No team has been at the center of trade speculation ahead of the NFL draft quite like the Dallas Cowboys. And looking at the landscape of the draft, it’s not a big surprise. Dallas badly needs an elite player to bolster what was the worst defense in the NFL last season, and the elite defensive players appear poised to run out in the Top 10. That’s not a great thing for the team with the No. 12 pick.
So the Cowboys are heavily rumored to be targeting the No. 6 pick, where the Cleveland Browns are slotted. It would make for a nifty swap, sending No. 12 and 20 (the Cowboys’ two first-rounders) to the Browns for their two first-rounders, No. 6 and 24.
But the oft-repeated Browns trade is not the only option for the Cowboys, and indeed, they could be targeting a player who probably will be well off the board by the time No. 6 rolls around: Arvell Reese of Ohio State.
Cowboys Targeting Arvell Reese: Insider
That’s according to Sports Illustrated insider Albert Breer, who is bullish on the Cowboys moving up for a star.
Speaking on the DLLS Cowboys podcast on Thursday, Breer highlighted Reese–a hybrid linebacker who figures to be an edge defender in the NFL–as the Dallas target.
“I know Dallas is one team that a lot of teams have talked about potentially moving up. Now, what would that be for?” Breer said. “One name that has been thrown around, at least with me, is Arvell Reese. And I think part of the reason why is because he’s got the off the ball/on the ball capability.
“You might see him like a Micah Parsons type of prospect, not that he’s gonna be Micah out of the box or anything like that. But he profiles the same sort of way just as far as what he could potentially bring to the table. So, I would say at this point, a week to go, a lot more teams looking to move down.”
Arvell Reese a ‘Dynamic Talent’
Reese is considered by some to be the best player in this draft, and certainly, since trading away Parsons, the Cowboys have a need at pass rusher. Pro Football Focus, on its big board, has Reese ranked as the No. 2 player in the draft. Dane Brugler of The Athletic, lists Reese as No. 1.
Brugler wrote of Reese: “Reese has the dynamic talent to play a variety of different linebacker or edge roles at a high level, although his ceiling as a pass rusher is his most valuable asset. It is hard to find versatile defenders with his caliber of explosive tools.”
Cowboys in a ‘Buyer’s Market’ for Moving Up
The good news for the Cowboys, too, from the standpoint of a trade is that there are multiple teams that like the depth of this NFL draft and would be willing to move down. That could allow the Cowboys to move up without surrendering their No. 20 overall pick, but rather offering a package built around No. 12, the team’s third-round pick (No. 92) and a 2027 pick.
Said Breer: “I think it is a buyer’s market, because there’s more teams looking to go down than to go up. I would circle five teams in a row, the Cardinals at No. 3, the Titans at No. 4, the Giants at No. 5, the Browns at No. 6, the Commanders at No. 7 as all teams that are exploring the idea of moving down. So you might be able to move up at a little bit of a discount.”
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