2016 BRB NFL Mock Draft: With The Fifteenth Pick, The Dallas Cowboys Select...

After their big trade down from No. 4, who's heading to Arlington in the 2016 BRB NFL Mock Draft?

By Matt Weston@Matt__Weston Apr 4, 2016, 4:00pm CDT

With the fifteenth (15th) pick of the 2016 BRB NFL Mock Draft, Roll.Texans.Roll, on behalf of the Dallas Cowboys, selects...

First, I want to address the trade. Some people here have not been terribly fond of this move.

To begin, let's take a look at the trade value chart.

As you can see, the 4th overall pick is worth 1,800 points. That is a tall order. The 15th overall pick is worth 1,100. That is a good start and it is pretty automatic that a swap of first round picks is the only way to begin this process. I also received the 45th pick, worth 460 this year with there only being 31 first round picks. This brings our total to 1,560. We are left with a difference of 240 points. El Torito decided it was worth next year's first round pick to make up the difference and "pay the penance" of moving up 11 spots.

El Torito's original offer was to add next year's second rounder in, but he ultimately decided that was "selling the farm." When I checked in on the status of the trade, ET asked if would consider taking on Nick Foles and his contract instead of taking the 2nd round pick. I will admit I wanted that pick some kind of awful, but decided to look at the trade with Foles involved.

I was unsure of where to find the cap number for the Cowboys, so I went to FanSpeak's "Manage the Cap" simulator. I was given a current cap number of $17M+ in space. That was more than enough space to eat the contract of Foles. Now, a $8.5M cap hit seems out of the question. How could you justify paying more in one season that the great Brain Hoyer will receive over his entire tenure with our Houston Texans? You can justify it by having a your star QB miss 12 games last year with not one, but two, broken collar bones. Your other QBs on the roster are Kellen Moore and Jameill Showers. Basically, if Tony Romo goes down again this year....we are getting another top 5 pick next year. This seems like a no-brainer.

Here comes the part of this equation that hit me like my first attempt at stats in college, Dallas does not have $17M in cap space. In fact, the Dallas Cowboys have $9.9M in cap space. Take away the basic $5M for rookie salaries and I am in a bit of a spot with just under $5M in cap space. Foles' cap hit increases to $12.3 million next year, though only $1 mil of dead cap on a cut. So it could actually be a decent trade because Dallas gets expensive but proven insurance that it can walk away from next year for not too much hassle, or it can work out a deal with Foles to make it a 3 year deal from now with less of a cap hit. If that works it could make sense to bridge a rookie QB.

Further, Kellen Moore is only getting paid $1.4 mil over 2 years, but it saves some money to cut him and costs none to trade (cap hit is $232k this year) so it helps a bit, but barely - because Kellen helps a bit, but barely. Seeing as how I am the GM, not the person over our cap situation, I will have to hope that Foles renegotiates or restructures his contract. The numbers are not impossible to figure out. I am not very keen to the ways of moving cap numbers, but we see it done every year and I believe it is possible. This move gives Dallas a relatively young, experienced backup that will, hopefully not see the field this season. If the Dallas brass doesn't believe that this year's crop of signal-callers is the answer, this is a move that nets them plenty of draft capital to move and go get the guys they think will turn this team around.

With the backup QB addressed in Dallas, we turn our attention to the other side of the ball. Dallas' D is easily the second weakest spot on the team, just behind Romo's collar bone. The ideal pick would've been to take Jalen Ramsey at 1.4, but the haul received for the 4th pick was too much to pass up. Orlando Scandrick is coming off an injury. Sean Lee is as reliable as Arian Foster was for Houston. J.J. Wilcox is the bright spot between the two safety positions, and that brings me to the Greg Hardy experiment.

Dallas has shown a willingness to turn a blind eye to off-field issues. My selection has had more than his fair share, but is an undeniable force on the defensive side of the ball. A standout on his team until his unfortunate circumstances landed him some time away from the school of his choice, this player will bring a disruptive force to replace the "production" of Greg Hardy. With this player, Dallas gets a guy that can play with his hand in the dirt or stand up to get after the QB. He possesses elite speed, power, and a dip'n'rip move that should make tackles have a hard time sleeping the night before a game.

His issues are well-documented, but his recovery and turnaround is what has NFL teams excited. He has been accountable for his actions and worked just as hard off the field as he has on the field to change his life and attack his problems. He can come in and hold down Randy Gregory's spot for 4 games, or he can stand up and be the rush linebacking force that he is. The speed of the game may take a year or two to get used to, but he should become a starter early in his career.

With the 15th overall pick in the 2016 BRB NFL Mock Draft, the Dallas Cowboys take DE/OLB Noah Spence from Eastern Kentucky.