2023 NFL mock draft: Cowboys, Falcons make massive trades up
14. Dallas Cowboys (trade): Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas
Bijan Robinson. 14. 123. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. RB. Texas. player
TRADE: Cowboys trade up to 14th pick with Patriots
I don’t think people appreciate just how tough it undoubtedly was for Jerry Jones to say goodbye to Ezekiel Elliott. Jones bucked conventional wisdom to keep Elliott around as long as he did in the first place, even as productive as Elliott had been throughout his career.
Jerry Jones understandably takes pride in his high draft picks. When you look at what the Cowboys have done over the last decade (and some beyond), it’s easy to see why it’s so hard for the Cowboys owner to part with his picks, even if it means keeping them beyond when it makes sense to do so.
- 2013: Travis Frederick, C
- 2014: Zack Martin, OG
- 2015: Byron Jones, DB
- 2016: Ezekiel Elliott, RB
- 2017: Taco Charlton, DE
- 2018: Leighton Vander Esch, LB
- 2019: Traded for WR Amari Cooper
- 2020: CeeDee Lamb, WR
- 2021: Micah Parsons, LB
- 2022: Tyler Smith, OT
To say that the Cowboys are good at drafting in round one would be a vast understatement. They might be better at it than any other team. That’s one miss in 10 years (Charlton). But I digress.
The point of this trade is to replace one superstar, crop-top-rocking running back with another. Bijan Robinson is a top five player in this draft class. He falls out of the top 10 picks because he’s a running back. The Cowboys can’t really rely on Tony Pollard being 100 percent at the start of the season and even if he is, he’s playing on the franchise tag.
Getting Bijan Robinson would reset this position for Dallas and — we know this is important to Jerry — might sell more jerseys than any other rookie in the league.
15. Green Bay Packers: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Ohio State
Jaxon Smith-Njigba. 15. player. WR. Ohio State. 49. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis
Not to overshadow this mock draft selection completely, but obviously, the Bijan Robinson pick was a major part of this post. The Green Bay Packers needed to wait until Aaron Rodgers left before they were willing to use a first-round pick on an offensive skill player not named Jordan Love.
All kidding aside, this pick would be an absolute home run for the Packers. They found a couple of studs in last year’s draft in Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs. They are going to soon say goodbye to Randall Cobb and they already said goodbye to Allen Lazard. Jaxon Smith-Njigba would come in and provide Jordan Love with a sure-handed outlet who runs great routes and can win consistently in the slot.