Could The Cowboys TRADE UP For David Bailey?! - Kris Kretschman Show

On today’s episode of the Kris Kretschman Show, we’re breaking down some MAJOR draft storylines surrounding the Dallas Cowboys — and there are some decisions that could seriously shape the future of this team.

We start with Josh Edwards and his latest mock draft, where he has the Cowboys selecting Makai Lemon and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren. Are these picks actually smart fits for Dallas, or does this raise real concerns about their draft strategy?

Then we dive into the possibility of the Cowboys trading UP in the draft for David Bailey. Is he worth the aggressive move, or would this be a risky gamble that could cost them valuable assets?

Finally, we ask a big question — could Mansoor Delane actually be available at pick 12? And if he is… should the Cowboys seriously consider making that move?

This episode is packed with draft analysis, strong takes, and everything Cowboys fans need to be thinking about heading into the draft.

Make sure to like, subscribe, and drop your thoughts in the comments — what should the Cowboys do?

Transcript

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Hey, what's going on, everybody? Welcome to the Chris Crutchman show for April 3rd, 2026. And on today's episode, we are going to be reacting to a mock draft from Josh Edwards from CBS Sports. We're also going to be talking about the potential of the Cowboys maybe trading up to draft David Bailey. And I also want to talk about Mansoor Dwayne and if he will be available at pick 12. And obviously, you know, we'll get into some of that. But before we get into the episode, please make sure to hit that like button, subscribe. I would great, greatly appreciate it. And without further ado, let's get into the episode. So I want to start off the episode by reacting to Josh Edwards' mock draft on CBS Sports. And I'm going to be honest with you, some Cowboys fans might not like this. Some of them may not like it. But I do. I love this mock draft. What did my brother Chris Brussard say? I don't like it. I love it. This is an awesome mock draft, in my personal opinion. Let's get into it. So we're going to go through all the picks one by one, just real quick. Mendoza at one to the Raiders, reset two to the Jets, Styles at three to the Cardinals, Bailey at four to the Titans. And if you're looking for a defensive player, holy cow, that is the worst start to this draft that you could possibly have. Pick five, Giants, Dramad McCoy. Oh man, talk about an awful start if you're looking for a defensive player. Six Browns, Tate, seven Commanders, Love, eight Saints, Bane, nine Chiefs Mawanawa, ten Bengals, uh Downs, 11 Dolphins, Delane. I mean, if you're looking for a defensive player, that is the worst start to the draft. Everybody, and I mean everybody, is off the board here for the Cowboys. But I'm gonna keep saying this. If the Cowboys are willing to take an offensive player, there is no bad situation in this draft. They are going to get a blue chip player if they want to draft a player on the offensive side of the ball. And you want to know what they did in this mock draft? They drafted a blue chip player. Oh, yes, they did, even though he's on the offensive side of the ball. This is as blue chip of a player as you're gonna get. I think this is one of the best players in the draft, one of the five or six best players, and that is Mikhail Lemon at pick 12, the USC wide receiver. And now, here's where I do have a little bit of a problem when it comes to this particular writer. Not not I don't have a problem with him, but just like his logic behind this. He has him as his 18th ranked prospect, and he has him as his fourth best receiver in this draft. The problem that I have is like if he's your 18th best prospect, picking him at pick 12, that wouldn't make sense if he were the one drafting, but that's besides the point. I disagree with him on the rank. Mikhail Lemon is is to me a top six player in this draft. He is that damn good. But let's get into the write-up. I maintain all offseason that Dallas is operating as if it has to maximize the 2026 season because of the blowback for the Micah Parsons trade and an overall underwhelming recent history of results. Who would be more impactful in this range than Mikai Lemon? The list is probably pretty small. A third receiver may seem like a luxury, but it gives the team insurance while also providing an off-ramp when it inevitably has to choose between George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb. Okay, so Mikhail Lemon at pick 12, I would sleep like a baby, like a baby that night. And the reason why I say I would sleep like a baby is because I know you are getting a damn good football player on this football team. Is this about making the defense better or is this about making the team better? Because if this is about making the team better, at in if this scenario, Mikhail Lemon is the best player you can pick at pick 12. And you're giving a top five quarterback in the game a third weapon to be able to deal with. You're giving a play caller like Brian Schottenheimer another weapon that he can uh that he can scheme it up with. And when you look at what Lincoln Riley did with Mikhail Lemon at USC, the way he was able to dial it up for him. Like, here's the thing Mikhail Lemon is not a guy that you like, he's not just scheme open guy. He can get open whether he's playing on the outside or whether he's whether he's playing on the inside. He's really good with his routes, but you can dial things up for him and scheme him open like Lincoln Riley was able to do in screens. His ability to make plays after the catch is outstanding. He follows his blockers really well when he's given the ball on screens. You can run bubble screens, he'll make plays after that. You can hand the ball off and pitch it to him on some of these plays where he's coming across a formation. Like route runner, awesome, hands, awesome, makes plays down the field, makes plays on all three levels of the field. And oh my, there was a uh a throw, I think it was against Northwestern, Jaden Maiava, who I'm I'm a big fan of. I think he's gonna be a damn good uh quarterback this year for USC. He threw a ball up the seam to Mikai Lemon, and I'm just like, man, I can only imagine number four doing that with how he loves to throw the ball up the seam. This guy is is such a weapon, his route tree is so expanse. You throw him in the slot, and like like what George Pickens was to CeeDee Lamb last year when they added George Pickens to this team, and how George Pickens was the perfect receiver to play opposite of C D Lamb, Mikhail Lemon is that, but as the third receiver, he is a perfect, I mean perfect compliment to Pickens and Lamb. You throw him in the slot, oh my, you're playing 11 personnel all game and you're putting up 40 points a game. That's what you're doing. You're letting Dak, Schottenheimer, and the receivers carry you throughout next season. And yes, will the defense take a hit because of that? Yes, but I think your team in this situation where McCoy's not on the board, Bailey, Downs, Reese, all these guys, styles, you are taking a hit if you draft uh a player that shouldn't be picked at pick 12 at pick 12. Even like I'm a big Dylan Dieneman fan, he is not the player that Mikhail Lemon is. If you want to draft Dylan Dieneman there, fine. I get the take. He is not the player that Mikhail Lemon is. Mikhail Lemon is a is as blue chip as they come in this draft. I think he's better than Tate. I think he's better than Tyson. I think he's better than all these receivers. He is that damn good. I would 100% be all for this. I would sleep like a baby that night because I would know for a second year in a row, you're getting one of the safest players in the draft. And, you know, fans look at this and they're like, you have to draft a defensive player, you have to draft a defensive player. And my response to that is this you had to draft a defensive player in 2020, and you drafted CD Lamb, and he has become one of the best players in the league. Do you do you care that they needed to draft a defensive player in that draft? People only care about it in the micro. People only care about it in the offseason. Then when these players put the pads on and they put these jerseys on and they're making plays out there like Mikhail Lemon's gonna do, nobody's gonna care at that point if you didn't draft a defensive player. Nobody. Nobody's gonna care. If this guy turns into Jackson Smith and Jigba, nobody's gonna say, well, you want to know what they should have drafted Dylan Thienem in there. Nobody's gonna say that because it's like we have Jackson Smith and Jigba. Or in this situation, you'd have Mikhail Lemon. That's the way I look at this, man. Watch his tape because his tape is so damn fun to watch. He is such a fun player, and he he he is so, so damn good. Uh, and the thing is, when it comes to uh this particular uh uh mock draft, the reason why I love it is not just that you drafted Mikhail Lemon at pick 12. You we're we're gonna get into the the second uh pick that they made. Spencer Fano at 13 to the Rams, Kenyon Sadiq 14 to the Ravens, uh Ioni, the uh offensive guard to the Buccaneers, Tyson to the Jets at 16, Freeling to the Lions at 17, Thieneman to the Vikings at 18, Avion Terrell uh at 19 to the Panthers, and then at pick 20. I love this pick as well. I love this pick as well. Emmanuel McNeil Warren at pick 20. Let's see the write-up here. Dallas overhauls the safety room with the signing of Jalen Thompson and the drafting of Emmanuel McNeil Warren, who did not test as well as Dylan Thienemann, but is a better player right now, in my opinion. McNeil Warren has an instinctual approach to the game and is not afraid to be physical. I couldn't have said it better myself. I I I I love Emmanuel McNeil Warren. I think he would be such a great player for this defense. And the reason why I say that is because to give the Cowboys credit here, I think they've done a really, really good job of building solid infrastructure, even on the defensive side of the ball. And this is what I mean. You have a front, the Cowboys' defensive front. While yes, there is, I think, a big flaw when it comes to their ability to rush the passer, when it comes to adding an Emmanuel McNeil Warren, what you see teams like Seattle and what you see teams like uh uh Baltimore do with Hamilton and Eamon Wari, that's what you're gonna be able to do with Emmanuel McNeil Warren. He plays that type of style of football. If you know, because your defensive line is so badass, I know the Cowboys need a linebacker. You can use Emmanuel McNeil Warren as a linebacker, very much like Seattle uses Nick Eamon Wori, because what Seattle does with Eamon Wori is they play him in the box and they run a 4-2-5 defense. That's why they have such a high percentage of snaps in nickel because their nickel looks like base because they use Eamon Wori as a hyper athletic linebacker compared to just the safety, right? So that's what you could do with Emmanuel McNeil Warren. And the reason why I say that is because, like, so what Seattle did was they they have solid safeties and they have a really good defensive line. So you don't have to play uh Eamon Wori at safety because you're good there, right? Like you're covered there, just like Dallas is covered there as well because they have Thompson and PJ Locke over the top and and and uh Moy Cooker, like you can live with that, especially with Jalen Thompson, but with Hooker and Locke, like are they superstar players? No, but they're starting caliber players. You can absolutely play them over the top and feel good about that. You have a defensive line that is that is stout that can absolutely hold up against offensive lines, right? Williams and Clark, obviously they're fantastic, and then you have some dept pieces in uh Agonia and uh Bullard, and then you have the edges that you have with Gary and Ezraku, who can hold up against the run. Like those guys, even if they're not great pass rushers, they can hold up against the run, which is like when you draft an Emmanuel McNeil Warren, the one thing you're worried about is you know, are offensive linemen gonna be able to get to the next level because they don't see your defensive line as a threat, like and and they're gonna block this guy up. Like, that's what you're worried about from that perspective. So like I don't think Dallas struggles with that. I don't I don't think they struggle with that. So the way I look at this is like this would be a perfect pick. And you know, even though you drafted Mikhail Lemon at pick 12, you still have that third round pick that you can use on a player for your defense, and that doesn't mean that you're done building your defense out, like you can use picks from next year, like after the draft, very much how the Cowboys did with George Pickens, where it was like, look, Booker's the best player on the board. We're gonna draft Booker here and and and and we're gonna sleep well at night. That's what we're gonna do. So uh Emmanuel McNeil, or I'm I'm sorry, um, they can use draft capital after the draft to maybe go get a Jordan Brooks, who by the way, just from some things that I've heard, wants to play for the Cowboys, right? Like that's something that I'm I'm not like trying to break a uh a news story here, something that Omar Kelly said, I believe, on a show that he did recently, like there's a strong sense that he wants to play for the cowboys. But like if you go get a guy like that, Jordan Brooks, and you play him uh you know as your off-ball linebacker, and you have the defense that you have, is it gonna be great? No, it's still probably just gonna be average or below average, but even still, like if you have Mikhail Lemon and and and you're able to play 11 personnel for I mean 90% of the game, you're gonna put up so many points on the board. You literally just need them to be average defensively. And I I think you would have the infrastructure in place to at least be average. So that's the way I look at this. Hey, quick break. If you guys haven't already, please make sure to hit that like button, subscribe. I would greatly appreciate that. And let's get to the next topic. So I want to talk about the news that maybe the Cowboys could trade up to go get David Bailey the edge rusher out of Texas Tech. And here's the way I look at this, right? I think pass rush is so important that a guy like David Bailey, I think he is a guy that's gonna get about 10 to 15 sacks a year in his prime, right? I'm not saying right away, I think right away he can be an eight to 10 sack guy. That's how good I think David Bailey could be. What I really like about David Bailey is this guy wins with juice, he wins with explosiveness, he wins with get off. He is twitchy, and that's something that you want out of your edge defenders. Now, some people that I talk to, you know, that I'm I'm friends with, not saying that they're insiders or anything, just that they they watch draft tape. Some of them have a problem with his technique. And like the way I look at it is like everybody's allowed to have their opinion. But me personally, I think David Bailey is so good that, and especially with the the raw athleticism that he has and his athletic profile. I think if you get him with some of the coaches that you have in the building, this guy is going to be an absolute machine for your defense. And pass rush is so important. So when you look at the premium positions in football, what are they? They're the quarterback because they throw the ball, the wide receivers because they catch passes from the quarterback, the offensive linemen because they protect the quarterback, right? That's on the offensive side of the ball. Now on the defensive side of the ball, you have two premium positions. You have your edge, uh, edge defenders, your pass rushers, right? And your cornerbacks. So the pass rushers are important because they stop the quarterback from throwing the ball, and the corners are premium because they stop the receivers from catching passes. So when you look at that, like when you look at the premium positions, pass rush is one of the most premium of the premium positions. So if you can trade up and you're getting a guy that you feel confident can be a 10 to 15 sack guy in his prime, you absolutely make that move. You absolutely make that move. Like the Cowboys traded away Micah Parsons. I again, like I think I still believe they made the right move there. I believe they made the right move from some of the stuff that I heard within the organization with the way Micah Parsons was, and you know, some of the things that you saw, him doing the podcast and distracting the team and all this other stuff. I was okay with the Cowboys moving on from Micah Parsons. But you moved on from Micah Parsons and you still haven't found a replacement to get after the quarterback, right? Now, they weren't gonna find that last season, right? Unless they were gonna trade for Max Crosby or unless they were gonna trade for Max Crosby this offseason, they were not gonna find a guy that was gonna be able to get as many sacks and and be as productive of a pass rusher as Micah Parsons, not even anywhere close. David Bailey, I think production-wise, can match what the production Micah Parsons was giving you. And the reason why I like I'm not saying from an impact, because there's a difference between production and impact, right? Uh Parsons gave you production and impact because teams were literally shifting their game plans because of Micah Parsons. Now, the reason why I think um Bailey can can give you the same type of production that Micah Parsons had is because when you had Micah Parsons, you didn't have Quinn and Williams and Kenny Clark. Now, how long is a guy like Kenny Clark going to be playing at the level that he's playing at right now? Which is like, I I I do want to kind of put a perspective on it. Like, is Kenny Clark one of the best defensive tackles in the game? He's not, he's a fine defensive tackle. You know, he's one of the best players on your defense, obviously. But Quinn Williams, he's still a guy that I think is gonna be playing at a high level for about another five to six years. It's the defensive tackle position. Like, yeah, that would bring him until his year 33, 34 season at that point. But like defensive tackles play into their 30s and they they make an impact into their 30s. That's the type of position it is. So while I'm not saying that from an impact perspective, he will have the same type of impact that a Micah Parsons had for you, he will give you the same type of production because of the pieces that he has around him, because of the fact that when you have Quentin Williams on your defense, teams are game planning around Quentin Williams. Now, if David Bailey becomes like this Micah Parsons type player, which by the way, the reason why I'm making the comparison isn't because Micah used to play for the Cowboys, it's because of the type of pass rusher David Bailey is. Very much like Micah Parsons, David Bailey wins with juice, explosiveness, and a really quick get-off and being really twitchy. They're they're comparable from that perspective. That's why I keep bringing them up. But maybe David Bailey gets to a point where he's so good that defenses are like, we're gonna shift everything towards Bailey, and now Williams is a guy who's making a big time impact because David Bailey's there, you know. Yeah, just just just some spitballing some ideas out there. So the way I look at this is I'm absolutely okay with the Cowboys trading up for David Bailey, even but but but it has to be for the the right price, even if it like let's just say from a value perspective, even if it is 90 cents on the dollar, I'm okay with that, right? And the reason why is like what I mean by that is you have to understand how valuable pick 12 and pick 20 are. Those are two spots that are gonna be in the top 20, obviously. But the reason why they're so valuable is because there could be situations like if you're trading up with the the New York Jets, they might be in a situation where they have a first round graded player that's sitting there at pick 20, and they don't look at it as where did we draft the player? That all they care about is if they drafted a first round grade, they drafted a first round grade. They did the evaluations, they scouted the guy. And if they have a first round grade at pick 20, they look at it and they say, Wow, we were able to get three first round graded players in the draft. They don't care where they draft these guys, right? So that's now I'm not even saying that uh a player that they have graded in in the first round would be there at pick 20, but I'm just saying like it opens up that possibility to be there. That's how valuable pick 12 and pick 20 are. So if I'm trading that, I understand the value that I have, and if I'm trading that up to pick uh up to pick two or pick three or pick four to one of these teams, I need to be getting something in return, whether that be a third round pick, because when you look at it, right? If you trade up with the New York Jets for a third round pick, yeah, it's still a third round pick, but what's the difference between, you know, a late second round pick and an early third round pick? Just the the rounds change, right? So it's like you're essentially getting a late second round pick at that point. If you're able to get a third-round draft pick from the Jets or from the Cardinals or somebody like that. So if you're telling me that the Cowboys would be able to get one of their third round picks and be able to trade up to pick uh two or pick three, and you trade 12 and 20, and you get maybe the best player in the draft, if if that's how you look at David Bailey, I'd be okay with that. Because you could still add a player in that third round that's gonna help your defense immediately. So now maybe the Cowboys look at that and say, no, no, no, that's not the it's not fair value, right? Like, I don't know, like every draft I think is different. I don't think you know, like the point system, I think it's a bit outdated because every draft is different. Because getting up to pick two this year is gonna cost you way less than it would have if you were trading up to pick two in the 2024 draft. 2024 draft there where it was quarterback school or it was Caleb, Jaden Daniels, and Drake May. Way harder to drive uh to trade into the top three that year than it is this year. So that's why I don't believe in the point system. Every year it's different. So the Cowboys might look at this and say, like, yeah, we're trading up to two, but we're not gonna well, we we we want a second round pick and return here. Or if you're gonna give us a three, we want another pick on top of that. So that's the way they're looking at this. I'm not saying you get fleeced, but if if it is uh something that is like 90 90 cents on the dollar, I can live with that if you're getting a guy that's gonna come in here day one and and and really provide something to your defense that you didn't have last year, which is a pass rusher that wins quickly. Hey, quick break. If you guys haven't already, please make sure to hit that like button, subscribe. I would greatly appreciate that. And let's get to the next topic. So I want to talk about Mansoor Delane and if he will be available there at pick 12. And when I look at Mansoor Delane, this guy is as clean of a prospect as you're gonna get. Like, if you walk out of this draft with Mansoor Delane at pick 12, you gotta feel really good about yourself. Now, what's interesting. Interesting about this is I wonder what the Cowboys would do if he's available at pick 10 or pick 11. And just like the mock draft that we brought up here earlier, if that's the last defensive player on the board that you look at as a blue chip prospect, would you trade up for that guy? Right? Would you trade up to pick 10 or pick 11 to draft him? I I would be all on board for that if it's for the right price, right? Like I'm I'm not trading that third round pick to move up two spots. I'm not. I'm just gonna stay at pick 12 and I'll draft either an offensive tackle or a receiver if I get wiped out of defensive players that I consider blue chip players, right? Or if Jramad McCoy's there, I'll just take Jermaine McCoy. But I I think it's interesting with the mock draft that we talked about earlier. He was picked at pick five Jramon McCoy. So maybe the league has shifted their perception and maybe they look at him as one of these blue chip players that you got to take in the top 10. I would understand it because the guy is extremely talented. He is that good of a player, but you know, because again, that's one of the unintended consequences, or not consequences, but one of the unintended benefits of uh Dramad McCoy having a great pro day is that maybe a team looks at this and says, we're gonna draft him in the top 10. And then at that point, that might bring a guy like Mansoor Delane down the board to you at pick 12. I still don't think it's gonna happen. And the reason why I don't think it's gonna happen at pick 12, I'm not saying that the cowboys wouldn't draft him. I'm saying that if the cowboys want to draft him, they're probably gonna have to trade up to do it. And would the cowboys be okay with doing that? You know, you know, we'll have to wait and see. But again, it has to be for the right price. Like the the Eagles traded up one spot in the 2023 draft to draft Jalen Carter. They gave away a 2024 fourth-round draft pick, right? So like they moved up one spot and they gave away a fourth round draft pick. But another draft that they had was when they traded with us to go trade up for Devontae Smith, and they traded us a third round draft pick for that. You know, maybe the the Cowboys did a better job of holding them to the fire, right? Like maybe they did a better job there of holding them to the fire than the Bears did. But what I'm saying is, like, you don't want to give up a third round pick as well, because that third round pick could be another player you add to this defense, right? So like I don't want to give up too much to trade up for Mansoor Dwayne because I'm comfortable with the offensive players that are going to be available at pick 12. If all of these guys get wiped off the board, you're talking about Bain, Bailey, Reese, Downs, Dwayne, McCoy, uh, uh, Sonny Styles. That's seven players, right? That that's seven defensive players on top of Mendoza being picked as well. So that's eight players right there that are off the board for you. Come pick 12. Look at some of the players that lead for you on the offensive side of the ball. Francis Malanoa, Carnell Tate, Jeremiah Love, Mikhail Lemon. Like right there. Those to me are the I think the 12 best players in this draft. Right there. Like, you're gonna end up with a blue chip player. Jordan Tyson, if if you're comfortable there. 13 players on the board right there. That that were like our blue chip players, in my personal opinion. Like, I I think the reason why Cowboys fans might look at this draft and say it's not a great draft is because it it actually is, I think, a very good draft. I think there's a lot of really good players in this draft, but it's not all of the players that they want. When you restrict yourself to one side of the ball, when you restrict yourself to an entire uh uh uh side of the ball when it comes to the prospects, you're not gonna look at it as a great draft. That's just the way it is. And is this a great draft? No, I don't think it's a great draft. I think it's a I think it's a good draft. You can get a great player here where you're at, right? So that's the way I look at this. But Mansoor Dwayne, to me, you know, he plays corner, so that's a premium position player. We I'm gonna continue to talk about premium position players throughout the course of this draft season. And the reason why is because it's extremely important to have big time players at those positions because it's about the the five premium positions. The quarterback, they got to throw the ball. Receivers has to have to catch the passes. Offensive line has to protect the quarterback, corners have to defend the receivers from catching the pass from the quarterback, defensive line, they have to get after the quarterback. So those are the premium positions, and Mansoor Delane does one of those things that are extremely important to the game of football, which is stopping receivers from catching passes. And do I think Delane is like do I think Delane is like a Christian Gonzalez, Derek Stingley type player? Do I think he's gonna be that? No. Do I think he could be like AJ Terrell in the NFL? Yeah, and like if that's the case, I think that's a really good outcome if the Cowboys are able to pick him at pick 12. But uh again, like when you look at this draft, like we talk about premium positions. Look at some of the players in this draft. Some of the best players in this draft are the offensive guard from Penn State, which by the way, no interest in drafting him. I have no interest. Not because he's not a fantastic player, he's a fantastic player. What I'm saying is the Cowboys already have enough guards, and I don't want to move Tyler Smith out to tackle. Uh, you have Jeremiah, running back, not a premium position. Sonny Styles, linebacker, not a premium position. Caleb Downs, safety, uh, not a premium position. Arval Reese, linebacker, not a premium position. Now, maybe he plays edge in the NFL, but you know, that's that's yet to be seen. So, right there, I think I listed five players that are gonna be drafted in the top 13, most likely, that don't play premium positions. So, you know, the best players in this draft do not play premium positions, and Mansoor Delane does play a premium position, which is why I just don't think he's gonna be available for you at pick 12. If you want to trade up to go get him, I'm completely fine with that because you need another corner. And this guy looks like he could be the best corner in the draft. Maybe like uh day one, I think I think as as a rookie, I think Delane will be the best corner in this draft class as a rookie. Now that's not to say three to five years from now that he's gonna be the best corner in this class, because I I I believe in Jramad McCoy that much. I think the guy is that good of a player that I think once you give him some time to recover from that ACL injury, and it might even be by the end of the season, right? Like, you know, let him get his legs under him, let him play out this this rookie season. It might be by the end of his rookie season where you really start to see your return on investment from Jramad McCoy. Like it might be like that, but that's why I just think like Dwayne, his tape is too clean, his measurements are too good, he plays a premium position. Those three things right there, and not only that, he played in the SEC, he played against the best competition in the entire country. So those three things right there are why I don't think he's going to be available for you at pick 12. And if you want to go get him, you have to trade up and make that happen. Thank you guys so much for tuning into the episode. I would greatly appreciate it if you guys hit that like button, subscribe, and I will see you guys again on Monday. Peace.