Hypothetical: if we did trade Zeke, what teams would be interested and what offers could we expect?

[xwalker]

They also have a different HC, which means different offensive preferences. Matt Lafleur was Tennessee's OC last year, St, Louis in 2017, Atlanta QB coach in 2015-16. All 3 of those previous instances had dominant run games with star RB's.

Plus, they have been spending money this offseason they never would have before, implying the GM is a very different guy than the last.

Aaron Jones appears to be a better RB than they've had in a while.
- He did end last season on IR.
- He has been practicing but has missed the past few practices with hamstring issues.

For the Cowboys, if they took Aaron Jones in a trade, he could holdout next year just like Zeke if he has a good year in 2019.

If the Cowboys wait, some good team could have an injury to a starting RB at which point they might over-pay in picks to trade for Zeke.


I'm more curious in regards to what if the Cowboys wanted to acquire a legit RB for 2019 before deciding on trading away Zeke.
- What would be good options?
- Duke Johnson is too similar to Tony Pollard, IMO.
- There are reports that Doug Martin looks good in training camp for the Raiders.

- What would it take to get a RB like Martin?​

 

[Aerolithe_Lion]

Aaron Jones appears to be a better RB than they've had in a while.
- He did end last season on IR.
- He has been practicing but has missed the past few practices with hamstring issues.

For the Cowboys, if they took Aaron Jones in a trade, he could holdout next year just like Zeke if he has a good year in 2019.

If the Cowboys wait, some good team could have an injury to a starting RB at which point they might over-pay in picks to trade for Zeke.


I'm more curious in regards to what if the Cowboys wanted to acquire a legit RB for 2019 before deciding on trading away Zeke.
- What would be good options?
- Duke Johnson is too similar to Tony Pollard, IMO.
- There are reports that Doug Martin looks good in training camp for the Raiders.

- What would it take to get a RB like Martin?​

What makes Zeke great is his bulk of carries with minimal injury risk. Aaron Jones has 1100 career rushing yards in 12 career games. If they traded him to Dallas now, you'd use him in a rotation with Alfred Morris and Tony Pollard, where Jones might get 600-800 rushing yards. What would he hold out for then? 5 mil a year? Maybe he'll get frisky and go for 8 mil a year. Plus you'll have the draft pick that came with him you could use on another Zeke, or at least a complement to Jones and Pollard.

 

[Sydla]

Less that Demarcus Lawrence. Maybe half what Dak will make.

But not cheap.

I mean what bottom franchise would want to pay a TB 17MM a year?

They wouldn’t.

 

[buybuydandavis]

But not cheap.

I mean what bottom franchise would want to pay a TB 17MM a year?

They wouldn’t.

RBs are marquee. They sell jerseys. Probably most popular players next to QBs. That's where I'd spend if I wanted to cheap out but maintain some fan interest.

 

[xwalker]

What makes Zeke great is his bulk of carries with minimal injury risk. Aaron Jones has 1100 career rushing yards in 12 career games. If they traded him to Dallas now, you'd use him in a rotation with Alfred Morris and Tony Pollard, where Jones might get 600-800 rushing yards. What would he hold out for then? 5 mil a year? Maybe he'll get frisky and go for 8 mil a year. Plus you'll have the draft pick that came with him you could use on another Zeke, or at least a complement to Jones and Pollard.

Possible Outcomes:
Jones "just OK".
Jones "Great" because Cowboys OLine live up to their pay and draft status.

If Jones "just OK": Cowboys lose the trade.
If Jones "Great & holds out": Cowboys lose the trade.

The underlying issue is that if the Cowboys give in to Zeke's demands, then other players are more likely to holdout in the future.

If a player like Aaron Jones did come in and have a great season, why wouldn't he holdout after seeing that Zeke got his way.

If the premise is that they're primarily just trading for Jones to play in 2019, then the Cowboys are not getting much more than a 2nd round pick.
- The pick is likely to be late in the round.

Other than giving Zeke a new contract, that means the options are:

Option A:
Wait and see if Zeke caves in and reports to play the season.
- He might also realize that they're not going to fold on the 5th year option either.

Option B:
- Trade Zeke for a "just OK" RB and a 2nd round pick.

 

[Proof]

They were not in the same draft...

Well duh. I guess I should have phrased better. In an entire league redraft

 

[xwalker]

Just because something hasn't happened before in the NFL doesn't mean it will not happen in the future.

Or....

No running back EVER won the season rushing title and his team went on to win the Super Bowl. Not one....

Until...

Emmitt did it three times.

So your assertion no team will pay a top draft pick for Zeke and then make him the highest paid player has a flaw. Because it hasn't been done in the past does not mean it won't happen.

I also disagree with the term dodging in your comment about the suspension. Please post proof he was the topic of discussion by the league in regard to a suspension for the rent-a-cop. You can't because that was never made public by the league. Just the talking heads and they speculate at best.

Lastly, I am far from being emotional about this. Fact is I might be the least emotional of most if not all of the people commenting on Zeke.

I see this as business that will get done in its own time and this season will not be affected. I do not believe the team cannot afford to pay all three. They have stated they have been preparing for this, so why should I not take that at face value.

I disagree with the sentiment that Zeke is a trouble maker. Immature, certainly. But this team has had some really bad boys in the past and Zeke is a choir boy compared to some of them. And that includes my favorite Cowboy Michael Irvin.

My opinion is people have been so immersed in the belief this is the year that they have gotten their feelings hurt about Zeke protecting his payday. The animus displayed is of spoiled children that didn't get a toy as mommy was shopping and now and throwing tantrums.

This is the very same rancor that Murray wen through. He stayed loyal and yet the fan base here turned on him the second the season was over. So this is not unique or new. This is a fan base that is intolerant and has no perspective.

And we now live in a world that someone is always wrong in every issue. Your team is being cheated on by a greedy running back who is a trouble maker. Let's just ignore his immense talent and start a character assassination because our feelings are hurt.

I have seen my share of trouble maker players in Dallas. Roy Tarpley was a huge talent that could not stay straight. The team had to just ride that horse until it dropped.

Zeke is not being disloyal. He is making certain that as the best running back in the league he is not going to get left out in the rain when it comes to a pay day. If this was such a travesty then why do the owners capitulate? They don't have to. But they do. Renegotiation are a thing in this league.

No sir, I am not emotional about this at all. I am just introducing logic to this discussion and refuse to get my panties in a wad and start a verbal assault on the running back that is the centerpiece for this offense.

I often disagree with @stasheroo but I think he is likely to be correct on this issue.

It's always possible that a team over-pays in a trade to get a player like Zeke.

However, it's a low probability that it happens considering all or the issues.
- Teams generally avoid giving up both draft picks and immediately giving out a big contract for the same player.
- When it does happen it's normally for a position that the team has struggled to fill in the draft or free agency.
- Teams really desperate for a RB probably either drafted one or signed a free agent.

Good Teams
It would make more sense for a good team that sees Zeke as pushing them over the top.
- Good teams usually didn't become good by over-paying in trades.

Bad Teams
For a bad team, Zeke likely just keeps them from getting a top 5 pick due to a few extra wins.
- They could just wait and draft a RB and the draft pick would not require a mega-contract.

The behavioral issues with Zeke just reduce the probability even further.
- He did get suspended in 2017.
- He was required to meet with Goodell in 2019.

 

[xwalker]

Well duh. I guess I should have phrased better. In an entire league redraft

In that case we don't know which one would have been drafted first originally.

Cooper: 2015 draft, 4th overall
Zeke: 2016 draft, 4th overall

As of today, if all NFL players were put into a veterans draft, then Cooper would almost certainly be drafted ahead of Zeke.

 

[Aerolithe_Lion]

Possible Outcomes:
Jones "just OK".
Jones "Great" because Cowboys OLine live up to their pay and draft status.

If Jones "just OK": Cowboys lose the trade.
If Jones "Great & holds out": Cowboys lose the trade.

The underlying issue is that if the Cowboys give in to Zeke's demands, then other players are more likely to holdout in the future.

If a player like Aaron Jones did come in and have a great season, why wouldn't he holdout after seeing that Zeke got his way.

If the premise is that they're primarily just trading for Jones to play in 2019, then the Cowboys are not getting much more than a 2nd round pick.
- The pick is likely to be late in the round.

Other than giving Zeke a new contract, that means the options are:

Option A:
Wait and see if Zeke caves in and reports to play the season.
- He might also realize that they're not going to fold on the 5th year option either.

Option B:
- Trade Zeke for a "just OK" RB and a 2nd round pick.

And then trade Jones in 2020 maybe? He’s only on year 3 of his 4 year rookie deal. Probably could get a third or better for him. By that time you’ll know what you have in Pollard and maybe you bring in another stud rookie or look into Melvin Gordon who may be a FA by then at 2/3 Zeke’s price... plus some draft picks from Zeke.

 

[Jake]

But not cheap.

I mean what bottom franchise would want to pay a TB 17MM a year?

They wouldn’t.

Le'Veon Bell signs $52.5m deal with New York Jets

 

[Proof]

In that case we don't know which one would have been drafted first originally.

Cooper: 2015 draft, 4th overall
Zeke: 2016 draft, 4th overall

As of today, if all NFL players were put into a veterans draft, then Cooper would almost certainly be drafted ahead of Zeke.

Why do you keep trying to apply the original drafts to this? It was a straight forward question dude. And I think Zeke would be drafted earlier

 

[buybuydandavis]

He's not "relatively" cheap when/if you hand him an elite, long term RB contract in a year or two.

Relative to Lawrence and Dak he is.