Insider suggests Cowboys have plenty of ‘trade chips’ to cash in
After overhauling their defense during the offseason, the Dallas Cowboys have a good problem on their hands with plenty of depth in both the front seven and the secondary and not enough roster spots to go around.
With several teams cutting throngs of players over the next few weeks as training camp winds down, SI.com’s Albert Breer suggested that Dallas could be primed to turn its surplus of depth players into a few future assets.
“First-round pick Mazi Smith has impressed with his playing strength, and the staff feels like he might have some unrealized potential,” Breer wrote. “...Dallas coaches really feel like he might have more third-down value than others believed, in that he could command double-teams and generate one-on-ones for others. Veteran Jonathan Hankins has been a pleasant surprise next to Smith, too, which has given Dallas a really deep group up front. That sort of depth exists in the secondary, too, so it stands to reason that the Cowboys could use guys in those areas as trade chips at the end of the month.”
Looking at the Cowboys' depth chart, Breer may just have a point.
The problem for the Cowboys lies in the fact that their four leading sackers from last season now all play the same position after Micah Parsons’ move to defensive end created a bit of a logjam.
Parsons, who led the team with 13.5 sacks last season, should form a nice 1-2 punch with Dorance Armstrong, who had eight sacks himself, coming off the edge. Dallas also has Demarcus Lawrence and Dante Fowler Jr., who had six sacks apiece in 2022 (tied for third-most on the team) and Sam Williams, who had four sacks, leaving the door open for one or more to be traded to a pass-rush needy team heading into the regular season.
The Cowboys also have five solid defensive tackles on their roster, and with Smith and Hankins having a strong camp, Quinton Bohanna, Neville Gallimore or Osa Odighizuwa could also become expendable.
In the defensive backfield, Dallas has 11 cornerbacks currently under contract and all of them are not going to make the 53-man roster. Trevon Diggs and Stephon Gilmore have two spots locked down, and it’s hard to see Jourdan Lewis, DaRon Bland or NahShon Wright going anywhere.
Eight-year veteran C.J. Goodwin and former second-round pick Kelvin Joseph could bring back a mid-round pick from a team that suffered a major injury at CB or is looking for more depth at the position.
More must-reads: