The NFL Draft is an incredibly unpredictable event. Anything can happen when a team is on the clock. Last year, the Atlanta Falcons shocked the world and took quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick after inking Kirk Cousins to a massive contract in free agency. If CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson is correct, something even more drastic will happen this April.
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Wilson recapped version 5.0 of CBS’s mock draft on Monday afternoon. He and co-analyst Mike Renner stayed chalky for their first three selections, taking two quarterbacks and a dominant edge rusher off the board:
- No. 1 – Cam Ward (Tennessee Titans)
- No. 2 – Abdul Carter (Cleveland Browns)
- No. 3 – Shedeur Sanders (New York Giants).
- After that, things, as host Jordan Giorgio put it, “get a little crazy.”
Wilson and Renner have the New England Patriots, owners of the No. 4 overall pick, executing the first trade of draft night.
In itself, that’s not surprising. The Patriots have one of the league’s worst rosters and would benefit immensely from additional high-end draft capital. What’s shocking, though, is how far down Wilson and Renner have them going. They think Mike Vrabel’s team will drop eight spots. In return, they’re catapulting the Dallas Cowboys up the board for the draft’s most perplexing player: Travis Hunter.
“Jerry [Jones] is, in fact, going to get aggressive. They need help in a lot of places. They’re going to get CeeDee Lamb… [and] Dak Prescott… [and] the defense some help, because they’re trading up to number four… and they’re going to take Travis Hunter,” Wilson said.
Wilson’s quote demonstrates belief in Hunter playing both offense and defense for the Cowboys. However, he’s against the grain in projecting where Hunter will spend most of his time. He’s confident Hunter will “come in on day 1 and [be] an immediate deep threat” for Prescott. On defense, he sees Hunter serving as the depth at cornerback behind Trevon Diggs and Daron Bland. But how feasible would a Travis Hunter trade be for the Cowboys?
Will Jerry Jones change his approach for Hunter?
Dallas has the second-most draft picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. Jerry Jones’ 10 selections trail only the Baltimore Ravens’ and San Francisco 49ers’ 11 choices. This gives him plenty of ammunition to make moves up the draft board. But just three of his 10 picks (No. 12, No. 44, and No. 76) come on the first two days of the event.
If Jones wants to make such a drastic leap, from No. 12 overall to No. 4, he’ll have to part ways with a future asset or two. Back in 2021, the San Francisco 49ers pulled off a similar move to land quarterback Trey Lance. And the Miami Dolphins received an absolute haul:
- San Francisco receivers:
- No. 3 overall pick (1st Round – 2021)
- Miami receivers
- No. 12 overall pick (1st Round – 2021)
- 2022 first-round pick
- 2022 third-round pick
- 2023 first-round pick
If Ward and Sanders are drafted before the fourth pick, it’s possible Jones could get it for a lower cost. Acquiring quarterbacks is always more expensive than landing players at other positions. Regardless, he’d still likely have to dip into future draft capital. NFL pick value charts list the No. 4 pick at a value of 1800. Dallas’ first three picks have a value of 1870.
The Cowboys have too many needs to sacrifice three selections for one, even for somebody of Hunter’s caliber. But Renner thinks Jerry Jones could pull the trigger for off-field reasons.
“Jerry Jones, at the end of the day, still wants to move jerseys. He still wants to be the lead on every single sports program. Travis Hunter makes you the lead… and if he goes to the Dallas Cowboys, he will 100%… play both ways at the NFL level. We’re going to be talking about him every single Monday next fall, and that’s something Jerry Jones obviously would be interested in.”
Renner is spot-on about Jones loving when the Cowboys lead the news. Despite this, he has been hesitant to go all-in chasing a Super Bowl in recent years. Whether Hunter is special enough to inspire Jones to change his approach is something we’ll learn when the 2025 NFL Draft begins on Apr. 24.
