Report: Cowboys Would be Willing to Trade for the Number One Pick
All right Cowboys fans, are you ready for the drama of having the #1 pick in April’s NFL Draft? That could very well be happening, as former Cowboys front office man and now Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland has already suggested that the Dolphins would be very willing to move the first pick in the draft. Now, according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, the Cowboys could be a major player in looking to score that number one pick.
Mortensen said during a special edition of Sunday NFL Countdown that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones could be looking at making a deal for that number one pick. The guy that the Cowboys could want with that number one pick – how about Arkansas running back Darren McFadden? Mortensen said one guy that could be thrown in a deal for the number one pick is current feature back Marion Barber, who will be a restricted free agent.
Consider it a sign and trade deal, as that is what the Cowboys would do when it came to Barber, they would sign him, then use him as bait to move him to Miami along with some other draft picks (two number ones would be a start) for the number one pick. Right now the Cowboys have the 22nd pick in the first round, which they got from the Browns last season for the Brady Quinn pick.
Could Dallas actually pull this off? Yes, as they have enough former “Cowboys” guys now in the Dolphins organization, and the two parties get along well enough to make such a deal. If there’s any high profile team that would love to make headlines in making a big deal like this – it for sure would be the Cowboys.
This post has 36 comments
January 28th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
What an idiotic thought…..Marion Barber has established himself as a top flight back, and to trade him away on an unknown would be sheer stupidity!!! Trade Julius Jones if you like….Parcells drafted him….but not Barber….
January 28th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
trading for the #1 pick is all sexy and enticing but at what price, the points value chart they’ve established for draft picks is ridiculous, trading barber and draft picks for mcfadden is stupid, don’t get me wrong i think mcfadden is a special player but how special, barber is going to demand big money come payday, so to go after him and not include barber is financial suicide, a number 1 overall pick and barber would cost millions, in my opinion with a deep draft at running back with a couple home run hitters we need to draft quality back in first or second round, julius jones doesn’t run with enough passion, when is last time you saw him break a tackle, let him go, cornerback with speed is crucial, starting receiver to stretch defense downfield is imperative, foundation for next five years is in place, don’t do anything stupid unless it makes dollars and sense, been a fan for thirty years, anybody remember late 90’s terrible drafting and galloway trade set this great franchise back at least five years, here’s to a great draft and more pieces to the puzzle, go cowboys!
January 28th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Why would you take a chance on Mcfadden, who is a great college runner. And give up a all-pro back and first round draft picks that could help your team over the top. It would cost them millions of dollars and he might not be the back they think he is. I feel there is backs out there that can put up big numbers, and the cowboys need a receiver,defensive backs and a cover safety. A bad decision like this could hurt the team financially. This could be a decision they never recover from. Barber runs with heart and passion something that is hard to find. Go with Barber, make smart picks at 22,28 and find yourself in the Superbowl 2009
January 28th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
couldn’t agree with you more michael, trading young established star running back who doesn’t fumble is crazy, i’m sure all the intangibles they measure at the combine are important, and i’m sure mcfadden would grade much higher than barber did a few years ago but one thing it doesn’t measure is heart, this season we realized we were too dependent on t.o., offense suffered when he was out and we also suffered when reeves was starting at corner, need that receiver threat and youth opposite owens, to big a risk on glenn, same situation at cornerback, also agree with safety assessment but with contract given to williams last year we’re stuck with a player that seems to have lost his passion, more cornerback depth so we can get williams off the field in passing situations, roll henry back to safety, so we can stop getting lit up by every other teams tight end.
January 28th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
if anything trade julius jones, but you have to keep marion barber. he’s a proven physical runner who could team with mcfadden like adrian petersen and chester taylor did for the vikings this year. parcells did take julius jones over steven jackson so you should definitely give him his property back
January 28th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
This would be an incredibly dumb, it is obvious to me that Jerry Jones is going to start picking at this team and in 2 years we could feasibly back to square one or life before Parcells arrived. We need wide receiver, secondary and offensive line help, anyone can see that. McFadden is nice and all that but Marion Barber is the now and he should be the featured back end of story. Can someone please just drive Jerry out of the country until the draft is over, he is going to screw this up
January 29th, 2008 at 5:19 am
check this out people how many points did the cowboys score against the giants in the playoff game.17 points are u kidding me after putting up big numbers in the first part of season.They have no running game and do not get me wrong mb3 is good but come on can he bust d big one at any giving moment.I am going to say this one more time and u listen good u need speed 2 win in playoffs game and of course the super bowl.This mcFadden could be like adrian peterson ,may be even better what if gets dallas 2 the super bowl like RB did 4 the pittsburg steelers.how u like me now.
January 29th, 2008 at 6:22 am
Why would anyone trade a sure thing for a maybe. Remember the old saying ” a bird in the hand…” If they get rid of a back it should be Jones. What about Glen Dorsey with the #1 pick and keeping Barber. The offense was fine. Leave them both there, but if one has to go, DON’T LET IT BE BARBER..
January 29th, 2008 at 6:57 am
Why do you think this a dumb Trade!Think about it!Why do you think Jerry pulled off that trade last year!Hoping the Browns would Suck and he would get a top 10 pick!
I like Barber better than Jones’but teams are not scared of are running Game!We need a game Breaking Back!Does anyone Know what we gave up to get Tony Dorsett!How did that work out for us!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 29th, 2008 at 8:17 am
I have been a Cowboy’s fan for over 35 years. I have lived through some great seasons and some horrible seasons, and have always remained loyal to the team. If Jerry were to make this move and give up Barber, two late first round picks and no telling what else to get McFadden….I am done. How about bundling Reeves, Roy Williams, Patrick Crayton amd Julius Jones and no draft picks if Miami wants to be Dallas South so badly. Reeves can’t cover a bed with a blanket and the same goes for Williams. Patrick Crayton has an alligator mouth and a parakeet ass and Julius needs to go back to Big Bill and run like a robot because he sure picked up more yardage under Bill although he claimed Bill was the reason he couldn’t run. According to Jones, he needed to run “in space”. Well Julius….you have to get in space to run in space.
This being said, it is January and a long way from the draft. I doubt the Boys have any thoughts of trading Barber. I sure hope not because I would hate to burn all of my Cowboys paraphenalia after 35 years!
January 29th, 2008 at 9:39 am
TRADE BARBER! IDIOTS for even suggesting it! He is proven, battle tested and to go after an unproven back? If this deal goes down it will byte Jones in the back side for as long as Barber plays the game and I may have to consider moving on to another team myself.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:25 am
Trading Barber is a VERY risky move.
1st off, Barber is a proven NFL back who just smashes helmets and wears down defenses.
2ndly, he will command about the same money as McFadden.
McFadden will require at least Barber and 1 of their 1st rounders, if not a 1st and a later pick.
McFadden is also unproven.
Dallas is better off letting Jones go, signing Barber to a monster deal and drafting a WR and CB at #22 and #28 overall.
This is a deep draft for Wr’s and Dallas will need 1 for sure. Plus I can not envision Dallas using Reeves again next season unless 2 ahead of him get hurt.
The GreenBay’s and Patriots of the world like to spread it out and you almost need 3 CB’s these days to compete.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:03 am
I am sorry but wee need a new wide reciever threat and some secondary help, so unless DMAC can cover or go deep, please JJ don’t ruin this draft, you are not a football guy but a football owner. This is what happen with Jimmy Johnson, Jerry got in the way too much. We are on the verge all we need is some upgrades at the WR, CB, and maybe offensive line help.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:11 am
I have been a Cowboy fan since as long as I can remember and I think everyone has a great point YOU CANT TRADE BARBER!! every cowboy fan is saying we need a WR and a CB if there is someone we really need to move up for in the draft that would really help our team use ROY WILLIAMS as bait .. please reply with your thoughts..
January 29th, 2008 at 11:36 am
Barber runs like an animal and it would be so stupid to trade him. i would package roy williams, a number one, and a later round pick if necessary to miami for mcfadden. then take manningham or sweed with our other first. could you imagine waht that would do to our offense!
January 29th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
jj is crazy to even think or speak of trading barber the heart and soul of the dallas cowboys. trade williams. We are close need to fill a couple of spots. dont even think of trading barber .
January 29th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
This is so typical of Jerry Jones. So many of his decisions are based on the P.R. value. Marion Barber can be the future. Quit waiting for Julius Jones to run to the line and fall down 7 or 8 times. Put Marion in as the starter, trade Julius and draft a back to back up Marion. As many of you have said, let’s sure of the defensive secondary and bring in another receiver to compliment Owens and have several deep threats on offense. Paying millions of dollars for an unproven running back is not smart. But Jerry Jones will consider it because it will make headlines.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
There are to many above average running backs in this years draft. How about Felix Jones and Barber in same backfield. Trade for Roy Williams in Detroit and use other first round pick on DB.
January 29th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
PLEASE PLEASE JERRY DON”T DO IT!!! take Felix Jones or one of thew other super talented backs that will still be on the board in the 2nd round and draft a CB and a WR in the 1st. Barber is a sledgehammer and provided us alot of spark when the rest of the offense was shut down. Trading a proven back for an unknown is ridiculous.
January 29th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
Number 1 j. jones is an unrestricted free agent so how can we trade him? Number 2, who in their right mind will take Roy williams must less trade for him.
Number 3, if we let mb go….it would be shooting ourselves in the foot. People really need to check their facts before commenting.
January 31st, 2008 at 1:20 pm
IMHO the Cowboys need to ad depth and/or improve at Wide Out and Corner.
Asante Samuel of the Patriots is coming off of back to back all pro seasons and they probably won’t be resigning him this off season. I’d love for Dallas to land him. He’s young and would make a most excellent compliment to Newman. A pair of shut down corners like that would certainly improve the team’s ability to blitz effectively.
I think they should both draft someone and look to the free agent market for depth at Wide Out. Last year the Patriots stole little known Wes Welker from the Dolphins and now look. I’m sure someone’s out there, flying under the radar that could fill that need for Dallas. They should also draft someone for the future to groom under Owens. Maybe Manningham from Michigan? Chances are good that he’d still be there at 22. Then if they are feeling under whelmed by the options available to them w/ their second 1st rounder they should consider trading it away for some other team’s 1st in 2009.
And of course most importantly RESIGN MB3!!! He is already one of the top 5 backs in this league now. Let go of the useless Julies Jones and bring another, lost cost, back to take about 30% of the carries. If JJ really does trade away MB3 and draft picks for McFadden I might just have to smash my television. In fact it will make it hard for me to still root for this team and I’ve been cheering for them for 27 years now. JJ already screwed up the ‘boys chances of wining 5 to 6 super bowls in the 90’s when he drove Jimmy out. Now he looks poised to screw up this team’s future before it even really begins. Let us hope this trade talk is mostly tactical and not serious.
January 31st, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Danny I would LOVE to see them use Roy Williams as bait. Love it. Believe it or not there are some teams stupid enough out there to fall for it.
February 4th, 2008 at 11:44 am
This is just rumor by another ESPN nobody. These guys literally have nothing better to do than speculate. I really want to believe Jerry Jones is not a stupid as his buddy Al Davis. So I will say Barber stays. You want draft picks then trade pansy foot Jones, the most overrated safety in NFL history Williams, the 4.9 40 runner Crayton, the choker Romo.
February 4th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
I am sure everyone is sitting around saying we should have drafted Moss. He turned out to be not that bad. We passed on Steven Jackson. Most of you claim to be fans. Julias is gone…a free agent…how can you trade him? Get real look at Tony D. Draft Mc Fadden, he is only 20 years old, he can carry the ball for a good 8 years or 10…..Draft Mc Fadden and pick up some linem,an in the draft and get some help on defense threw free agency.
February 7th, 2008 at 2:21 am
Ok seriously people how can anyone say MB is “prooven” so he broke a few tackles and got VOTED into the pro bowl my dog could make it to the pro bowl if enough people voted for him prooven is helping your team win in the post season…anyone member MB’s first start? i do beleive it was a loss to the giants… how many superbowls has MB led the cowboys to? none… there is no doubt in my mind he is a good back but not the big time playmaker like an emmit smith…DMC is comming out of the toughest conferance in college the last couple of national champs have been in that conferance DMC was Arkansas only player and they beat the national champs he is a playmaker and has the potential to break the big time in the big D and is very versatile he runs like a well oiled machien but can also catch the ball and throw the ball why are you all so against having a bigtime play maker in dallas?
February 7th, 2008 at 7:15 am
Wow, hey cboys4life, definately the worst response to anything I’ve seen on the internet. Are you Jerry Jones? How many superbowls has “The Player” won, isn’t he suppossed to be a big time player? What about Homo? Let’s start asking how many superbowls a player won in order to determine if he should stay on the team. Great plan ace! Looks like Dallas will be either cutting or trading every player currently on the roster. Get rid of everyone in order to pick a 6′2″ 205lb guy with a swimmers physique, I’m sure he’ll last long getting raped by Strahan and the gang.
February 7th, 2008 at 7:57 am
Well, fellows had you rather have another Carver or Pittman. Sometimes the draft is a crap shoot. Do you think there is 6 teams that wish they had drafted Peterson? Even the Packers say today,”we should have taken Moss”. The Giant sure had trouble raping Peterson. All the terrible terror Giants got that day was carpet burns. A good running game will slow down that rush. You show me one man that made an impact on LSU the No 1 team. MC Fadden….50 points on the number one defense! The guy is a great back with all knid of potential.
How many playoff game has Mc Fadden won…zero…the same as Barber…how many Super Bowls has Mc Fadden won…Zero…the same as Barber.
Jerry do the best you can…we will be there to support thr BOYS!
February 7th, 2008 at 8:00 am
cboys4life, DMC is a good back no doubt but he has not played a down in the NFL. To give up MB who is a top 3 back would be a huge gamble. I am a lifer for the Cowboys but I live in Houston and I got to witness first hand the fan outcry against the first round pick the Texans decided on. Ohhh, it should have been Vince or Reggie Bush. Reggie Bush was the be all end all in most peoples minds and he has not lived up to the hype at all. Great college back not doing to well in the NFL. Emmit Smith, NFL teams said he was too small, not fast enough and look what he did with his career. The point is that you never know. MB IS a proven back and in my opinion is not utilized in a way that would make him stand out even more. He has made the transition, and helped lead them to the playoffs. It is not his fault the coaching staff did not find a way to work him into the offense in the second half of the Giants game. Bottom line, keep MB.
February 7th, 2008 at 8:40 am
I think keeping Barber is a good idea.
I am not for trading Barber, but I think we should look at the Mc Fadden deal. How would Barber then be with Mc Fadden in the backfield as well. I think the Barber deal is a rumor. The running game is not Miami problem with two featured backs. Keep your choices open.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Look people I have been a cowboy fan since watching the boys beat the dolphins in the 71 superbowl. Someone earlier in this discussion mentioned the TD trade, we gave up 4 picks to get him, we did not know what we were really getting then either. My thought is this give up williams and one #1 pick this year and one in 2010 (if we have to). I believe Mc Fadden is worth the risk
March 17th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Alright guys, first McFadden is pretty much completely out of the equation. Forget about him; he won’t be a Cowboy. Secondly, all of your ideas sound great; if there was no such thing as contracts and Salary Caps were nonexistent.
Jerry Jones has already stated that Marion Barber was not going to be traded. A trade with Roy Williams isn’t likely to happen either. Even if Roy Williams was traded the Cowboys would have to take a cap hit.
The Cowboys best chance at filling holes is through the draft, not free agency. But you have to be reasonable with who what and where the prospect is taken. The Cowboys are really short in cap space so moving up in the draft could cause the Cowboys to pick up a player they won’t be able to afford to put on the team.
March 18th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
The boys need to draft a solid defense back first. If Felix Jones is available in the first that would be good too! We should be able to get three solid players with the 2 first round and 1 second round. A good wide receiver would be nice.
March 19th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
They need to win a playoff game. Draft this, draft that. They have proven that they have the nucleus to be a super bowl contender, 13 wins, but have yet to get it done. Get pack man in the secondary Jerry, our D Backs are our Achilles heel. SO, lets pull our heads out and win a playoff game. How many players did we send to the pro bowl? How many games did we win to only to get bounced in the first game of the playoffs? Suck it up and get mad Cowboys! You have what you need, GET IT DONE!! I went to that game and was, or I am still sick about it. I’ll never leave you boys but get it done.
April 7th, 2008 at 11:38 am
I regularyly check media sites but does anyone know if we are getting closer on the Pac Man deal?
April 8th, 2008 at 7:17 am
I hate to lose Barber. I wonder what the Dolphins will do with Williams, Brown, and Barber. I would thinkg the TUNA would want a little defensive help. Oh well let the chips fall!
April 8th, 2008 at 10:04 am
Who says we are losing Barber? We tendered a restricted offer, 2.5mil, and he is not going anywhere.