Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports
In all the scenarios people came up with for the Dallas Cowboys in the 2013 NFL Draft, what happened last night wasn’t in anyone’s playbook. Although the trade was an obvious move for Jerry Jones, the pick of Travis Frederick can easily be termed a surprise.
I’m not going to discuss the merit of taking Frederick because the truth is nobody knows how good, or bad, of a pick this is. We have to see Frederick play before any judgment can be made. Spare me the talk about how scouts had him ranked in the third round and how much of a reach Frederick was; since when are they always right? Ryan Leaf was the second pick in the draft and Tom Brady was a sixth round pick, so it’s not like this is an exact science.
I don’t love or hate the pick from the Cowboys because they certainly needed an upgrade at center. Protecting Tony Romo was one of the most important tasks for the Cowboys in the draft and Frederick is a step in the right direction, so I’m not going to discuss the merits of the pick from that viewpoint.
The biggest problem with the Cowboys draft last night was the trade with the San Francisco 49ers. Dallas got railroaded, hoodwinked and fleeced by the Niners, that’s not debatable. To move back 13 draft spots in the first round only to get a mid-third round pick back was a horrible decision. Whether the Cowboys liked any of their options in those 13 spots or not is irrelevant; the point is Dallas didn’t get enough value in the trade. The Cowboys needed to get the 49ers second round pick back in order to make it worth their while and that didn’t happen.
I could also care less about the antiquated trade chart everyone references or how Jerry Jones’ new made up trade chart works, it’s obvious the Cowboys didn’t make the right deal. The New England Patriots traded a later pick in the first round for a second, third, fourth and seventh round picks, so how does that trade make the Cowboys deal look? Don’t bother answering because I’ve already got the answer for you, foolish. Foolish is the only way to describe the trade and everyone seems to know it but Jerry and Stephen Jones.
Travis Frederick wasn’t the problem with the Cowboys draft last night; Dallas’ problem was, and continues to be, Jerry Jones’ lack of understanding on how to assess the value of the draft. Until he gets that right, Cowboys fans will be flipping mad over Jones and his trading ways.
Ben is a Cowboys writer for www.Rantsports.com and you can chat with or follow him on twitter @BenGrimaldi
