Broaddus: Cowboys Laying Ground Work for Trade Down

[InmanRoshi]

Who do you have in mind? You want to trade up for Cam Jordan as your signature indicates?

No, I want the Cowboys to stay put and draft whoever they think is the most likely to end up on the Ring of Honor someday. Not the person who is a "lock" to end up on the Ring of Honor, because there is no "lock" for such a thing and it's foolish to convince yourself you have to trade down if you don't see a "lock". There wasn't a "lock" that using the 11th pick in the draft on a former converted high school wide receiver from Troy State who couldn't get a scholarhship offer to a major BCS Program was going to turn into an perenial All Pro pass rusher. But you roll the dice on supremely talented players and depend on your coaches to get them to play up to their talents.

A top 10 draft pick is a rare chance to acquire an elite talent. Pretty much the only way to obtain elite talents is to draft them yourself, and typically draft them high. They don't hit free agency, and it's much harder to find a Demarcus Ware in the 3rd round. You can find marginal role fillers in the mid-rounds and through free agency.

Furthermore, a Top 10 pick is your "reward" as a fan for enduring through an atrocious season. And now I hear guys saying "Oh, just trade down to 19 or so, because you can probably find someone solid there to play right tackle". So that's where you've set the bar for the return for a Top 10 pick? The next Jon Stinchcomb or Ryan O'Callaghan? Wow, shoot for the stars. Dare to dream.