Cowboys-Browns draft trade feels all but certain with latest mock draft buzz.

It would really stink to be smart. If you’re right about the things you know about, no one really gives you credit. If you’re wrong, people dunk on you. That’s especially true when it comes to the NFL Draft. A handful of the smart draft guys put out a new version of their mock drafts this week, and a handful of them had a very similar scenario: Mel Kiper, Todd McShay, and Dane Brugler all had the Dallas Cowboys trading with the Browns to move up and draft Sonny Styles, the linebacker from Ohio State.

Is that just smoke? Do they know something? Is that a good idea for both teams? Is it even a good idea for just one of the teams? Let’s dig in. 

What are the chances the Cowboys and Browns make a draft pick trade?

You would think that the earlier the draft pick, the easier it would be to predict… But it turns out that’s really just for the first overall pick. After that, no one really has any idea of what’s going to happen.

The Draftniks typically have an idea of what guys' teams are going to go after, to a point. If a team needs a quarterback, there’s typically a pretty well-known hierarchy at the top of the draft, and it’s relatively easy to predict who will draft who. 

After that? It all comes down to what teams prioritize and how they evaluate players… And then you toss in the potential of trade-ups and trade-downs? Buddy, you’re talking about some pretty slim chances of predicting things.

That’s what makes it interesting that multiple people, who make their living talking about the draft (even though it’s an industry that they created), are all predicting not just that the Browns are going to trade, but also that they’re going to trade with the Cowboys.

Every single one of them has the Cowboys sending the 12th overall pick to the Browns, and the Browns sending the 6th pick to the Cowboys… But they’re a little different on the other parts. 

Aside from the sixth pick to Dallas and the 12th to Cleveland, these are the other pieces Kiper, Brugler, and McShay have included in their mock trades: 

Is trading up for Sonny Styles worth it for the Cowboys?

For the Cowboys, they are chasing potential superstars. If they’re trading up to the sixth-overall pick, it’s going to be for Sonny Styles. He’s one of the best five overall players in the draft, and as far as pure linebackers go, he’s by far the best one available. 

If everything that they’ve done to that defense so far this offseason works out, they only need a few more defensive studs to have a competitive team. Styles is definitely one of those studs.

The bad news is that he’s not going to be available when the Cowboys have their first pick at 12. The good news is that they have two first-round draft picks: their own and the Packers’ (20th overall) from the Micah Parsons trade. 

They also have Jerry Jones. The man is a lunatic who constantly makes terrible decisions, but it hasn’t always been that way. There was a minute there (more than 30 years ago) when he would be totally fine trading up and getting the guys he wanted. Hell, that’s how he landed Emmitt Smith in 1990, and Dez Bryant in 2010.

Right now, after the Cowboys make their first-round pick(s), they won’t pick again until late in the third round at 92nd overall. That is a loooooong time to not have any picks. 

While Sonny Styles looks like he’s going to be the real deal, this is the draft, and the entire thing is a crapshoot. The more picks you have, the better off you’ll (probably) be. It’s tough to justify trading up to get a guy you targeted rather than trading up to get a guy who is sliding… 

But if Dallas is dead-set on getting Styles, then so be it. This is where the different analysts’ trades come into play.

In Mel Kiper’s scenario, the Cowboys lose both of their firsts, but gain the sixth overall pick and the Browns' second-round pick at 39th overall. The Cowboys would keep the same total number of picks and also get their guy. That’s probably worth it. 

In Todd McShay’s scenario, the Cowboys lose the 12th overall pick (keep the 20th), lose their third-round pick, lose their second-round pick next year, and get just the sixth overall pick. That means once they make the 20th pick, they wouldn’t pick again until the fourth round (112th pick). That’s a little scary for future Jerry Jones, but he’ll be able to sleep really easily knowing he has two first-round talents. 

In Dane Brugler’s scenario, the Cowboys lose the 12th and the 20th overall picks, and their 2027 fourth-round pick. They do still get the sixth overall pick and the Browns' second-round pick at 39. That’s pretty much the same thing as the first one. 

All of those are beneficial to Dallas because they're getting their stud and either keeping one of their firsts or gaining a second. Maybe that’s unrealistic, but we’ve seen weirder things happen in draft day trades.

Is it worth it for the Cleveland Browns to trade down?

Like the Cowboys, the Browns also have two first-round picks: the sixth overall and the 24th overall. We know that the Browns have been shopping that sixth pick around. 

At the owners meeting last month, Andrew Berry was asked if he would trade down from the sixth pick. He said, “It depends on the prospects who are available… I’ll tell you guys this, I don’t know that we are going to be picking six… We want to use the asset in the best way possible. Whether that’s sitting and picking, trading up, trading down, or trading for a veteran player.”

We also know that he’s got a penchant for trading first-round picks. He’s been the GM in Cleveland for six drafts, and he’s traded four of his first-round picks: Three of them went to the Texans for Deshaun Watson, and he traded the second-overall pick to the Jaguars in 2025. That trade got him the 2025 fifth overall pick and the Jaguars 2026 first-round pick (24th overall).

As for why they would do this trade: They need more high-end talent, plain and simple. But the high-end talent they need isn’t necessarily the superstar talent the Cowboys are hunting.

They need an offensive tackle and wide receivers. There are a bunch of those kinds of guys who will be available all around the first and second rounds of the draft. 

If they can trade that sixth overall pick, they’re going to be getting (or at least, should be getting) more than one first-round pick back. That means more opportunities to get the WRs and OTs. It makes sense. 

The Browns have the means (multiple first-round picks), the motive (lots of roster needs and a willing GM), and they’ll have the opportunity (a top-10 pick that’s more valuable to other teams).

In Kiper's scenario, the Browns would end up with three first-round picks and lose their second-rounder. That’s amazing. You’re going up 19 spots and getting another player with a fifth-year option. Beautiful.

In McShay’s scenario, they’re only getting one first this year, but they’re getting a second-rounder next year… they also don’t have to give up their second-round pick this year. This stinks. Don’t do that, Andrew Berry. You’d be getting fleeced. 

Sure, next year’s draft is supposed to be good, but getting the Cowboys’ 20th pick is too good to pass up if it’s an option. Maybe they can get someone to do a stupid trade like the Falcons did last year, where they traded a first-round pick for the 26th overall pick; that’s not off the table. 

In Brugler's scenario, it’s the same thing as Kiper's, but even better because of the future fourth-round pick. Definitely worth it. 

You can’t knock the Browns for having a good process, and trading back in the first round is almost always a good process…

But again, it is the Browns, so something is going to inevitably go wrong with whatever they do. Watch them to trade back from six, take whatever picks they get from Dallas, and then trade back up into the teens and get a bust or something like that. 

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