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Would you rather trade up and get one Tier 1 player and then maybe a handful of Tier 3 and 4 guys who play special teams? Or given everything this defense needs, would you rather trade down and maybe get four or five Tier 2 players who could start or have significant roles on the defense? – Kenneth Hennett/Mechanicsville, VA
Patrik: I have several scenarios in my head entering the draft and really it all boils down to who is available/falling as the 12th-overall pick approaches. I am out on selling out to move into the top-3 or top-5, so go ahead and draw a line through that for me. I'd entertain moving up a few reasonable spots if one of the incomparable defensive talents has fallen out of the top-5, and even then I'd need to see how many of those blue chips are on the board and if one of them might be there at 12th-overall. Absent that scenario, I'm sticking and picking at No. 12 and seeing if I can move back from No. 20 to the mid-20s to get another pick or two, and especially knowing there's currently no second-round pick for a defense that needs blue chips as much as it needs regular chips.
Tommy: Based on your scenario, if you absolutely guaranteed me that trading back would net me four to five starting caliber players/heavy rotational players would be added to the defense, I'm taking that scenario all day. Sure, a David Bailey (Texas Tech) or Arvell Reese (Ohio State) kind of player would be incredible and they've got the ability to be superstars. But they're only one player. The Cowboys' defense needs guys who can raise their floor, and this year's crop of prospects has plenty of guys at multiple positions who can do that. So absolutely, if there's a way you can get that many starters in this draft class, you absolutely take that and count on the stars you already have on the roster like Quinnen Williams to elevate their play too.
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