IRVING, Texas – If you've been paying attention during these last two decades, it's apparent Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones doesn't mind moving up and down the draft board.
The Cowboys have a well-documented history of making draft trades in any and every direction during Jones' 26 years in charge of the team. It goes back as far as 1989, and the famous Herschel Walker Trade, or as recently as 2010, 2012 and 2013, when the Cowboys made trades that netted them Dez Bryant, Morris Claiborne and Travis Frederick, respectively.
Given that history, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Cowboys once again move when the 2015 NFL Draft starts Thursday night. It might be even more likely, considering the uncertainty surrounding their No. 27 overall pick – five spots before the end of the first round.
"You probably increase the chance, in my mind, of movement either down or up," Jones said Tuesday.
It takes more than just desire to pull off a trade, however. It requires a willing trade partner. As much as the Cowboys might want to trade up or move down, they'll need a team willing to make a deal – a proposition that doesn't always play out.
"We didn't have the opportunity last year to make a trade so it takes another team showing that kind of in interest," Jones said. "All the work and hustle in the world on the phone doesn't get it done if there is nobody wanting to make a trade."
Which direction that could lead the Cowboys would be anybody's guess – much like in years prior. In 2010, they traded up three spots to grab Bryant, surrendering their first and third-round picks to New England in exchange for the Patriots' No. 24 pick, as well as a fourth-rounder.
[embeddedad0]
They did the opposite in 2013, moving back from No. 18 to No. 31 and acquiring San Francisco's 74th overall pick – a pair of selections they turned into Travis Frederick and Terrance Williams.
"There is certainly a possibility we could trade up," he said. "It is very possible for us to trade down and get a shot at a higher level of pick with a second-round pick that you don't have or do something with our second or third. So you guys know how it works."
Every option is apparently at the table, not that the Cowboys would be willing to divulge much more than that. Knowing the Cowboys' history, though, maybe the biggest surprise would be if they stayed put.
"The fact that we are at 27 increases the chance we may be moving around a little bit," Jones said.
