Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones always seems focused on his legacy. Certainly, one part is the fact that the ‘Boys won three Super Bowls during the heyday of Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, and Troy Aikman.
But those titles were when? The final one was Super Bowl XXX, played on January 28, 1996, at the conclusion of the 1995 season.
RELATED: CARDINALS TRADE DOWN WITH COWBOYS
So, 31 years? Ouch. Of course, 1947 was the last NFL title for the Arizona Cardinals when they were playing their home games at
Comiskey Park in Chicago. Since that time, they have become the Chicago Cardinals, St. Louis Cardinals, Phoenix Cardinals, and now the Arizona Cardinals.
And the Cowboys have won five championships compared to Arizona’s two. All of this is acknowledged, and as Cardinals fans, we are envious.
What exactly does the Cowboys have to do with all this?
Let’s flip back to Jones, who is both Dallas’ owner and GM. He realizes that his legacy will be tarnished if he leaves this Earth with not just the three Super Bowl wins, but nothing since the 1995 season. The 30-year spread details a GM who can’t draft the correct players, hire the right coaches, spend money on precise free agents, and hasn’t gotten back to the big game. At all.
Winning three Super Bowls? That’s great. Wasn’t that before cell phones? A new car was just over $15,000. Gas was $1.12 a gallon and bread $.87 a loaf. None of our children has ever seen a Cowboys win in the big game.
Jones can’t accept that. He wants to be known as a GM who can get his team back to the Super Bowl and win a few more. His clock is ticking. All of this would be because he chose the right players in the draft.
Which brings us around to this year’s draft, slated for April 23-25.
There are whispers that Jones wants RB Jeremiyah Love out of Notre Dame. The Cowboys have had the most success with a stud running back in the backfield: Emmitt, Ezekiel Elliott, Marion the Barbarian Barber, Tony Pollard, and DeMarco Murray.
Jones loves the sexy picks. He will take key positions such as left or right tackles, a great cornerback, but he absolutely enjoys taking the skill position guys. They sell tickets.
These players scream offensive production, which is what Dallas is known for. Offensive guys promote the idea that the Cowboys can light up the scoreboard every game. Of course, the defense becomes ignored. Last year, Dallas’ defense ranked #30. The year before #28. While the offense is well-known in the league, capable of scoring over 30 points a game, the defense is getting pummeled into the 30s as well.
Covets being Love-d
Dallas wants the running back Love. He wants him badly. And the Cowboys have two first-round draft picks.
But there is an issue: Love is almost a certainty to go Top-8. And that’s on the low end. Perhaps even higher.
The Las Vegas Raiders select first overall and should choose Indiana QB, Fernando Mendoza. No secret there. Up next, the New York Jets. Their GM should be fired if they don’t take EDGE Arvell Reese from Ohio State.
That brings the draft process to the desert. Arizona owns the #3 pick. The Cardinals have been tied to several really good players, such as OT Francis Mauigoa (Miami), CB Mansoor Delane (LSU), EDGE David Bailey (Texas Tech), OT Spencer Fano (Utah), EDGE Rueben Bain, Jr. (Miami), S Caleb Downs (Ohio State), and LB Sonny Styles (Ohio State), as well as Love.
This means Arizona could go stud pass rusher, elite pass protector, or a productive defensive back.
The Cowboys want this draft slot. They want to take Love, and are afraid that another team will take him before they are on the clock at pick #12. Jones knows he can’t let the board fall to him and expect Love to be sitting there.
After Arizona’s pick at #3, it’s the Tennessee Titans (#4), New York Football Giants (#5), Cleveland Browns (#6), Washington Commanders (#7), New Orleans Saints (#8), Kansas City Chiefs (#9), Cincinnati Bengals (#10), followed by the Miami Dolphins (#11).
Dallas can’t trade spots with the Giants or Commanders because they are in the same division, and that’s an unwritten rule.
Look at what each club’s starting running back situation is currently:
- Titans: Tony Pollard, age 28
- Giants: Kam Skattebo (24), Devin Singletary (28)
- Browns: Quinshon Judkins (22), Dylan Sampson (21)
- Commanders: Jacory Croskey-Merritt (25)
- Saints: Travis Etienne (27), Alvin Kamara (30)
- Chiefs: Kenneith Walker (25)
- Bengals: Chase Brown (26)
- Dolphins: De’Von Achane (24)
The Giants, Browns, Saints, Dolphins, and Chiefs are good at the running back position. Tennessee may or may not be interested in obtaining Love. Washington and Cincy would take Love in a hot minute.
If Jones really has a passion for Love, he would need to trade with Cleveland and outjump the Commanders. And Browns GM Andrew Berry is known for being a horse trader. So, that is completely plausible.
However, in most mock drafts, these experts have Love going to the Titans with the #4 draft spot. Ouch. Of course, Jones could wait it out and see who Tennessee does take, and hope that they pass on Love. Then, if they take another player, he could work out his trade with most likely the Browns, which would be a cheaper trade.
One huge “if”
Did you get that statement? “……Then, if they take another player, he could……”
That word “if” would destroy the entire draft for the Cowboys. And Jones. He could not stomach the fact that another team took the one player he covets.
The Cowboys have a head coach heading into this second season. They have one of the best offenses in the league every year. They were ranked as the #2 overall offense last year, and Jones knows this group is hot.
On offense, Dallas averaged 391.4 yards per game, ranked #2 in their passing attack but #9 in running the ball. What would happen if they were to bring a stud at running back? That is what keeps Jones up at night. They need a new version of Emmitt Smith to pair with the two stud receivers and the volatile Prescott.
By taking Love, this becomes an offense that can’t be stopped.
Jones realizes that his porthole is going to close soon with his QB, Dak Prescott, who will turn 33 years old this summer. He has suffered several significant injuries and missed 20 games in the last five years. Every other player on the offensive side of the roster is in their 20s, and yet they slay the league on game days.
Jones realizes his window is now. As long as his offense can outscore the defense, it’s “no worries” each week.
Dallas picked up WR George Pickens to go with receivers CeeDee Lamb and Jalen Tolbert. TE Jake Ferguson has proved to be a good asset. The offensive line was ranked #21 and could use a body here and there, but many top draft picks are in this unit, and it is a very young group.
This potent offense is lacking that Emmitt Smith elite running back. And that could be Love. That is all they are lacking. Two years ago, the entire Cowboys fanbase blasted Jones for not signing free agent RB Derrick Henry, especially when Henry went off for 1,921 yards with 16 rushing touchdowns and 106 first down conversions.
Then there is the sentiment that Jones wants another Micah Parsons-type player, and could focus on Reese, Bailey, Styles, or Bain to give his team an elite pass rusher.
If Jones wants to make sure that his club jumps over the Titans, he will have to work out a deal with the Cardinals for the #3 pick. He will also be able to jump over both the Giants and the Commanders.
And because Arizona GM Monti Ossenfort knows the rock-and-hard-place situation for the Cowboys, he could really stick it to Jones. Ossenfort is no stranger to trading draft picks as well, as he has moved up and down the board all three days in his three years of being in charge of roster building.
Here are the Arizona-Dallas draft trade proposals being predicted right now on various media outlets:
Fansided – Wynston Wilcox
Cowboys get: #3 pick (Rd 1)
Cardinals get: #12 (Rd 1), #112 (Rd 4), #228 (Rd 7), 2027 Round 3 pick
NFL.com – Gennaro Filice
Cowboys get: #3 pick (Rd 1)
Cardinals get: #12 (Rd 1), #20 (Rd 1)
Sports Illustrated – Donnie Druin
Cowboys get: #3 pick (Rd 1)
Cardinals get: #12 (Rd 1), #20 (Rd 1), #92 (Rd 3)
Heavy.com – Brent Sobleski
Cowboys get: #3 pick (Rd 1)
Cardinals get: #12 (Rd 1), #20 (Rd 1)
The Athletic – Bruce Feldman
Cowboys get: #3 pick (Rd 1)
Cardinals get: #12 (Rd 1), #92 (Rd 3)
Bleacher Report – Brent Sobleski
Cowboys get: #3 pick (Rd 1)
Cardinals get: #12 (Rd 1), #20 (Rd 1)
Revenge of the Birds – Seth Cox
Cowboys get: #3 pick (Rd 1), #104 (Rd 4)
Cardinals get: #12 (Rd 1), #20 (Rd 1), #92 (Rd 3)
Cowboys Rumors – Tom Downey
Cowboys get: #3 pick (Rd 1), #65 (Rd 3), #104 (Rd 4)
Cardinals get: #12 (Rd 1), #20 (Rd 1), #177 (Rd 5)
Dallas News – Joseph Hoyt
Cowboys get: #3 pick (Rd 1)
Cardinals get: #12 (Rd 1), #20 (Rd 1)
CBS Sports – J.P. Acosta
Cowboys get: #3 pick (Rd 1), #104 (Rd 4)
Cardinals get: #12 (Rd 1), #20 (Rd 1), #114 (Rd 4)
Pro Football Focus – Jordan Plocher
Cowboys get: #3 pick (Rd 1)
Cardinals get: #12 (Rd 1), #20 (Rd 1)
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It should be noted how the NFL draft value charts should be utilized.
If you don’t know what the value charts are, it’s columns of numbers that are associated with each draft slot in every round. To work up a trade, a GM will take the highest draft pick and come up with a corresponding number. Then, the draft picks that are proposed in the trade. If the numbers are totaled and come close, then the trade usually goes through. If there is a distance between the total, other picks will have to be added.
With the traditional Jimmy Johnson version, the #3 pick in Round 1 is worth 2,200 points. The Cowboys’ #12 pick is worth 1,200 points, and the #20 spot equals 850. The two Dallas numbers total 2,050. This means the Cowboys will need to make up the 150-point difference. They own a pick in Round 3 at slot #92. That is 132 points for a grand total of 2,182 points. That is either close enough, or if Ossenfort really wants to press the issue, he will require Dallas to also include the #180 pick (19 points) at the bottom of Round 5.
The Rich Hill NFL draft value chart is the one that is most used today. Arizona’s #3 pick is worth 514 points, whereas the Cowboys’ first-round spots are worth 347 and 269, respectively, for a total of 616 points. Which means the Cardinals have a deficit of 102 points and would need to include some other draft picks, such as the #65 in Round 3 and #143 in Round 5, before the trading would end. That #65 pick is the first slot in that round, so essentially it is another second-rounder at third-round money.
In 2023, the Cardinals executed a similar trade as the one outlined in this article with the Houston Texans when they traded from the #3 spot to #12 in exchange for an additional first and third-round picks. That should be a reference point.
Jerry Jones is 83 years old and remains the GM of his Cowboys. But the 2026 NFL draft may become one of the most pivotal drafts in the history of the franchise.
Jones doesn’t want folks to continue to talk about the fact that the last franchise championship was three decades ago. He wants another one now and is tired of going on local radio and doing interviews, trying to explain why his team can’t get over the Super Bowl drought. He feels that this offense he has meticulously assembled can get it done.
Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love is the target, helping Dallas build an offensive core that will terrify opposing coaches. The “Cowboys brand” depends on the offense lighting up the scoreboard.
It is also Jones’ final legacy on the line.
