NFL Source: Have Cowboys & Falcons Talked About Draft Trade-Up For TE Kyle Pitts?
FRISCO - It would be a massive story, and there are enough peripheral hints to suggest it might someday come true. But is the "report'' that the Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons have talked about a trade-up to the No. 4 slot in the upcoming NFL Draft - with the likely target being Florida's Kyle Pitts - true?
READ MORE: 'Wildcattin' Jerry 'Infatuated' With Pitts
"That has not happened,'' says one team source who would have knowledge of such a conversation.
Let's go item-by-item to address the questions and answers here ...
ITEM 1: From where did this "news story'' appear? A tweet from an account called "NFL Rumors'' cites "CBS Sports'' as the origin. But we can't find CBS Sports mentioning any such thing. Maybe it did so. Maybe "NFL Rumors'' misunderstood. Maybe "NFL Rumors'' created this all out of thin air.
But as of 8 a.m. CT Thursday, April 8 ... the Cowboys have not called the Falcons. That's a fact.
ITEM 2: Are the Falcons fielding phone calls? A Falcons team source has acknowledged to CowboysSI.com that they are indeed listening to offers for the No. 4 overall pick.
ITEM 3: Is Atlanta committed to trading out of No. 4? Not yet. A new GM. A new coach. And an established QB. Those are the factors. Do the Falcons want to add to Matt Ryan's weapons, or draft a QB to be Matt Ryan's heir?
They have not yet made that determination.
ITEM 4: Will Dallas make this call? Yes. Due diligence demands at least that.
ITEM 5: Can it be more that "due diligence'' to make that call? Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' "infatuation'' with Pitts answers that question for us. The Dallas front office would be negligent in its duties if it didn't research the idea of trading up.
ITEM 6: Should Jerry's "infatuation'' be taken seriously? Some have compared this storyline to Jerry's "infatuation'' with Johnny Manziel. That thinking is misguided. The Dallas Cowboys - no matter what yarns Jerry spins - were never going to draft the Texas A&M QB in the firs round of that draft. Why not? Because the personnel department wasn't going to let that happen. The personnel department was not "infatuated'' with Manziel.
But Pitts? We can promise you, Jerry isn't the only person here inside The Star who is infatuated with the Florida tight end/weapon.
ITEM 7: Don't the Cowboys already have enough tight ends? Meaning, "Hey, they just signed a third-string tight end named Jeremy Sprinkle, who has 34 career catches in four NFL seasons, so what do they need Kyle Pitts for?''?
You're kidding ... right?
ITEM 8: Would the cost to do so be prohibitive? The cost is the cost. It's not etched in stone, of course. But the Trade Value Chart allows teams to be in the ballpark on talks like this. Dallas giving up pick Nos. 10 and 44 plus a mid-round pick fits the traditional value here.
ITEM 9: What if Pitts lasts beyond No. 4? Then, we say, he goes at No. 5 to the Bengals. If Pitts somehow lasts until Dallas' present slot at No. 10, he - as arguably the second-best player in this class - certainly has to be a consideration.
But Pitts lasting until No. 10 is unlikely.
ITEM 10: In the end, is it fair to speculate about Dallas making the call? Certainly. So we will "speculate.'' But we cannot "report.'' And the difference between those two concepts is as massive as these trade talks would be ... if they ever actually come to fruition.
