{"id":181874,"date":"2026-05-01T00:35:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T00:35:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=181874"},"modified":"2026-05-01T00:35:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T00:35:25","slug":"from-first-round-disaster-to-released-cowboys-biggest-draft-flop-in-5-years-just-got-dumped-by-the-jets-ranked-dead-last-at-207th-among-dts-this-one-hurts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=181874","title":{"rendered":"\u201cFrom First-Round Disaster to Released: Cowboys\u2019 Biggest Draft Flop in 5 Years Just Got Dumped by the Jets \u2014 Ranked Dead Last at 207th Among DTs\u2026 This One Hurts\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0wasted a 1st-round pick on defensive tackle\u00a0Mazi Smith\u00a0in the 2023 NFL Draft. The\u00a0New York Jets\u00a0might not want to waste any more time trying to develop Smith.<\/p>\n

The Jets declined the 5th year option on Smith\u2019s contract ahead of the May 1 deadline and will instead let him play out the final season of his 4-year, $13.27 million rookie contract.<\/p>\n

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Smith was part of the blockbuster trade\u00a0between the Cowboys and Jets in November that brought the Cowboys NFL All-Pro defensive tackle\u00a0Quinnen Williams\u00a0in exchange for Smith, a 2027 1st round pick, and a 2026 2nd round pick.<\/p>\n

In retrospect, Smith seems to be the least important part of that trade.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Jets declined to exercise the fifth-year option for DT Mazi Smith, whom they acquired from Dallas in the Quinnen Williams trade,\u201d\u00a0ESPN\u2019s Rich Cimini wrote\u00a0on his official X account on Wednesday. \u201cSmith, who played only three games (54 snaps) for the Jets last season, is under contract for the coming season. He will be a free agent in 2027.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Smith Called Cowboys\u2019 Worst 1st Round Pick<\/h2>\n

Before the 2025 season,\u00a0Bleacher Report\u2019s Matt Holder\u00a0called Smith the Cowboys\u2019 \u201cWorst First Round Pick\u201d in the previous 5 years.<\/p>\n

Smith was the No. 26 overall pick in the 2023\u00a0NFL\u00a0draft.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Offensive tackle) Tyler Guyton is threatening to take Smith\u2019s spot here after struggling as a rookie,\u201d Holder wrote in June 2025. \u201cHowever, the latter has had more time to get his feet wet in the NFL and still looks like a fish out of water. The Michigan product was drafted to help stop the run but has earned run-defense grades in the 30s from Pro Football Focus in his two seasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Smith\u2019s PFF grade in 2024 put him among the worst defensive tackles in the NFL \u2014 207th out of 219 eligible players at his position.<\/p>\n

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\"Cowboys'
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\u201cFormer first-rounder Mazi Smith endured a particularly tough 2024 campaign,\u201d\u00a0PFF\u2019s Mason Cameron\u00a0wrote in May 2025. \u201cHe posted an abysmal 34.7 PFF overall grade, marking his second consecutive season of earning a sub-48.0 grade. Although Dallas signed\u00a0Solomon Thomas\u00a0in free agency, that doesn\u2019t profile as the answer to the Cowboys\u2019\u00a030th-ranked run-defense grade\u00a0(48.0).\u201d<\/p>\n

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The writing might already be on the wall for Smith with the Jets, who probably drafted his replacement in the 4th round (No. 103 overall) with 6-foot-6, 315-pound Florida State defensive tackle Darrell Jackson Jr.<\/p>\n

Cowboys Land One of NFL\u2019s Premiere Defenders<\/h2>\n

The deal for Williams gives the Cowboys arguably the NFL\u2019s best 1-2 punch on the interior defensive line behind just the\u00a0Philadelphia Eagles\u00a0duo of\u00a0Jalen Carter\u00a0and\u00a0Jordan Davis.<\/p>\n

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The Cowboys already have Pro Bowler\u00a0Kenny Clark\u00a0at one of the defensive tackle spots, with Clark part of the preseason trade that sent edge rusher\u00a0Micah Parsons\u00a0to the\u00a0Green Bay Packers\u00a0in exchange for 2 first round draft picks.<\/p>\n

The Cowboys had one of the NFL\u2019s best offenses in 2025 but had arguably the NFL\u2019s worst defense, finishing the season ranked 31st out of 32 NFL teams in team defense.<\/p>\n

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Williams has spent the 7 seasons of his career on one of the NFL\u2019s worst teams \u2014 the Jets\u00a0haven\u2019t played in the postseason since 2010\u00a0and haven\u2019t had a winning record since 2015.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0wasted a 1st-round pick on defensive tackle\u00a0Mazi Smith\u00a0in the 2023 NFL Draft. The\u00a0New York Jets\u00a0might not want to waste any more time trying to develop Smith…. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":181875,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-181874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cFrom First-Round Disaster to Released: Cowboys\u2019 Biggest Draft Flop in 5 Years Just Got Dumped by the Jets \u2014 Ranked Dead Last at 207th Among DTs\u2026 This One Hurts\u201d - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=181874\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cFrom First-Round Disaster to Released: Cowboys\u2019 Biggest Draft Flop in 5 Years Just Got Dumped by the Jets \u2014 Ranked Dead Last at 207th Among DTs\u2026 This One Hurts\u201d - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0wasted a 1st-round pick on defensive tackle\u00a0Mazi Smith\u00a0in the 2023 NFL Draft. 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