Cowboys Trade Pitch Adds a Top Draft Pick From Hated NFC Rival

Getty Cowboys draft plans remain up in the air, but they should trade to add picks if possible.

Perhaps the only thing that can save the 2024 Cowboys season from impending doom is the prospect of absolutely nailing the upcoming NFL draft. Given the way last year’s draft class produced—or did not produce, rather—that’s a pretty iffy proposition. Still, making whatever trade could be available to improve their chances at getting it right must be on the table for the Cowboys.

Even if it means, possibly, making the despised 49ers a better team in the short term.

At ESPN, the new mock draft from Field Yates has the Cowboys plucking on of the Top 100 picks, a third-rounder from the 49ers, as part of a swap that would see San Francisco move up from No. 31 to the Cowboys’ spot at No. 24.

But while it is a deal that makes sense for both teams—the 49ers have 10 picks in this draft, including three fourth-round picks, and the Cowboys need as many picks as they can get—the players involved with those picks don’t exactly make a lot of sense.

Amarius Mims a Potential Trade Target

Here’s how Yates explains the deal:

“It would be no surprise if the 49ers act swiftly to fortify their offensive line. I have them sending No. 31 and a third-rounder to the Cowboys for No. 24, giving them a chance to add a potential future star.”

The guy Yates has the 49ers targeting is Georgia offensive tackle Amarius Mims, who is a 6-foot-7, 340-pounder with athleticism and tremendous upside. But Mims is seen as not quite ready yet, having played only seven games last year as he struggled with an ankle injury.

Would the 49ers, who have a tightening championship window and need to be in win-now mode, invest in a talented lineman who might be a couple of years from getting on the field?

Of course, the other question about Mims is whether, considering his potential, the Cowboys would not simply want to draft him themselves. In fact, Yates’ colleague at ESPN, Matt Miller, has the Cowboys using the No. 24 pick on Mims.

Here’s what Miller wrote of Mims in Dallas: “Mims is easy-moving with elite agility, length and power. He has only started eight games in college after waiting his turn behind 2023 first-rounder Broderick Jones and missing time last season with an ankle injury, but those eight games of tape are beautiful. The Cowboys could play Mims at guard and move Tyler Smith to tackle … Or keep Smith inside and play the ascending Mims on the blindside.”

Cowboys Expected to Fortify O-Line

Still, getting that third-round pick would be a bonus for the Cowboys, who dealt away their fourth-rounder to the 49ers last summer as part of the Trey Lance trade. So the two teams, despite a long and continuing history of true dislike—remember George Kittle’s “F*** Dallas” T-shirt?—can certainly get together on a trade.

The Cowboys have many, many holes to fill before 2024 gets underway. They are without a lead running back. They still need a wide receiver. They are thin at linebacker and on the defensive line.

And the offensive line will need some help. Mainstay left tackle Tyron Smith is gone, as is center Tyler Biadasz. Even in trading down in Yates’ mock draft, he has the Cowboys still focused on adding a lineman, which should not be a problem in a draft well-stocked with potential starters. Yates has them taking Jordan Morgan from Arizona, one of eight—EIGHT!—offensive linemen projected to go in the first round.