The Dallas Cowboys are in an extremely interesting position heading into the 2016 NFL Draft. Many believe the Cowboys would have been a playoff team had it not been for injuries, namely to quarterback Tony Romo.
Now armed with the fourth overall pick, the Cowboys have an interesting decision to make as they could grab their quarterback of the future, or an impact player who would make a more immediate impact.
No one is quite sure what the Cowboys will do, but owner and general manager Jerry Jones made one thing clear at the NFL Scouting Combine, he sees Tony Romo being around for a while, via David Helman of DallasCowboys.com:
Jerry Jones: the one unequivocal fact about the lead up to this draft is that I believe Tony Romo will be our QB for 4-5 more years.
— David Helman (@HelmanDC) February 27, 2016
While this doesn’t completely rule out the Cowboys drafting a quarterback with the fourth pick, it might be a sign that the team is leaning elsewhere in regards to it’s draft pick. The Cowboys were inches away from the NFC Title Game in 2015, so if the team feels like it could be a Super Bowl contender, grabbing an impact defensive player could be the way to go.
The need to begin grooming a future quarterback is obvious, however, especially considering Romo’s injury history and this draft has a trio of intriguing prospects. Cal’s Jared Goff, North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz, and Memphis’ Paxton Lynch are all considered to be first round prospects, but if Jones believes Romo will be around for as long as he does, using the fourth pick on one of them wouldn’t make sense.
If they don’t go for one in the draft, the Cowboys could still grab one in free agency or via trade where players such as Robert Griffin III and Colin Kaepernick could potentially be obtained.
