Cowboys may trade up for Sonny Styles in NFL draft

All three had Dallas trading up from 12 to 6 with Cleveland to draft Styles, who is now projected to fall past the New York Giants at No. 5.

More: What Dallas Cowboy went to jail, and who are they trading for?

The details are a bit different. Kiper and Brugler both have Dallas trading this year’s 12 and 20 and also getting Cleveland’s second-round pick at No. 39. Brugler also has Dallas throwing in a fourth-round pick next year. McShay has Dallas giving up the 12, the 92 pick (third round) and 2027’s second-round pick straight up for No. 6.

Brugler writes: “The Cowboys could sit at No. 12 and have an impact defender fall to them, but it won’t be surprising if the organization gets aggressive. Styles would not only be an immediate starter at a position of need, but also wear the green dot as a rookie. In this projected trade, the Cowboys surrender two of the first-rounders they hold this year (plus a 2027 pick), but they get back into Round 2.“

In Kiper’s projection, the Dallas Cowboys select Clemson edge rusher T.J. Parker at No. 39.

Kiper writes: “Here's the final pick involved in my projected Cleveland-Dallas trade. I love Parker's speed-to-power and how he plays to the whistle. His sack count dipped from 11 to five in 2025, but he knows how to cause problems for opponent QBs, with 114 pressures over the past three years. The Cowboys traded for Rashan Gary, and they can continue cleaning up the pass rush with this promising prospect.”

Jerry Jones

Media provocateur Skip Bayless is trying to stir up more trouble with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on his The Arena: Gridiron podcast, and this one is particularly off the wall.

Last week a story broke that in March 2024 top draft prospect Rueben Bain from Miami was a driver in an accident that killed a passenger, Destiny Betts. Bain was initially ticketed (careless driving), but charges were later dropped, and he was never given a breathalyzer. Bain is widely expected to go in the 8-10 range in the first round, so just before Dallas at 12.

Except last week, this two-year-old story broke, and Bayless has anti-Jones opinions.

“The story popped up last week, two years after the fact, Dallas picks 12th, and if I know Jerry Jones — I wouldn’t put it past Jerry to leak something like this because he knew the background,” Bayless said. “I’m not saying he did, but this is the Jerry I know because I was around him a lot in Dallas, and this happens all the time that a team will leak something like this when they’ve don’t their homework and research, and they’re totally cool with it.

“It was just an accident. He rearended the guy, he just didn’t stop fast enough, and it was a tragedy, but it was a tragic accident. Jerry has had a long list of off-the-field hell-raisers. His all-time favorite player is Michael Irvin, who frankly made Aqib (Talib) look like a choir boy. … And so, Jerry is used to that kind of behavior.

“Even Ezekiel Elliot had off-the-field stuff at Ohio State, and Jerry took him fourth overall. Would Jerry take Rueben Bain now? Again, I don’t know the exact background that they’re checking into as we speak, but yeah, he probably would. He’d probably love it if Rueben Bain fell to 12.”

As Bayless indicated, this is pure speculation. Mel Kiper’s mock drafts still have Bain at No. 8, as concerns about the length of his arms are a bigger issue than a two-year-old accident.

John Fitzgerald

Dallas lost another part of its history when former center John Fitzgerald, who helped the Cowboys to Super Bowl wins in Super Bowl VI and XII in his 12-year career with the Cowboys, passed away Wednesday at the age of 77.

Per DallasCowboys.com: “Beginning in 1975, Fitzgerald was the foundation for head coach Tom Landry's reintroduction of the famed shotgun offense, easily handling the transition of hiking the ball a farther distance to quarterback Roger Staubach. Thus would begin a stretch of three times in four seasons that the Cowboys would reach the Super Bowl, winning it all in 1977 with a 27-10 defeat of the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII.”

Dallas Cowboys draft picks

Here is the list of the Cowboys' picks for the NFL draft, which is April 23-25. The first round is on the 23rd, the second and third are on the 24th and rounds three through seven are on the 25th.

• Round 1, Pick 12
• Round 1, Pick 20 (via GB)
• Round 3, Pick 92 (via SF)
• Round 4, Pick 112
• Round 5, Pick 150
• Round 5, Pick 177
• Round 5, Pick 180
• Round 7, Pick 218 (via TEN)

Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Cowboys draft trade for Sonny Styles gains traction