Kurt: I don’t think the Giants’ trade with the Bengals, which saw New York give up defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence in exchange for Cincinnati’s 10th overall pick in Thursday’s NFL Draft, will have a great deal of impact on the Cowboys’ plans. And there are a couple of reasons why.
First, mock drafts before the deal largely anticipated the Bengals would target the same defensive players the Cowboys and now possibly the Giants are interested in. Those like Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane and Miami edge Rueben Bain Jr.
So just because the teams at No. 10 changed doesn’t mean the players who will be selected necessarily have. Dallas may have needed to jump Cincinnati as well to get, say, a guy like Downs. In fact, some mock drafts have New York grabbing an offensive player with its new pick, which would certainly help the Cowboys.
The other reason is that Dallas simply needs to handle its own house and not get bogged down in what others may or may not being doing with theirs. We hear that all the time from players and coaches during the season, about how the Cowboys just need to worry about themselves. Well, the same could seemingly apply here. If the Cowboys start playing guessing games or seriously altering their own philosophies and draft strategies based on what New York does or doesn’t do, that could spell trouble.
So for now, I think the Cowboys might be pretty happy about the whole situation. Their draft thinking shouldn’t be greatly altered, and perhaps even more importantly, they no longer have to face one of the NFL’s premier defensive tackles twice a season.
Accept that little gift and now just take care of your own business.
