Brian Galliford and Dan Kadar have completed their last Monday SB Nation NFL mock draft of the season, and this one is a doozy for Cowboys fans. They have included what they see as likely trades, and the first one of the draft involves the Cowboys and a big name.
Projected Trade
ARI gets: No. 9 overall, No. 40 overall (second round)
DAL gets: No. 5 overall, 2012 third-round pick
5. Dallas Cowboys (f/ARI): Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU. Peterson is a guy that Jerry Jones would go up (relatively cheaply) to get. He's a perfect fit for Dallas. Arizona, meanwhile, can slide down, pick up another pick this year, and continue their re-build with more bodies at better value - even if they lose a third next season.
While the loss of their high second round pick and the resulting inability to fill an offensive line hole with a potential impact player smart, most Cowboys fans would be pretty juiced by the prospect of adding the guy who many think is the top talent in this draft at a key position of need. The pickup of the future third makes the points even out.
There are several other Cowboys related points to take away from this mock draft.
- Prince Amukamara goes seventh, so he would not be on the board for Dallas even if Peterson falls to five or six.
- Blaine Gabbert goes eighth, so Dallas would not be in a position to incite a bidding war from those looking to trade into their spot.
- Julio Jones goes 13th, so there would be some potential of being the strategic trade-up spot for teams looking for an elite receiver.
- The other end of the Cowboys-Cardinals swap sees Arizona pick Tyron Smith at No. 9. He looks like a likely top ten or twelve pick whether or not the Cowboys go for him.
- Cameron Jordan, J.J. Watt and Anthony Castonzo go at 16, 18 & 19. Those are reportedly the players the Cowboys are primarily interested in. It's a little hard to feel like they're getting great value when most mock drafts still have them going this low.
- Jake Locker and Ryan Mallett go at Nos. 10 and 15 to Washington and Miami. There is going to be a lot of disappointed head shaking if that happens.