Cowboys Rank As No. 1 Bet To Trade Up, And NFL Draft Target Is Clear

Cowboys Rank As No. 1 Bet To Trade Up, And NFL Draft Target Is Clear

FRISCO - We are now being bombarded by national media people connecting the Dallas Cowboys to an assortment of "reports'' about what they "could'' do in this NFL Draft.

And swallowed with a pound of salt, I get it: Yes, the Cowboys "could'' trade up from slot No. 12 in Round 1 for almost anybody except Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza.

Wait, I take that back; there remain enough days to go before the draft for "Cowboys Could Trade Up For Mendoza'' to be somebody's bogus headline, too.

But based on the Cowboys info that I've collected?

There is one player who has separated himself from his positional peers to be a most worthy target.

And based on the comments of respected colleague Ian Rapoport, there is a legit chance that Dallas is the one team prepped to pull off a blockbuster.

On a recent edition of "The Insiders'' on NFL Network, Rapoport discussed the idea of trading up in the draft and pondered which NFL team is most likely to do so.

Rapoport was quite thoughtful in his answer, careful to specify that his response isn't about "clickbait'' but rather about his sincere and educated opinion.

“This is not clickbait,'' he said. "This is not so everybody will click on this and go, 'Wait, what?!' But the Cowboys are my team most likely to trade up. Again. This is not for clickbait.

"This is real.”

I will note here: Ian has a gigantic social media following and earns a handsome salary with his employer. He doesn't need "clickbait.''

He added, “I expect (Dallas) to be at least in the mix potentially for coming up for a pass rusher or other top defensive player.”