NFL Draft: How Cowboys Are Impacted By NFC East Back-To-Back-To-Back Picks

FRISCO - These are still "mock drafts,'' far from the real thing. But as it relate to the upcoming real NFL Draft? The bang-bang-bang nature of what's going to happen at 10, 11 and 12 is very real for a Dallas Cowboys team that gets first crack in that bunch.

Why does 10, 11 and 12 matter together? Because those slots are owned, respectively, by the Cowboys, the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles - a trio of NFC East rivals.

For the sake of the exercise, let's do it the way ESPN’s Todd McShay does it in his latest mock. Here are his first 11 picks:

1. Jaguars: Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson

2. Jets: Zach Wilson, QB, BYU

3. 49ers: Mac Jones, QB, Alabama

4. Falcons: Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida

5. Bengals: Ja’Marr Chase, WR, LSU

6. Dolphins: DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama

7. Panthers (trade up): Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State

8. Lions: (trade down): Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama

9. Broncos: Patrick Surtain II, CB, Alabama

10. Cowboys: Jaycee Horn, CB, South Carolina

11. Patriots (trade up): Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State

12. Eagles: Micah Parsons, LB, Penn State

Let's dig in to the domino effect ...

Cowboys - They like both Surtain and Horn, maybe in that order, and need a corner. But they also like both top tackles, Penei Sewell and Rashawn Slater. If they do take Horn, that robs the Eagles in particular of an option they need to aid their defense.

By the way, for the Washington Football Team, waiting at No. 19, WFT, if the top 12 really falls this way, those two O-linemen get pushed just a little nearer a Washington team that would love one of them.

Giants - They trade out of the 11 spot to give New England a QB. And then Fields going means that all five of the supposed premium QBs are gone. Dallas knew it wasn't going to get one, and will try later. The WFT would likely not take one at 19, preferring to throw a dart later as well.

Oh, and one more thing: No matter what Dan Orlovsky said on ESPN, you didn't ever really believe Justin Fields was going to slide way, way down, did you?

Eagles - McShay points out that Philly already traded back from a spot where it could've been a player for a QB, a top receiver or Pitts.

"So,'' McShay explains, "I went with the best defensive player and again a linebacker.”

Meaning, again, Dallas - not by being overly conscious of what the two rivals behind the Cowboys wanted, but just by taking their guy - blocked, in a sense, what the others might do.

McShay says Parsons "is a stud.'' Of course, that's kind of the idea when a team owns a top-12 pick; it's supposed to draft a "stud.'' On paper here, the Cowboys and Eagles are each getting one, the Giants are waiting until later ... and yes, there should still be a "stud'' to wear burgundy and gold even once No. 19 rolls around.

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