Stephen Jones left the door open for a trade back in the first round.
Any time we have talked about the upcoming NFL draft in recent days we have noted that at this point, with a week and change to go, you have to be careful with what is floating around out there.
Given that the draft is indeed so close that it is within an arm’s length, reports and rumors are all over the place. Some may wind up being true and born of legitimate honesty, but others are born out of gamesmanship that is played as everybody is trying to maximize their own individual potential of having the best results.
Consider that late last week it was reported that the first round of the draft would not feature much movement. That may still wind up being the case, but Dallas Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones stirred the pot in the opposite direction when he noted that he could see a situation where the Cowboys do indeed move down.
Stephen Jones on @1053thefan Fan on the upcoming draft: “I don’t necessarily see us moving up based on way the board is coming together but could see a situation where we move down.”
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) April 15, 2025
At the moment the Cowboys hold the 12th overall pick in the draft and moving down would likely reel in a third-round pick, obviously depending on exactly where Dallas moved to. It is very fair to argue (based on how the board falls) that this is the best possible outcome for the team.
Last time the Cowboys were picking this high (ish) was in 2021 when they held the 10th overall pick. They ultimately traded down with the Philadelphia Eagles to 12 and wound up with Micah Parsons. Pretty solid!
Normally we assume that a trade back depends on a team wanting to go up and grab a quarterback. For what it’s worth, that was true of the time in question that we are talking about with the Parsons result in 2021, but with a different NFC East team. Philly jumped the New York Giants (who were at 11) to take DeVonta Smith and New York ultimately traded back with Chicago as the Bears were moving up to select quarterback Justin Fields. Perhaps Mississippi’s Jaxson Dart, or someone else, could be that quarterback this year and therefore offer Dallas the opportunity to move back.
As Stephen noted in his appearance on 105.3 The Fan, any idea of Dallas trading up feels silly. Honestly it is difficult to find any fan who feels that this is a good idea, so this is news that we are happy to see.
We have about a week to go which means plenty more opportunities for Stephen and others to say this, that and the other. Buckle up. We are almost there.