Staying Put vs. Selling the House

Conventional wisdom would say the Cowboys should stay put at #22 and #28, or at least trade down one of those picks and get more value in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. However, during the Cowboys pre-draft press conference, Jerry Jones made it crystal clear who is the man making the selections at the end of the day. Jerry basically said he’ll get his input from the scouts and coaches, but he’ll be the man making the calls.

Clearly the Cowboys are a few players away from having a championship roster, mainly with the shortcomings in the secondary, so staying put and adding quality with the first picks makes the most sense to me, and probably most of you. BUT, Jerry is making the calls, and he’s a gambler, and if Jerry thinks we’re one player away from making the Super Bowl, we’ll see a crazy blockbuster trade that will send #22 and #28 to the Lions for WR Roy Williams. It’s a high price to pay, but like I’ve said in several articles before, Jerry basically set a precedent by giving (2) 1st rounders for a receiver (Joey Galloway). Would Jerry do this again? You bet, and if you think he wouldn’t do it you’re dissolutioned. If Jerry does plan on trading two first rounders for Roy Williams, I would hope it would be for the first this year, and the other for 2009, I could live with that one. If you’re the Lions you make the trade, and don’t look back. The Lions would have (2) first round picks this year, maybe (3) if the Cowboys trade both first rounders they own this year, and if anyone needs their team to win this year, its Matt Millen and Rod Marenelli. If they don’t make the playoffs they are both gone.

Selling the house is very risky, because we have obvious needs in the secondary, and we need the best defensive backs out there. Yes, pairing Roy Williams with Terrell Owens would be unstoppable, but you can score all day, but if your defense leaves teams in the game through 4 quarters, then it doesn’t even matter. December defense has been really shaky, we need more help.
If anyone has Jerry’s ear its going to be Jason Garrett in my opinion. He’s probably one of the smartest coaches in the entire league, and if Jerry wants to draft for Garrett, then he’ll stay put and draft smart. There is no rush in getting Roy Williams, he’ll be a free agent next season and the Cowboys can get him then. We will see.

For me, Stay put and draft, don’t sell the house.