Big mistake giving up a first rounder

[JW82]

Think back to Joey Galloway and that awful descent (after giving up 2 first round picks) with a degrading Aikman. Think to Herschel walker and all the draft picks that built young and affordable talent.

Giving up all of your ammunition for things that are already rusting.

Very very bad move.

And Dak wont be it.
Look at how immensely talented the defenses were the first 2 years of Parsons.

With these trades, Dallas defense is still worse than those years.

It is absolute insanity... But hey, Dallas fans have been none the wiser for a very long time now.

The closest Jerry got to actually making substantive changes was with Parcells when Dallas was a bottom feeder and he needed to market momentum of the Cowboys to get AT&T stadium built.

The only way the Cowboys improve is if fans simply stop watching them.

Should they have drafted another Mazi or Tristen Hill? They got a Stud in his prime at probably the most important position on D. Certainly a spot they cannot draft.

 

[Pessimist_cowboy]

Yeah man missing out on another mazi stings.

 

[T-RO]

Getting quinnen for the next 3 years is a great move.

Let's examine.

This season is half-way over and could easily be burnt toast in a month. So likelihood is that Q plays two meaningful seasons. Massive price tag. Don't like the trade.

Drafted players are cheaper and come with double the years of player control.

 

[hutch1254]

LOL

no

Again, Jerry told you straight to yor face, its not about winning , its not even about football. 29 years, you think a few moves sets us on a better path? no, its about furthering the empire. the media shows will talk about this and thats a win for Jerry and mediocrity.

Well aware of that. Super bowl Champs of merchandise sales, internet clicks and media attention. Now go buy a jersey. Good lord people can't read.

 

[deerhunter11]

For me? I might go all the way back to Randy White.

I’m a sucker for Quinnen as I’ve followed the Jets since I was a kid. My grade shoot teams were run by a dad who was a Jets fan and we were the jets through pee wee and pop warner.

Anyway, Glover and Ratliff are both underrated by Cowboy fans I think, mainly because they weren’t on Super Bowl teams and didn’t play on dominant defenses. Jethro Pugh was overshadowed by Lilly and White.

I only said back to the 90s cause I wanted to give people room to not get in their feelings about Maryland/Casillas

I fully expect Coogs to make “rank the tackles” a topic if he reads this, lol

Great Post, Awesome players on that list especially Randy White, one of my all-time favorite Cowboys. While typing the post I was thinking of Glover and Ratliff as well as Chad Hennings. Williams and Clark should be a nice pair as well.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Giving up all of your ammunition

That's not what happened.

 

[Kwyn]

Let's examine.

This season is half-way over and could easily be burnt toast in a month. So likelihood is that Q plays two meaningful seasons. Massive price tag. Don't like the trade.

Drafted players are cheaper and come with double the years of player control.

That would be great if we had confidence that the front office could turn that first and second into a pro bowl caliber player. Not all-pro. Just run of the mill Kenny Clark replacement pro bowler

 

[baltcowboy]

This. Cornerstone elite DTS are extremely hard to find. We have that very bad man finally. Next to an accomplished dt in Clark might open up the entire defense. If we aren't getting bullied, but getting push and CONTAINING, that helps our back 7. Now we need guys like Kneeland to live up to why we drafted him highly. No excuses. Fowler and Houston, Osa, EZE should see greater production. Now we can compete.

Yeah give me a safety and another defensive end/linebacker with those first round picks in the next draft and we could have a solid defense next season. Really need Overshown/Revel to show out though but with some luck we could have a good defense next season.

 

[baltcowboy]

The Jets get their pick of Dallas 1st round pick or Green Bay 1st round pick in 2027!

We better play the Packers in the NFC title game next season.

 

[BoysForLife]

.Anyway, Glover and Ratliff are both underrated by Cowboy fans I think, mainly because they weren’t on Super Bowl teams and didn’t play on dominant defenses.

This is a pretty solid take

I actually almost forgot about Laroi until you mentioned him here

And I couldn't agree more about Jay

He was undersized by ~30 lbs to play the nose in a 3-4 for several years but did it anyway and did it pretty well. Definitely under appreciated

 

[cowboys1981]

I'm quick to slam Jerry. This was a good trade. I hate we're 3-5-1, but beyond 2025 I like our 1-2 punch at DT. I hope this sets precedent that DTs can no longer be bargain shopped.

We lack that push in the A gap. Especially with Mazi on the field. We now have a formidable rotation at DT with Quinnen, Clark, Osa and Thomas. Getting Wilson also helps shore up the middle of the defense. I do wish we went after Fitzpatrick. I know we went after him today but fell short. I do like how they're looking at players we (the fans) actually want. Very refreshing.

 

[boysfanindc]

I'm quick to slam Jerry. This was a good trade. I hate we're 3-5-1, but beyond 2025 I like our 1-2 punch at DT. I hope this sets precedent that DTs can no longer be bargain shopped.

We lack that push in the A gap. Especially with Mazi on the field. We now have a formidable rotation at DT with Quinnen, Clark, Osa and Thomas. Getting Wilson also helps shore up the middle of the defense. I do wish we went after Fitzpatrick. I know we went after him today but fell short. I do like how they're looking at players we (the fans) actually want. Very refreshing.

It is also going to help the ends greatly as opposing QB's will not be able to step up in the pocket so easily. Inside pressure is a nightmare for QB's.

 

[Kwyn]

This is a pretty solid take

I actually almost forgot about Laroi until you mentioned him here

And I couldn't agree more about Jay

He was undersized by ~30 lbs to play the nose in a 3-4 for several years but did it anyway and did it pretty well. Definitely under appreciated

And Jay was two time 1st team all pro and four time pro bowl!

With Le’Roi, it’s because we don’t think about his time with the Saints or Rams

He’s probably the third greatest DT to ever be a Cowboy but wasn’t here long enough. I had forgotten he was in the World Leage as well!

• 2× First-team All-Pro (2000, 2002)
• 2× Second-team All-Pro (1998, 2003)
• 6× Pro Bowl (2000–2005)
• NFL sack leader (2000)
• NFL 2000s All-Decade Team

 

[StarW]

Hmm I think of Guyton, Mazi, Charlton, Claiborne, Carpenter, and LVE as busts! It’s not guaranteed we will draft great players. I’ll take Williams we know what he brings to the table versus tge unknown. Just my opinion.

LVE was a pro bowler as a rookie. Neck injuries forced him into an early retirement. That's not exactly a bust. I agree on the rest, but c'mon, man. Put a little respect on LVE's name. Dude was putting his neck on the line for the team, literally.

 

[CowboysLakerBamaFan]

Think back to Joey Galloway and that awful descent (after giving up 2 first round picks) with a degrading Aikman. Think to Herschel walker and all the draft picks that built young and affordable talent.

Giving up all of your ammunition for things that are already rusting.

Very very bad move.

And Dak wont be it.
Look at how immensely talented the defenses were the first 2 years of Parsons.

With these trades, Dallas defense is still worse than those years.

It is absolute insanity... But hey, Dallas fans have been none the wiser for a very long time now.

The closest Jerry got to actually making substantive changes was with Parcells when Dallas was a bottom feeder and he needed to market momentum of the Cowboys to get AT&T stadium built.

The only way the Cowboys improve is if fans simply stop watching them.

You're thinking like a GM who wants to win a SB at all costs though

You're not thinking like an owner that just wants his team good enough so that he can sell hope for money for 30 years, whose end goal is being #1 in revenue and publicity xs being a Champ

Once you stop worrying about a SuperBowl, and start worrying about merch sales, social media mentions, and revenue . Yhen you'll understand this move.

 

[StarW]

If you just look at players and picks, this is how the two big interlocked trades shake out.

We receive
Quinnen Williams
Kenny Clark
Green Bay 2026 1st - 670 pts (proj)
Green Bay 2027 1st - 670 pts (proj)


We give
Micah Parsons
Mazi Smith
Cowboys 2026 2nd - 460 pts (proj)
Cowboys 2027 1st - 1200 pts (proj)

Yeah, Jerry broke the league off on this deal whether you like him or not.

(Williams + Clark + 2026 1st) > (Parsons + Smith)

Plus, we also wash our hands of that bust, Mazi Smith and avoided Parson's record-setting contract.

The money that we would've paid Smith had he not been a bust will go to Williams if we decide to keep him past 2027, and DTs age well.

FYI, we have Williams for 2 1/2 years until the end of the 2027 season.

 

[Kwyn]

Yeah, Jerry broke the league off on this deal whether you like him or not.

(Williams + Clark + 2026 1st) > (Parsons + Smith)

Plus, we also wash our hands of that bust, Mazi Smith and avoided Parson's record-setting contract.

The money that we would've paid Smith had he not been a bust will go to Williams if we decide to keep him past 2027, and DTs age well.

FYI, we have Williams for 2 1/2 years until the end of the 2027 season.

Williams, Clark and Osa all have the same cap impact next year as Micah. Clark and Williams will actually count mores.

There is no “Mazi money”. In fact, trading him results in an immediate dead money hit of nearly $2m

 

[diamonddelts]

I tend to agree but in the other hand, a DT picked in the first round in 2027 probably doesn’t pay dividends until 2028/9. By then Dak could likely be gone and the team will be in a full QB search.

On yet another hand, 2 first round picks in 2027 is ammunition to move up and draft a QB.

What bothers me is no picks in rounds 2 and 3 of the 2026 draft. These are the rounds where a solid defense can be built.

You trust GM Jerry to get the most important position in all of sports correct with a pick? The same GM who wanted to draft Paxton Lynch and Johnny Manziel.

I swear some Dallas fans have selective amnesia.

 

[KingCorcoran]

So, with our bad record this year shouldn’t our schedule next year be a little softer? I think we get back on track next year and have a decent year and will prolly have a later first rd pick and GB will most likely bd a later pick as well.

2nd place will get you a second place team’s schedule.

 

[Bigrandrn]

Think back to Joey Galloway and that awful descent (after giving up 2 first round picks) with a degrading Aikman. Think to Herschel walker and all the draft picks that built young and affordable talent.

Giving up all of your ammunition for things that are already rusting.

Very very bad move.

And Dak wont be it.
Look at how immensely talented the defenses were the first 2 years of Parsons.

With these trades, Dallas defense is still worse than those years.

It is absolute insanity... But hey, Dallas fans have been none the wiser for a very long time now.

The closest Jerry got to actually making substantive changes was with Parcells when Dallas was a bottom feeder and he needed to market momentum of the Cowboys to get AT&T stadium built.

The only way the Cowboys improve is if fans simply stop watching them.

Nah, firsts aren’t guaranteed….Quinnen is about as close as you can get to guaranteed. We have had plenty of weak first round picks. And it’s a 2027 1st. I expect with the 2026 draft and offseason, keeping our core, we will be better than this year, that pick will be later.