We all took turns taking jabs at Jerry Jones for trading pennies on the dollar for Micah Parsons and parting ways with one of the most destructive edge rushers in the NFL. Now more than halfway through the season, Jones might just be onto something as he is desperate to get Dallas back to the pinnacle of the NFL.
The Parsons trade allowed him to land Quinnen Williams at the trade deadline, finally getting reinforcements to the interior defensive line. It also freed up some money for him to start solidifying other areas of this roster. On Monday night, and frankly throughout the season, George Pickens proved why the Cowboys needed offensive help. Now, regardless of how this season ends, for once, the Cowboys have direction.
First things first: Pay George Pickens
The Cincinnati Bengals showed the rest of the NFL why it is extremely risky to eat up cap space with two elite receivers. That said, the Cowboys are in a much better position to pay Pickens his worth with the current construct of their roster. The Bengals defense was trash before they signed Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase so it’s no surprise they didn’t have the financial freedom after..
Jones parting ways with Parsons freed up money for another high-end player and now that their defensive line is fortified, they don’t need to go shopping for defense this offseason. Instead, lock up Pickens long term and let him, CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott cook. This offense needs two strong receivers to be good. The last few years they didn’t have one, it reflected in their production.
Pickens is having a career season with 908 receiving yards and a career-high seven receiving touchdowns. He’s on pace to set a career-high in receiving yards with more than 1,300 yards. According to spotrac, Pickens could yield a value as high as $25 million per year. That’s a lot for a No. 2 receiver, but where else would that money need to go for Dallas?
Use the NFL Draft to fill out the rest of the defense
The Cowboys need EDGE help badly and they don’t need to overpay in free agency or make an overzealous trade. Instead, they should look to the NFL Draft to land that future EDGE star. That would allow them to pay high-end for Pickens while also developing a young player for cheap. This only makes sense because they added Kenny Clark and Williams this season to bolster their interior.
Williams’ Cowboys debut is everything Jones and Cowboys fans needed to know they’ll be just fine without Parsons. Williams had four total tackles and 1.5 sacks in his debut on Monday night. With DeMarvion Overshown coming back from injury as well, they’ll eventually get to a baseline on their defensive line.
It will be up to the NFL Draft to find the rest of their defenders for depth and the future. Adding Logan Wilson addressed another major need, and the secondary should be able to hold their own. All of this was possible from Jones doing what he does best: Taking a gamble.
Dallas is finally set up to win again at their standard. Last time they made a blockbuster move, dealing Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings, it was the first domino that fell on their way to winning three Super Bowls. I’m not saying they’re set to terrorize the NFL, but for once Cowboys fans finally feel like their team is trending in the right direction.
