The countdown for the 2025 NFL Draft is now under 10 days, which means it’s time to take a closer look at teams’ current draft pick war chests and figure their best path forward in just over a week’s time.
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones’ Dallas Cowboys entered the offseason with a long list of needs, but to give the Cowboys a little credit, they did take a much more active approach to the opening of free agency in 2025 in comparison to their near ignorance of free agency in 2024. However outside of edge rusher Dante Fowler Jr., who returns to the Cowboys (where he played in 2023), after producing a team-high 10.5 sacks for the NFC finalist Washington Commanders in 2024, most of Dallas’ acquisitions were more of depth/role player type than they were every-down starters.
Needs abound for Dallas at the following positions: wide receiver, defensive line, cornerback, interior offensive linemen, running back, linebacker and safety after many of the free agency acquisitions became Cowboys on one-year deals. That is likely what drove Cowboys COO and EVP Stephen Jones to say on Tuesday that he could see Dallas moving down but not up.
“I don’t necessarily see us moving up, based on the way the board is coming together,” Jones said, via 105.3 The Fan. “But could see a situation where we move down.”
The team has 10 draft picks at this stage of the draft, and here is how it could acquire a few more over the course of the 2025 NFL Draft. It is worth noting that many have the players in this class outside of the first five to 10 prospects are graded by many around the same level, so there might not be as much movement during the draft as there has been in years’ past.
“I think there is some depth in this draft,” Jones said. “If you were going to say maybe it’s not real top heavy in terms of the top of the draft being inordinately strong, I think there’s some really good football players, don’t get me wrong. I do think this draft, you can get really good football players through the first half or into the second half of the draft. We feel real good about where we’re sitting, and we think we can get a real good football player [at pick 12] given the opportunity.”
2025 NFL Draft picks
Trade down to No. 14
- Cowboys get: 2025 first (No. 14), 2024 fourth (No. 117)
- Colts get: 2025 first (No. 12)
The Indianapolis Colts need a tight end. They haven’t had a reliable guy at the position since Jack Doyle retired after the 2021 season. Plus, for a team that likes to run the ball and lines up in 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end and three wide receiver; 70.7% of snaps in 11 personnel in 2024 — the ninth-highest rate in the NFL last season), having a quality tight end is huge for blocking in the run game and moving the chains in the passing game.
There’s a chance both Penn State All-American Tyler Warren and Michigan All-American Colston Loveland could fly off the board just outside the top 10. This deal allows Indianapolis to have its pick of either Warren or Loveland, and Dallas gets to have a fourth-round pick after trading its away to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for wide receiver Jonathan Mingo at the trade deadline this past season.
Trade down to 18
- Cowboys get: 2025 first (No. 18), 2025 third (No. 92)
- Seahawks get: 2025 first (No. 12)
If Boise State All-American running back Ashton Jeanty, Arizona All-American wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan and Texas wide receiver Matthew Golden are all off of the board at pick No. 12, it would make sense for the Cowboys to look to trade down. Then, they could load up on depth on Day 2.
The Seattle Seahawks are a potential candidate Dallas could deal with since Seattle has two third-round picks: its own and one from trading Pro Bowl quarterback Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason. The Seahawks also have multiple fifth-round picks thanks to compensatory selections. If someone like Texas All-American offensive lineman Kelvin Banks is still on the board, that could be a prime opportunity for Dallas to do a deal with Seattle given the Seahawks allowed the third-most quarterback pressure (39.4%) in the entire league in 2024. This deal also allows for the Cowboys to get three solid talents on Day 2, which is exactly what they need.
Trade down to No. 21
- Cowboys get: 2025 first (No. 21), 2025 third (No. 83), 2025 fifth (No. 156)
- Steelers get: 2025 first (No. 12)
This scenario could only potentially happen if a specific player falls to No. 12 in the 2025 NFL Draft: Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Only he and Miami quarterback Cam Ward, who likely be selected first overall in 2025 by the Tennessee Titans, are surefire first-round picks. At this very moment, Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson are the only quarterbacks on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster.
Team owner Art Rooney II said he was hearing four-time NFL MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers was “headed in our direction” at the beginning of April, but he still hasn’t signed yet. If that remains to be the case and Sanders slides to pick No. 12, it would make sense for Dallas to do this deal. Cowboys starting quarterback Dak Prescott is in the first season of his four-year, $240 million contract, and Dallas traded a fifth-round pick to the New England Patriots to acquire backup quarterback Joe Milton III. The Cowboys could add some much needed depth in the 2025 draft after this transaction, and Pittsburgh could have a legit, young quarterback to slot into an otherwise veteran-laded team that’s ready to win now.
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