DAVE DEWEYTEMPE, AZ
With Gavin Escobar showing on an affordable rookie contract and showing flashes as a Red Zone weapon, and with the poor crop of tight ends in this draft, does he hold more value for the Cowboys as a trade piece than as a player?
Rob: It's not a bad thought based on history. The Cowboys did swap Anthony Fasano, another minimally-used tight end, on draft week in 2008 and subsequently drafted Martellus Bennett. But I'd be surprised if a deal like that happened this year because Jerry Jones was correct when he said overall, player values are nowhere close to draft pick values this time of year.
David:Rob's got a great point – I really don't think you'd get as much back from trading Escobar as you'd think. I still think it's an avenue worth exploring, though. Jason Witten isn't going anywhere for three more seasons, and I really don't think Escobar is going to take any giant steps behind him. If the Cowboys could use him to secure an extra pick – maybe a fourth? – I'd consider it. But I'd be pretty surprised to see it happen.
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FRED ROBERTSSALEM, OR
I recently read the draft preview and while I think Sean Mannion from Oregon State might be a late-round pick that would fit with the Cowboys, does he really look that much better than Dustin Vaughan? It seems the organization was pretty high on Vaughan to keep on the 53-man roster all year. Could we see a depth chart of Romo/Vaughan/Mannion instead of Romo/Weeden/Mannion? Your thoughts?
Rob: Great question. The team really likes Vaughan's skill set and the way he goes about things. Obviously he's had a small sample size and even though Weeden struggled in one start last year, the Cowboys are probably more comfortable at this moment having the more experienced guy behind Romo. The team will have to decide on draft weekend whether a quarterback on their board projects better than Vaughan's development to this point. If we're talking about drafting a Day 3 QB, I'm not sure they'll find a guy who does.
David:Your question perfectly illustrates why I don't think the Cowboys need to draft a quarterback this weekend. What are the odds that one of these quarterback prospects, other than Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota, is good enough to beat out Weeden as a rookie? Not great, in my opinion. And in all honesty, other than Bryce Petty or Brett Hundley, I'm not sure anybody in this draft is better than Vaughan. This season seems like a great chance to see what the Cowboys have. Weeden has one more year on his contract, and Vaughan deserves another look at his development. If neither guy shows promise after this go-around, hopefully the 2016 quarterback class will be better.
