Eagles could steal Cowboys ideal Tony Pollard replacement this weekend

The Dallas Cowboys own the No. 24 pick in tonight's NFL Draft. There are several potential avenues for Jerry Jones and the front office to take. The general consensus is that Dallas should target offensive line help, but it all depends on the available prospects. There is no guarantee the Cowboys address their most pressing need in the first round.

According to Jane Slater of NFL Network, if the Cowboys' favorite O-line prospects are off the board by pick No. 24 — she cites Graham Barton, Tyler Guyton, and Amarius Mims — Dallas could trade back and target a running back in the second round. Right now, Rico Dowdle is the Cowboys' projected RB1, and a potential reuniuon with Ezekiel Elliott would not assuage concerns about the Dallas' depth chart.

The halfback to keep an eye on, per Slater, is Texas Longhorns standout Jonathon Brooks. Despite limited starting experience and a recent ACL surgery, Brooks checks just about every box for a RB prospect. It's less trendy to pick running backs in the first round these days, but Dallas can certainly justify investing in such an explosive playmaker in the second round. Especially if the alternative is leaning on a committee of Zeke, Dowdle, and Deuce Vaughn.

There's only one problem. While the Cowboys love Brooks, they fear their division rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, share that same affection.

Cowboys interested in Texas RB Jonathon Brooks, but fear Eagles could steal him

The Eagles pick 53rd in the second round. The Cowboys are slated to pick 56th. One potential solution, of course, is to acquire a higher second-round pick in the process of trading back. That would allow Dallas to safely jump the Eagles and land their guy. If not, Dallas would need to keep the faith and hope that Philadelphia is invested fully in Saquon Barkley as its bell cow.

It's a bit strange for the Eagles to pop up in RB rumors after spending a lot of money on Barkley. Not all that money is guaranteed beyond this season, though, and Barkley's injury history is well documented. There's also a case for selecting another competent RB to split the workload with Barkley, potentially preserving Philadelphia's investment and extending Barkley's competitive timeline.

Brooks is built strong at 6-foot-0 and 216 pounds. His ability to power through the line of scrimmage or evade defenders in space is unmatched by his NFL Draft peers. Brooks was absolutely dominant at Texas, following in the footsteps of 2023 first-round pick Bijan Robinson. He ran 187 times in 11 games, accumulating 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. That's a healthy 6.1 yards per carry. He also managed 25 receptions for 254 yards and one touchdown.

The knee injury and lack of experience for the redshirt sophomore is what will keep him out of the first round. Even so, in terms of raw physical talent and on-field production, it's all there. Brooks could prefer Dallas over Philadelphia, both because it's closer to Austin and because he would profile as the day-one starter, rather than working in tandem with a high-usage RB like Barkley.

We won't know until the pick is made, though. It's only appropriate that Dallas and Philadelphia's rivalry extends into the offseason, with both front offices jockeying for position in the competitive NFC East.