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Chief operating officer Stephen Jones of the Dallas Cowboys ahead of the NFL draft

The Dallas Cowboys are looking at one of the most consequential drafts the team has had in a while, a set-up that came about once the team decided to trade away superstar pass rusher Micah Parsons last summer for first-rounders in 2026 and 2027. They’ve already dealt away the 2027 pick (to the Jets in the Quinnen Williams trade) and will, thus, need to make sure they get the other pick from Green Bay (No. 20 overall) right on Thursday.

Of course, as part of the conversation on what the Cowboys will do, with both picks No. 12 and 20, the possibility of trading up in the draft has lingered. So has the possibility of trading down, if the team decides it would rather have multiple players on board.

On Wednesday, in an odd press conference at The Star that featured a drop-in from former President Bill Clinton, team owner Jerry Jones, and his son, Stephen Jones, the Cowboys VP, revealed that they’re letting the trade offers come to them.

Cowboys Getting Calls to Move in NFL Draft

Jerry Jones was asked on Wednesday whether the Cowboys have been receiving calls to trade up from No. 12. He said, simply, “Yes.”

But he added that the Cowboys approach is to not be the team making the trade call. Said Jones: “We have trades, there is, you could imagine getting a call right now and making a trade, picks or players. That hasn’t usually been our experience, it has to happen when a team gets the urgency of having a player within where their pick’s going to be. But certainly, the nature of having extra picks in that first round gives more credence to some options here, whether it is up or down.”

Jones was also asked about the advantage of receiving calls rather than making them.  He said: “I don’t know that. I don’t know that. They’re usually, candidly, better coming in than going out.”

Free Agency Put Pressure on NFL Draft

Jones was also asked about his vow, made in February during the NFL draft combine, to spend more and more this offseason in an effort to improve a Cowboys roster that has produced only seven wins in each of the last two seasons.

Jones promised he would, “bust the budget.” But in the end, the Cowboys were light-spending when it comes to aggressively pursuing opposing free agents. The biggest new free-agent deal the Cowboys paid out was $33 million over three years for safety Jalen Thompson. But they also re-signed Brandon Aubrey on a record four-year, $28 million contract, as well as paying Javonte Williams $24 million over three years.

Cowboys brass also made clear that George Pickens will be on the one-year, $27 million franchise tag next season.

Jerry Jones Addresses Cowboys ‘Busting Budget’

That counts as busting the budget for Jones and the Cowboys.

As he said: “Done that, yes. We signed that kicker to the highest priced contract in the history of kicking, as an example. We’re in a position that we can do some things, flexibility that allows if that opportunity were there and we could do a now thing, regarding the financial of it, we have probably more flexibility than we have had in years past.”