Why the Dallas Cowboys are still in play to trade up

Bob Strum wrote an excellent piece for the Dallas Morning News this past week about why the Dallas Cowboys desperately need to take a quarterback highly in this next draft.

While there are many great ideas in his article and I encourage that you read it, the crux of the story is that he believes the Cowboys should draft someone who will not just help them now but who will be a face of the franchise in eight years.

He believes that when you draft this high in the draft, that is what you need to get. It isn't about scraping out two more wins this year, it is about finding the next star of your franchise. Look at what he says:

"You don't get a shot at generational talent very often. You must ask yourself when making this pick the following question: Do I think that this player can be the face of my franchise and the cover of my yearbook in 2023? That is eight seasons away. If you do this correctly, in eight seasons Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, Byron Jones, and possibly an aging Dez Bryant are still a part of this thing. Other than that, I need to use this pick on adding to that group. This is the "Big Picture" approach...

...That is why I keep coming back to finding my quarterback. If the data tells us that almost all starting QBs -- especially those in the "elite" conversations -- are found in the first round, and if it then tells us that most of them are found high in the first round, then priority No. 1 must be to get the guy who by reasonable projections could be my QB in 2028 -- and it would not seem odd by Roethlisberger/Eli/Rivers-comparable spans"

And I completely agree with everything he says. Why would you waste this potential to turn the Cowboys into a great team for the next 15 years, for a chance at winning 10 games next year? I like Ezekiel Elliot, but he wasn't going to be a difference maker in their season last year.

Sure he could have helped them win a few more games, but when Tony Romo went out that team just completely sputtered out. They need a great backup quarterback who can take over in a few years and I don't understand how you could argue with that after seeing such an epic collapse last year.

They have the best offensive line in football, a Hall of Fame tight end, Dez Bryant, and a defense that was better than at least 10 other teams in the league. With a good/great quarterback at the helm of that team, that is all you need.

Here is where the Titans come in. If the Cowboys really want a franchise quarterback, they can't wait until he just falls to them with the forth pick. The Cleveland Browns will almost certainly draft a quarterback and the San Diego Chargers have made it known that they are willing to sell their pick too. So, the Cowboys desperately need to work something out with the Titans to trade up.

If the Titans end up at four with two quarterbacks going in the top two picks, then that means they will either get Laremy Tunsil or Jalen Ramsey no matter what. I cannot imagine a bigger win for this team than landing one of the two best players with the fourth pick, while adding at least a second round and some other great picks.

I am sure this won't happen because it makes too much sense in this league, but I don't know why these teams don't pull the trigger on this deal so that both can end up much better both long and short term.