With a new coach in place, Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott expressed excitement. And he also said positive things about the injury that sidelined him last year. With those good notes at hand, here is the Cowboys’ perfect 2025 NFL Draft trade.

The Cowboys stand in the No. 12 slot in the draft and have 10 picks overall. However, seven of those selections are in rounds fifth through seven. The Cowboys have the No. 44 pick (Round 2) and 76 (Round 3) but don’t have a fourth-round pick.

So basically their ammunition — without dipping into next year’s picks — is their No. 44 selection.

Will Cowboys make a trade to move up?

Jerry Jones can be unpredictable at times in the draft. But the Cowboys don’t often wheel and deal. They have done it only eight times in their history: including 1990 to grab Emmitt Smith). They also moved up in 2010 to get Dez Bryant.

However, the Cowboys haven’t traded up since 2012. But this might be the year to break that string. If they sit at No. 12, they will likely miss out on wide receiver Tatairoa McMillan. And this is the guy the Cowboys need.

There’s a chance the Saints will grab McMillan with the No. 9. Also, the 49ers might have their eye on him at No. 11. So the obvious team for the Cowboys to have a conversation with is the Carolina Panthers.

First, the Panthers have a weak organization. That is they’ve won only five games four times in the last six years. In other two seasons, they won seven and two games, respectively.

It’s easier to make trades with weak organizations. The Panthers probably have a poor draft strategy for 2025 just as they’ve done in previous seasons. Therefore, the Cowboys could offer their No. 12 pick and their second-round pick (No. 44), for the Panthers No. 8 and third-round pick (No. 74).

This would allow the Cowboys to leap past the Saints and 49ers and select McMillian.

Why would McMillan be good for the Cowboys?

McMillan would give the Cowboys an awesome combination alongside CeeDee Lamb.

McMillan’s 6-foot-4, 219-pound frame and skillset would give Prescott two top-flight targets on every snap. However, there are questions about the injury that dogged him in 2024, according to an AFC scouting director via nfl.com.

“He got hurt in the spring and I don’t know that he ever made it back to 100 percent,” an AFC scouting director said. “The 2023 tape gives you a better idea of who he is.”

McMillian profiles as a possession receiver who can also win on deep balls. He’s a prototypical X receiver, according to the33rdteam.com.

“He’s physical at the catch point, long, and difficult to play through with his length and catch radius,” Kyle Crabbs wrote. “McMillan has the kind of hands that a quarterback will come to love. He’s effortless with how he plucks the ball away from his frame, vacuums in passes quickly, and converts into a run-after-the-catch athlete. McMillan is a successful target in all three levels of the field, too.

“This boosts his outlook for immediate impact, although he does have room for growth in his release package versus press and his route savvy to create extra separation. Teams that run a lot of 3 x 1 with isolation on the back side should have an eye toward McMillan’s game, particularly if they are more of a vertical-oriented passing attack.”

All of this screams to pair McMillan with an Aplha-male receiver like Lamb.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he’s looking at everything, according to dallascowboys.com.

“We’ve got a lot of options,” Jones said. “The combine actually I think emphasized that. There’s key players deep at key areas of the team running back, defensive line, outside the pressure players.

“So frankly, this is a good time to have where we are, we’re about right. I’m not so sure that I’d want to be any higher, and I think that you’re going to get a premium player at this position.”

That sounds like a guy who won’t allow the trigger to be pulled on a trade. However, Jones said, “Right about draft time, picks get very premium right now. The trades relative to draft picks for a player, this is a possibly. You might call it a good time, because the draft, the round picks to be able to use it this year, can come at a premium.”

Jones said other teams often come calling the Cowboys.

“Now you’ve got to have your bait out everywhere, and we do, but those come to you, and they don’t necessarily come to you because you’ve got a perfect fit back over here in a position, or you’ve got somebody in mind.

“Usually don’t count on that somebody in that perfect fit knocking on your door saying we want to give him away, that doesn’t come. If you’ve got to go get it, get ready, you’re going to pay a premium for it.”