If the Cowboys could trade up for Joe Burrow instead of signing Dak it makes better sense.
Burrows would then be under a rookie contract for five years, with a new and capable head coach in Mike McCarthy, and Kellen Moore leading the offense. The Cowboys would save big money compared to giving a big contract to a still unproven Dak Prescott.
The offensive line is still strong, and Zeke is still powerful.
In the short term and the long, trading up for Burrows is a no-brainer.
And signing Case Keenum would give them solid depth for a championship run by 2021.
It makes good sense every way you look at it.
It really makes no sense at all.
Even if we buy the fact that Joe Burrow is better than Dak. I'm an LSU fan and I am not certain I am ready to make that claim, even though I think Joe can be very, very good.
According to the trade calculator, the number one pick is worth 3000 points. Dallas's pick at 17 is worth 950. To get to move up that far, Dallas would have to offer our first round pick in 2020, 2021, and 2022. In addition to that, the Bengals are likely going to want more, considering they are dropping all the way to 17. So, to get Burrow, Dallas is going to have to offer 1sts in 2020, 2021, and 2022 and probably our second in 2020 as well as maybe a third in either 2021 and 2022. So while we will save the 35 plus million Dak would get, a number one pick like Burrow is going to get a contract that pays him roughly 7 million in cap space for this year. While that is considerably less than what the Cowboys would pay Dak, the Cowboys are going to have to spend money to make up the players we won't get as first and maybe second round picks in 2021 and 2022. So, the Cowboys would have to really allocate their cap resources well around Burrow because they would lack the picks to place less expensive talent around him.
So, there are four problems with this plan.
1. The draft capital to move up to get Burrow is enormous.
2. The savings is not as much as you think when we would have to pay free agents to make up the lack of players we can take at the top of the draft.
3. The Bengals have expressed no interest in trading the pick, which likely means the Cowboys have to offer more than the chart indicates just to get them to bite.
4. You have to hope Burrow really is better than Dak because after you pay that much in capital for him, there really is no looking elsewhere.