Jerry Jones: Dallas Cowboys GM Once Again Suckered Like a Bad Fantasy Football GM

The first round of the 2013 NFL Draft has left Dallas Cowboy fans shaking their heads in disbelief once again, courtesy of the only GM in the league that could survive a 17-year stretch with only one playoff victory.  After signing QB Tony Romo to an unbelievable contract extension this offseason, Jerry Jones knew that he needed to get some protection for his overpriced investment.

With two outstanding offensive guard prospects on the board, the Cowboys should have been in position to take one with the 18^th pick, but the demand for offensive lineman and the lack of stars at the skill positions left them on the outside looking in.  One by one, the top offensive lineman came off the board, and a trade down looked like it might be the best option for the Cowboys until Florida DT Shariff Floyd inexplicably landed in their lap.  The dominant defensive lineman was projected by most experts as a top three pick, and with aging defensive tackles and a new defensive scheme, Floyd seemed like a no-brainer.

Cowboy fans were celebrating their unlikely good fortune when the announcement was made that the 18^th pick had been traded to the San Francisco 49ers.  Dropping down 13 spots with a blue-chip player on the board surely meant that the Cowboys were offered a king’s ransom that was too good to pass up.  And given the fact that the reigning NFC Champion 49ers had more picks than they could even use (13), Cowboy fans anxiously waited to hear the details of the trade.

Jaws dropped across the country as the trade details revealed that the Cowboys dropped down 13 spots for a mere 3^rd round pick, a rip-off by the point value charts that are used around the NFL.  Of course, according to the spin doctors in Dallas, their charts say that they got the best of the deal.  Truly absurd!  Even if the Cowboys had gotten fair value in the trade by everyone else’s standards, the fact remains that they still passed up on an impact player in a draft devoid of stars.

When the Cowboys finally made their pick, it was announced that had they selected Travis Frederick, a Center from Wisconsin who had one of the worst combine workouts in recent memory.  Considered the top player at his position, most teams and experts still had him ranked as no more than a third round prospect.  Even Frederick himself admitted that he was surprised to get the call in the first round.

In 1998, the Cowboys desperately needed a top WR, and the whole world expected them to take Randy Moss with the 8^th pick in the draft.  They chose DE Greg Ellis instead, and Moss haunted the Cowboys for several years with the Minnesota Vikings.  It is quite possible that history is going to repeat itself for Cowboy fans.  After the Cowboys passed on Floyd, the Vikings snatched him up.

It won’t take long for the Cowboys to see if they made the right choice by trading down in the draft.  On November 3, 2013, Floyd and Frederick will line up head-to-head at Cowboys Stadium.

If Floyd ends up becoming a dominant player, Cowboy fans will be left once again to wonder what might have been if not for “Trader Jerry” desperately trying to prove that he can win a Super Bowl without Jimmy Johnson by making moves that most GMs would never consider.  Ironically, the one person who might think that Jones is doing a good job is former Vikings GM Mike Lynn, who essentially handed the Cowboys a championship roster by giving away the farm to acquire Herschel Walker in 1989.  Come to think of it, maybe Jones is just trying to repay the Vikings for their past generosity.