Dallas played the first night of the draft better than anyone. It helped to have two first-round picks, as a result of the debatable decision to trade Micah Parsons, but the Cowboys maximized those selections. It included taking a prospect who might end up being the best player in the draft.
With Downs, the Cowboys got a player some analysts (including Yahoo Sports’ Charles McDonald) thought was the best prospect in the draft. To get Downs without having to give up any valuable draft capital was an absolute steal. We could look back on that as the best pick of this draft, especially in terms of value.
And if that’s all the Cowboys did, it would have been a good night. Dallas wasn’t done. The Cowboys traded down three spots with the Eagles from No. 20 to No. 23, collecting picks 114 and 137 while shipping off a seventh-rounder (218th overall). The Cowboys moved up to No. 11 in the first round and somehow, by the end of the round, ended up with better draft capital than they started with. That’s how you work a draft. With the 23rd pick, the Cowboys drafted UCF defensive end Malachi Lawrence, a big and explosive edge rusher who can help right away.
Dallas hasn’t had ultimate success in a long, long time. Cowboys haters will remind you often that the 1995 season was the last time they reached the conference championship round. But they usually do pretty well in the draft, and they nailed it Thursday night.