from Washington pick inside the top 20, so they’re in line to get something pretty good too. Here is where the Cowboys division rivals are currently slated to pick:

• 6th overall - Philadelphia Eagles
• 11th overall - New York Giants
• 19th overall - Washington Football Team

With the Cowboys division rivals in position to get good players, are there any players you hope stay out of their hands? What is your worst nightmare draft scenario involving a rival team? Let’s examine.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

The Eagles have been absolutely terrible at finding wide receivers. They’ve tried to find answers through free agency with players like Alshon Jeffrey and Desean Jackson, but injuries have severely hampered their ability to contribute, resulting in some wasteful cap resources.

They’ve also spent plenty of draft capital on receivers in recent drafts as they’ve used two first-round picks over the last six drafts for what they believed would be a true difference maker. In 2015, they selected Nelson Agholor with pick 20 in 2015. In his five years with the Eagles, Agholor never reached an 800-yard receiving season. And last year, they selected TCU’s Jalen Reagor with the 21st pick. While it’s still early, the rookie did not impress as he had less than 400 yards receiving (ranking him 12th for all rookies) and only scored one touchdown. That’s over 1,000 yards less than what rookie Justin Jefferson had, who was selected with the very next pick by the Minnesota Vikings.

The Eagles just haven’t been good at drafting wide receivers, but they’re luck could change this year as they are in great position to land a great young talent.

With the sixth-overall pick, the Philadelphia Eagles select...

DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama

While LSU’s La’Marr Chase is a name that comes up a lot for the Eagles’ mock drafts, there’s another receiver I would not want to see with wings on his helmet this upcoming season. The quickness and ball-catching ability of Alabama’s DeVonta Smith could finally give the Eagles a premier talent at the position. It would even re-unite him with his former teammate as Jalen Hurts played three years in Alabama before transferring to Oklahoma, the last two throwing passes to Smith.

NEW YORK GIANTS

My biggest fear last in last year’s draft was watching the Giants take the super athletic tackle from Iowa, Tristan Wirfs. Fortunately, New York had another offensive tackle on their radar as they selected Georgia’s Andrew Thomas with their no. 4 overall pick. The rookie saw action right out of the gate as he started all 16 games due to Nate Solder opting out of the 2020 season (COVID). Thomas was fine, but Wirfs had an outstanding year and ended up blocking for Tom Brady in the Super Bowl.

If first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

With the eleventh-overall pick, the New York Giants select...

Rashawn Slater, OT/G, Northwestern

With Solder being 33 years old, and last year’s starting right tackle Cameron Fleming a free agent, the Giants should continue to look to revamp that offensive line. Northwestern’s Rashawn Slater is the second most talented offensive linemen in the draft following Oregon’s Penei Sewell, and he can play both inside and out, offering the Giants extra flexibility as they sort things out. Slater is a name who has came up for the Cowboys as a potential choice for pick 10, and for good reason. He’s a talented player who could be a strong fixture along the offensive line for many years, and the last thing we’d want is to have the Cowboys go against him twice a year.

WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM

Washington landed a superstar edge rusher in Chase Young as last as they made him their no. 2 overall pick. Of course, that was a no-brainer pick. His impact was immediately felt as he had 7.5 sacks and earned Pro Bowl honors right out the gate. Young’s presence along the edge, combined with teammate Montez Sweat, helped lead a strong Washington defense. In fact, the team finished the season allowing the second-fewest yards in the league. Now, if only they could get some help on offense.

It’s hard to believe that Washington had a top 10 scoring offense not too long ago, but that’s what they had with Kirk Cousins at the helm. And the team has never recovered from letting him walk away in free agency. I mean what team in their right mind franchise tags their quarterback two years in a row, am I right?

Since then, Washington’s offense has finished 25th or worse in points scored for three straight seasons, and that’s a crying shame too because they have a defense that could make them great if they could just get some things worked out on offense. And now is the time to do just that.

***WE HAVE A TRADE***

With the eleventh-overall pick, the Washington Football Team select...

Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State

Washington could make a big move and take a chance by going after the high-risk/high-reward quarterback, Trey Lance of North Dakota State. Things should get crazy as the QB sweepstakes always is, and we could see a Cowboys division rival get right in the middle of it. Washington is actually a good landing spot for a player like Lance as they could leverage off the veteran presence of Alex Smith while they develop their young star.

Recently, Dane Brugler from The Athletic completed his mock 3.0 and he has Washington making a move for Lance.

Washington Football Team receives:

2021 first-round pick (No. 7 overall)

Detroit Lions receive:

2021 first-round pick (No. 19 overall)

2021 third-round pick (No. 82 overall)

2022 first-round pick

With Alex Smith, Kyle Allen and Taylor Heinicke, Washington has several short-term options at quarterback. But Lance would give the organization a young, high-upside player with the physical talent and football character that translates well to the pro level. With the competition for quarterbacks in this draft, it will likely take multiple draft picks, including a future first, to make this deal happen for Washington.

It’s risky, but do we really want Washington to have a chance to build around a young talent throughout a cheap rookie contract? I profess that we do not.

What is your worst nightmare first-round draft scenario for a rival team of the Cowboys?