When it comes to making trades, the Dallas Cowboys are generally buyers rather than sellers. Over the past few years we’ve seen them send late round draft picks to acquire talent from other teams and could see them do the same at some point in the near future. But, that doesn’t mean they don’t have any tradable assets currently on the roster.
Now, the Dallas Cowboys roster isn’t quite as deep as it was a season ago but they do have a handful of players who could be put on the trade block. The players I’m thinking of are either potential roster cuts they’d like to receive some kind of draft capital for before releasing or players they could package in a deal to acquire someone they truly covet.
Let’s take a look…
CB, Jourdan Lewis
Despite being a fan favorite, it’s beginning to look like Jourdan Lewis is once again falling out of favor with the Dallas Cowboys and the new coaching staff. If I’m reading the smoke signals correctly, Defensive Coordinator Mike Nolan is looking for big, lengthy corners and unfortunately Lewis doesn’t quite measure up. To make matters worse, he’s entering a contract year.
Lewis’ best chance to earn significant playing time is to become the Cowboys nickel CB. That spot seems to be currently locked down by Anthony Brown, who was just re-signed to a 3-year, $15.5 million extension. So instead of keeping him around for purely depth purposes the Cowboys could try to flip him for a 2021 draft pick or package him in a deal for someone they covet.
CB, Chidobe Awuzie
Like Jourdan Lewis, fellow Dallas Cowboys 2017 draft pick Chidobe Awuzie could be caught in a numbers crunch game when it’s all said and done. There has been talk of him moving from cornerback to safety, but that’s merely speculation right now. It makes sense of course due to the current depth at corner and the lack of depth at safety, but nothing is concrete as of yet.
The biggest knock on Awuzie seems to be his inability to turn around and locate the ball in the air. In coverage though, he’s rarely out of position and doesn’t allow many easy completions when targeted. Unfortunately, the new coaching staff aren’t wedded to him meaning he’s not guaranteed anything. His value in Dallas may be dwindling, but not every NFL team likely thinks the same.
DT, Trysten Hill
Defensive Tackle Trysten Hill looks to be the new Taco Charlton for a lot of Cowboys Nation. The majority of Cowboys fans didn’t agree with him being the Cowboys second-round draft pick a year ago and not being able to make much of an impact as a rookie certainly hasn’t helped his cause. Sadly, the new coaching staff could agree and could gauge how much trade interest he draws.
The additions of Gerald McCoy and Dontari Poe via free agency and Neville Gallimore through the draft (3rd-round) doesn’t bode real well for Trysten Hill either. He’s just 22 years old and his best football could still be ahead of him, but he’s already facing an uphill battle to earn any significant playing time in Year 2. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he’s put on the trade block.
G/C, Joe Looney
Prior to the 2020 NFL Draft Joe Looney and Connor McGovern were the odds-on favorites to take over for the recently retired Travis Frederick at center for the Dallas Cowboys. That still could be the case, but after trading up and drafting Tyler Biadasz in the fourth-round that could certainly change. Looney provides experience and depth, but that could also increase his trade value as well.
I really got the feeling the Cowboys were going to give Connor McGovern every chance to be Frederick’s replacement. Then you throw in the fact Mike McCarthy made a huge effort to trade up for Tyler Biadasz and was able to pull it off seems to indicate Looney is a fallback option only. Once offseason programs heat up and injuries start to occur, he could become a tradable commodity.
OG, Connor Williams
Connor Williams is entering Year 3 with the Dallas Cowboys, but unfortunately reoccurring injuries have kept him from fully establishing himself as the Cowboys starting left guard. When healthy, he’s actually played better than a lot of people would lead you to believe. Sadly he hasn’t been able to do that on a consistent basis yet, meaning he is not guaranteed a starting job in 2020.
Connor Williams is somebody who I believe can play any position along the offensive line. As such, if he loses is starting LG gig he could provide valuable depth. That means he could be the swing tackle, backup guard, and backup center. That could prove to be invaluable. It’s that value though that could also make him an intriguing trade asset, especially as part of a package if necessary.
