NFL Rumors: Cowboys insider believes team could trade up in 2022 draft to pick highly-touted offensive talent

The Dallas Cowboys have a decorated history in the NFL. With twenty-four division championships, ten conference championships, and five Super Bowl wins, the Cowboys are among the cream of the crop when it comes to a winning history. But the key word there is history. Now that they have their quarterback and a much improved defense, they need a few more pieces to make a run.

While the club has had several winning seasons and playoff appearances in the past two decades, they haven’t made it back to the Super Bowl since 1996. And for a while, it seemed like more and more NFL analysts were picking the Cowboys to go all the way, only to be sorely disappointed when the season came to an end, often without so much as a playoff berth.

With the NFL draft nearly upon us, Jerry Jones and company hope to make all that change and build on their 12-5 2021 season, which ended with a Wild Card round loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

According to Emmy-winning columnist Mike Fisher, who has covered the team since 1990, the latest rumor out of Dallas has the Cowboys trading up.

"The Dallas Cowboys owner also couldn't avoid the truth: He is, in general, in favor of the idea of sacrificing multiple 'darts' for a targeted talent. And there are some signs that Northern Iowa offensive lineman Trevor Penning could qualify as such a talent.”

Fisher stated in a recent article on the Cowboys Country website.

“In a mock exercise via NFL.com, the Cowboys deal away a pair of picks (a fourth- and a fifth-rounder, picks Nos. 129 and 178) in order to jump up a few spots from No. 24 to New England's No. 21, at which point they select Penning.”

Could the Cowboys make the right moves in the draft and fill all their needs?

Jerry Jones is a guy who knows what he wants and does his best to get it. Even if what he wants is not a team need, in which case, he would have to be conceived to pick differently. With Penning, however, wants and needs are perfectly matched.

If the Cowboys make the move, the most glaring need, besides the offensive lineman position, is wide receiver. This year's draft is rich with wideout talent, and the Cowboys could conceivably acquire a beast like Penning and still walk away with a solid pass catcher.