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The Dallas Cowboys have the 27th pick in the upcoming NFL draft and would likely need to either trade up or hope for some unexpected developments to happen to land one of the top available quarterbacks, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t interested.
Mike Fisher of Fan Nation reported one NFL source said the Cowboys are “intrigued” by Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud as a prospect.
“I don’t know the ‘how,”’ the source said. “But (Dallas is) absolutely intrigued by Stroud.”
It seems rather unlikely the Buckeyes signal-caller will fall that far in the draft. After all, the Heisman Trophy finalist threw for a combined 8,123 yards, 85 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions the last two years while establishing himself as an NFL-ready prospect and one of the best players in the country.
B/R’s NFL Scouting Department projected Stroud as the No. 1 overall pick in its most recent mock draft.
Notably, the Indianapolis Colts landed him in that hypothetical after acquiring the top pick from the Chicago Bears. Chicago already has its franchise quarterback in place in Justin Fields, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see it move that selection to acquire more assets and future draft picks.
Perhaps that could open the door for a team like the Cowboys to swoop in and select Stroud if they really like him that much as a prospect, although there is the other factor with the NFC East team.
And that factor is the presence of Dak Prescott.
Prescott is already the team’s franchise quarterback and just 29 years old. Fisher noted Dallas plans on giving Prescott a contract extension that will keep him in place beyond the two years remaining on his deal.
Doing that and trading for a higher first-round pick to use on Stroud wouldn’t make much sense, as the rookie would presumably sit on the bench for the foreseeable future with Prescott under center.
Stroud unexpectedly falling in the draft could create a scenario where the Cowboys take him and look to create a situation like the one that happened for the Green Bay Packers when Aaron Rodgers dropped on draft day and initially sat behind Brett Favre.
But even that seems like a long shot at this point.
