![\"David](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2243629217-e1775244911201.jpg\")
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David Bailey #31 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders could be a trade target for the Dallas Cowboys.<\/p>\n
The Dallas Cowboys<\/a> probably still have a trick or two up their sleeves by the time this year\u2019s NFL draft comes around, though the presumption has long been that the team will seek out a trade for a linebacker in the coming weeks. The Cowboys don\u2019t want to head into the draft in a position where they are picking for need, but as things stand, there is no avoiding that reality\u2013Dallas still needs a linebacker, and they\u2019re rumored to still by eyeing pass-rushers.<\/p>\n As of now, the Cowboys\u2019 approach seems to be hoping that the draft gives them a gift, that one of the top pass-rushers in the draft somehow slips down to No. 12, where the Cowboys have their first pick. Rueben Bain, whose relatively short arms have some questioning him as a Top 10 pick, has been the favored Cowboys target for a drop.<\/p>\n But maybe the Cowboys will take matters into their own hands and, as NFL<\/a> draft guru Todd McShay of The Ringer reports, package their first three picks this year to deal to Arizona for the No. 2 overall pick, with star Texas Tech<\/a> edge David Bailey as their target.<\/p>\n \u2018A Lot of Buzz\u2019 Around Cowboys Trade<\/p>\n Speaking on his podcast on Friday, McShay explored what the Arizona Cardinals<\/a> might do with the No. 3 overall pick. While some in that organization are pushing for running back Jeremiyah Love, McShay said moving off that pick for multiple assets is on the docket, too.<\/p>\n \u201cTrading out of No. 3 remains one of the priorities, or one of the things that could absolutely happen with Arizona,\u201d McShay said on \u201cThe McShay Show<\/a>.\u201d \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of buzz about Dallas, and what comes to the noise, with Dallas trading up from 12 to three to get Bailey, right?<\/p>\n \u201cKeep it in state. Texas Tech, pass rusher. Most importantly, they\u2019ve put all their efforts into rebuilding that defense over the last year. But then there\u2019s the back-and-forth. \u2026 When I say to you that Arizona could be trading out of that spot, a team could be trading up, for an edge. Specifically, David Bailey.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n David Bailey a Star-in-Making<\/p>\n A trade for Bailey would not come cheap. Undoubtedly, it would cost the Cowboys both of their first-round picks, at No. 12 and No. 20, and probably would require a third pick\u2013either this season\u2019s third-rounder or a Day 2 pick next year.<\/p>\n To give up that much capital would require the Cowboys to have faith in Bailey, who was a jaw-dropper as a pass-rusher with Texas Tech last season. There\u2019s reason to have that faith, though. Bailey was an All-America and led the nation with 14.5 sacks, leading the Big 12 with 19.5 tackles for a loss.<\/p>\n From the NFL.com scouting report<\/a>: \u201cBailey is extremely hard for linemen to stay in front of. He moves like a slashing two guard, blending explosiveness and fluidity to slip, bend and flow around blocks from multiple angles. His leverage and lower-body flexion create game-over scenarios once he reaches pocket depth with even a minor lead. \u2026<\/p>\n \u201cHis draft grade is slightly tempered by a lack of desired size\/length, but the explosiveness and athletic talent is truly elite. His sack production should carry over to the NFL as an odd-front rush linebacker with Pro Bowl upside.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tSean Deveney<\/a> is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Cowboys\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty David Bailey #31 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders could be a trade target for the Dallas…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":852873,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2066],"tags":[230,229,257,2461,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-852872","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas-cowboys","8":"tag-cowboys","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-dallas-cowboys","11":"tag-dallascowboys","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=852872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852872\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/852873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=852872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=852872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=852872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}