The Dallas Cowboys will have the fourth overall pick in the NFL Draft. While that guarantees the acquisition of a talented NFL prospect, it does not guarantee that the best player available will fill a position of need. There are a handful of NFL teams who need a quarterback more than the Cowboys need whoever they select at the four spot.
With the seventh overall pick the San Francisco 49ers could look to move up to assure that no one takes their next franchise quarterback. Now, trading with Dallas to move up would make sense considering Dallas could trade with five other teams that need a quarterback. In this situation, swapping first-round picks while picking up an extra second or third round pick would be ideal, and the 49ers would get their next starting quarterback.
There's also always the Philadelphia Eagles lurking with the eighth overall pick. Now even though there's suspicion that they could go offensive line here, what if they realize they are only a handful of picks away from landing Jared Goff or the best offensive lineman in the draft? That might be worth parting with some picks. The Eagles could attempt to do this with all of the other teams early on as well, but considering how many holes they need to fill, it is likely they would look to trade back for more picks, not trade up for less.
This leaves the most desperate teams, the Los Angeles Rams, Denver Broncos, and New York Jets. The Jets will most likely eventually re-sign Ryan Fitzpatrick, but if they don't do something with the twentieth overall pick they could be in some trouble. Sure Geno Smith is on the roster, but it has become clear the Jets do not see him as their franchise quarterback.
The Jets could look to the Cowboys at four to grab one of the top prospects at QB. If this were to happen, an obvious swap of picks would be involved along with some potential defensive lineman. But the Jets would have to be desperate enough to do this, and even after a good season they weren't desperate enough to sign the man who got them there.
The Broncos just traded for Mark Sanchez, however they could look to move some of their pieces such as Emmanuel Sanders - or even dare I say DeMarcus Ware - to move up in the 2016 NFL Draft. Moving all the way back to 31 is something that the Cowboys would likely not be high on, however, if the price is right anything is possible.
Lastly, that leaves the Los Angeles Rams who would definitely be open to moving up and grabbing Jared Goff. The Rams could swap their first-round pick (15) with the Cowboys and Dallas would still have a shot at grabbing Ezekiel Elliott, so this is a possibility. If the Cowboys were to trade back at all, it would be a clear signal that they are looking to draft a running back or wide receiver in the first round.
