The Dallas Cowboys, because of their owner and their history of making deals, will probably always be a popular name thrown around near the NFL trade deadline.
This year, heading toward that November 10 deadline, it’s happening again—even though it probably shouldn’t be.
Unless the Cowboys want to start swapping players — which they don’t seem inclined to do — they’ll have to give up draft picks to improve their current roster.
That’s going to be increasingly hard to do because the Cowboys have only 10 picks total over the next two drafts in 2027 and 2028 — the least of any team in the NFL, according to ESPN’s Ben Solak.
“How do you get better when you don’t have draft picks, don’t have the cap room, and you really don’t have players you can trade?” Solak said on ESPN’s Leaguewide podcast on Thursday.
Breaking Down Draft Picks Cowboys Have Left
One look at the Cowboys’ picks in 2027 and 2028 clearly indicates why they’re still at the center of so many trade rumors — they still have a 1st-round pick in both drafts.
In 2027, the Cowboys still own picks in the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 7th rounds. In 2028, they have their 1st, 3rd, and 5th-round picks, plus two 6th-round picks.
If they make a move — say, a trade for Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby — it would likely cost one of those 1st-round picks.
Cowboys Draft Well … They Just Don’t Sign Well
The Cowboys actually do a really good job drafting players — especially in the early rounds. In the last decade of 1st-round picks, they’ve only had two outright busts – defensive tackle Mazi Smith in 2023 and defensive end Taco Charlton in 2027.
The Cowboys lose their collective shirt in signing those star players to their first major contract extensions. Not signing players like quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb to extensions after their third NFL seasons — right when they’re eligible — cost them tens of millions of dollars that could have gone to free agents.
The most egregious of the bunch was not signing NFL All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons after his third season — a fissure in the relationship between Jones and Parsons that eventually led to Parsons being traded to the Green Bay Packers before the 2025 season.
Cowboys Face Alarming NFL Draft News for 2027 & 2028