Want the latest intel on what your Dallas Cowboys are saying, thinking and doing as it regards pick No. 12 in the first round of this month’s NFL Draft?
FRISCO - Want the latest intel on what your Dallas Cowboys are saying, thinking and doing as it regards pick No. 12 in the first round of this month’s NFL Draft?
You’ve come to the right place …
TAKE 1: THE FREAKS - Let’s assume that Ohio State’s Arvell Reese and Texas Tech’s David Bailey are snatched up well before Dallas selects at No. 12.
They’ve been hit with descriptive scouting-report words like “alien” and “freak.”
Barring a trade-up, those two EDGE studs won’t be Cowboys.
TAKE 2: THE BOGUS RUMOR - The trade-up price, by the way? A couple of media guys are “reporting’’ that Dallas is trying to use picks Nos. 12 and 92 to get to the Cardinals at No. 3 to take Bailey.
But …
The math doesn’t math.
That’s not even close to what the Trade Value Chart insists would be needed to pull that off. What would be more accurate? Picks Nos. 12 and 20 and 92.
So tap the brakes on those “reports.’’
TAKE 3: WHAT IF - But here’s why that’s OK: What if the guy sitting at No. 12 is almost as “alien freaky”? Or at least an insta-starter and eventual Pro Bowler?
TAKE 4: STICK AND PICK - That belief is why you stand pat - stick and pick - and hope for Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles or Ohio State safety Caleb Downs or LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane.
Most mocks suggest one of them is sliding to No. 12. … and that would be a Cowboys win.
TAKE 5: ‘RISERS AND REACHES’ - Now, who helps that happen? Let’s call ‘em “Risers and Reaches.”
Alabama QB Ty Simpson. Offensive lineman Monroe Freeling. Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq. Let somebody fall in love with them… And more defensive talent will fall to Dallas.
All it takes is one team to select a guy in the top 11 that Dallas views as unworthy of going that high … and the Cowboys can feel comfortable sitting in the driver’s seat at 12.
TAKE 6: THE JURY ON JERMOD - So Sonny Styles or Caleb Downs or Mansoor Delane sliding to 12? Cool.
But …
One more guy who could rejuvenate the defense is Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy. I know not every team is convinced on the health issue.
If Dallas isn’t, Dallas won’t go there.
If Dallas is? Maybe he’s an “alien freak,” too.
TAKE 7: A VETERAN MOVE - Does the possibility of a Cowboys trade or free agency signing in the coming weeks change anything mentioned above?
Maybe only the Styles idea. But if Dallas is serious about BAA/BPA? The Cowboys could in theory trade for Miami’s Jordyn Brooks or sign Washington’s Bobby Wagner and still hit the linebacker jackpot if Styles is still shockingly still available at 12.
TAKE 8: WIPEOUT! - What if the Cowboys board, as it regards defensive prospects, gets “wiped out”?
That is to say, all four of those aforementioned defensive guys are gone, gone, gone and gone. (Oh, and maybe Miami EDGE Rueben Bain is gone, too.)
In one scenario, maybe that means Notre Dame running back and Jeremiyah Love has slipped down to 12.
I guarantee you the Cowboys have a first-round grade on him and surely he’s ranked in their top 10 on the board. So … You take the generational talent.
Or …
TAKE 9: TRADE DOWN - You make sure that you have laid the groundwork for a trade-down from 12.
Find the needy or hungry team that wants their target and wants your pick.
Know that pick No. 12 is worth 1200 points on the Trade Value Chart. … I know that a fair trade for that pick is, for instance, the Steelers’ pick No. 21 in the first round and pick No. 53 in the second round.
You in theory don’t Love (pun intended) what is sitting there at 12 and so “four quarters equals a dollar” and you make that trade.
You grit your teeth as the Steelers draft Love. … but you build your roster with picks Nos. 20, 21, 53 and 92.
TAKE 10: THE FINAL WORD - The NFL has released offseason workout program dates.
The Cowboys’ first day will be April 20. OTAs are June 1-2, June 4, June 8-9 and June 11. Mandatory minicamp runs June 16-18.
I’ll be there every day. The guys who get drafted will, too. Somebody let George Pickens know about this schedule as well, will you please?
