Cowboys Rumors: Bijan Robinson Unlikely to Be Target of 'Aggressive' Draft Day Trade

The Dallas Cowboys are one of the most popular landing spots for Bijan Robinson going into the 2023 NFL draft, but they don't appear inclined to force the issue to make it happen.

Per ESPN's Dan Graziano, the Cowboys are unlikely to make an "aggressive" trade-up to add the Texas running back as Ezekiel Elliott's replacement.

Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones added fuel to the speculation that a running back could be their primary target in the first round during a predraft press conference on Monday:

"If you're picking [in the] top ten, top twelve, fifteen, wherever you want to make the cutoff, you really are thinking, 'Boy, we'd- like to think- have to have a second contract out of that deal.' So does it affect you when you're thinking about a running back when you're up that high? Yes. As you start to really move down the draft, you'd like to hope you're going to have success, that that player's going to be a second contract. But it's in my opinion- one opinion- not as necessary that you get to that second contract. And if you happen to see a back there at the bottom of the first that's rare and unique and he falls because he's a running back, I would have to think we'd be considering it, especially if we thought he should have been picked in the top half [of the first round.]"

One reason running backs have fallen out of favor as first-round draft picks is they don't often sign a multiyear contract with the team that selected them.

Among the seven running backs drafted in the first round since 2017, Christian McCaffrey is the only one that has signed a multiyear extension with the same team. He was traded by the Carolina Panthers to the San Francisco 49ers in October, the first season of the four-year, $64.1 million extension.

Josh Jacobs (Las Vegas Raiders) and Saquon Barkley (New York Giants) received the franchise tag from their current teams this offseason. Neither player has signed the one-year tender at this point.

If the Cowboys wanted to pursue Robinson, they would likely have to trade into the top 10 to make it happen. ESPN's Jason Reid noted many people around the NFL believe the 21-year-old could go No. 8 overall to the Atlanta Falcons.

Another option potentially available to the Cowboys, if they stay at No. 26, is Alabama's Jahmyr Gibbs. He had 1,370 yards from scrimmage and 10 total touchdowns in 12 games last season.

Graziano noted it's "more likely" the Cowboys will end up selecting an offensive lineman or a tight end if the first round if they remain in their current position.

Dallas is bringing back Tony Pollard on the franchise tag after he set career-highs with 1,378 yards from scrimmage and 12 total touchdowns in 2022. The 25-year-old is coming off a fractured fibula suffered in the NFC Divisional Round against the San Francisco 49ers.