<
        >

          NFL Nation

          Twitter mailbag: Take Jared Goff over these QBs

          • Todd Archer, ESPN Staff WriterFeb 5, 2016, 01:00 PM ET
            Close
              Todd Archer is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Dallas Cowboys. Archer has covered the NFL since 1997 and Dallas since 2003. He joined ESPN in 2010. You can follow him on Twitter at @toddarcher.
            Follow on X

          IRVING, Texas – The Dallas Cowboys’ Twitter mailbag is ready.

          In it we discuss:

          Away we go:

          @toddarcher: I'd choose Jared Goff. And I think the Cowboys would, too. There is more upside and potential with Goff than either Johnny Manziel or Robert Griffin III. I've said this before and I'll say it again: I don't see Manziel or RG3 playing for the Cowboys in 2016. And I know Troy Aikman believes one of the two will be a Cowboy, although he said that before Manziel's latest trouble. But of the three you mentioned, I think Goff is the no-brainer. He's the youngest of the three. He has the more pro-style game. He doesn't have baggage. His touchdown total increased every year at Cal. He had too many decision-making errors last season, but he believes in his arm. I like him. But I don't know if he will be there at No. 4. @toddarcher: I would listen, but I would be leery of trading down. I was in favor of them moving down in 2011 in a deal with Jacksonville when they took Tyron Smith at No. 9 because they would have received the 16th and 49th picks in the draft. Having two high picks is better than one, right? Clearly, I would've been wrong because Smith has developed into one of the best tackles in the game. So why not do it here? From the early intel that I've received about this draft, there are a lot of good players, but not a lot of great players. If you trade down, you move away from the top players in the evaluation process. Perhaps I would be OK moving down a few spots, but nothing out of the top 10 for sure. There's also this -- every time people talk about trading down, I ask this question: Who will a team want to trade up to get? I don't know which prospect just yet who could command a ransom to move to the No. 4 pick. @toddarcher: I don't think there is a question the Cowboys would have interest in bringing DeMarco Murray back if the numbers are reworked. The question is reworking the numbers. Murray is guaranteed $9 million over the next two years. He's not going to just give that money up, and I can't believe the NFL Players Association would allow that even if he wanted to. The Eagles would have to take a $13 million cap hit if they cut or trade Murray under the present contract. The Cowboys wouldn't want to pick up that contract, as a year ago they didn't want to pay him that much and he's a year older and coming off a down year. I said last year that the Cowboys were wise to let Murray go from a cap perspective, but not from a football perspective. Something should have been worked out before he even tested the market. Murray did nothing wrong in going with the big offer. He had to strike when the money was there. It was his only shot at a big payday. But things were awful in Philly last year. Things were awful in Dallas, too. I still believe Murray's best fit is with the Cowboys. Unless the Eagles are willing to take on some of the contract, I don't know how something gets done with the Cowboys or any team.