There’s no denying that 2025 was a much more active year in the trade market than we’re used to when it comes to the Dallas Cowboys.
In the offseason, draft, preseason, and regular season, Dallas’s front office continuously swung on moves that tried to fix a roster that needed quite a bit of fixing.
To be fair, some of these moves came from contract disputes (both internally and externally), but regardless, they did what they normally do not do: aggressively struck deals. Did those moves work out? That’s what I’m here to talk about.
Below, I’ll grade five trades from the Cowboys in 2025; let me tell you, the variety in grades is as extreme as it gets.
1. The Micah Parsons Blockbuster
Cowboys Receive: DT Kenny Clark, 2026 First-Round Pick, 2027 First-Round Pick.
Packers Receive: EDGE Micah Parsons.
Grade: B
Of course, we’re starting with the whopper of all Cowboys trades: the blockbuster deal that sent Micah Parsons from America’s Team in Dallas, Texas, to the cold tundra of Wisconsin…
This may be a controversial grade, but I see it as a fair one. They get a B because of the two first-rounders and from getting a decent bit of production out of Kenny Clark. I don’t think he was as good as they’d have liked him to be, but an upgrade nonetheless.
The grade isn’t higher because, ultimately, I don’t think this is a great package for the talent and age Micah is; the failed Maxx Crosby package is a good example of that. Parsons is years younger, and better, and a similar deal was made there.
It’s also not lower because the increase in draft capital was huge for Dallas and set up future moves and draft day power.
2. The George Pickens Steal
Cowboys Receive: WR George Pickens.
Steelers Receive: 2026 Third-Round Pick.
Grade: A+
The Cowboys stole one of the league’s best wide receivers for the cost of a third-round pick.
You can’t get anything less than an A+ for that.
Of course, Pittsburgh didn’t see the George Pickens that Dallas saw in his one-year with the team, but the flashes were there, and they just didn’t care to see it through, or surround him with an offense to bring out his talents.
This may have been the best Cowboys trade of my lifetime, and it sets them up to either keep the league’s best wide receiver tandem together or flip Pickens for much more than the third they sent out.
3. The Quinnen Williams Midseason Move
Cowboys Receive: DT Quinnen Williams
Jets Receive: DT Mazi Smith, 2026 Second-Round Pick, 2027 First-Round Pick (Highest of GB’s or DAL’s).
Grade: A-
I struggle between an A- or a straight-up A for the Cowboys in this move, but I’ll wait until we see a bit more of Quinnen Williams before moving it higher.
Dallas’s midseason blockbuster with the Jets paid immediate dividends with the performance of Williams, who quickly proved to be the team’s most talented defensive tackle in at least a decade.
The two picks + Mazi Smith doesn’t hurt too badly now, especially with their two 1’s post-Micah trade.
I see this as a clear win for Dallas that puts the key piece of their defense in place for years to come.
4. The Kenneth Murray & Kaiir Elam Disasters
Cowboys Receive: LB Kenneth Murray, 2025 Seventh-Round Pick.
Chargers Receive: 2025 Sixth-Round Pick.
+
Cowboys Receive: CB Kaiir Elam, 2025 Seventh-Round Pick.
Bills Receive: 2025 Fifth-Round Pick.
Combined Grade: F
These two trades, which I’ve combined because of their mutually disastrous nature, were simply the worst pair of moves from the Cowboys’ 2025.
Did either cost them much of anything in the actual move? No, not at all.
Did both cost them tremendously on the field? You better believe it.
Kaiir Elam and Kenneth Murray were understandable cheap adds who filled positional needs. The problem was the Cowboys drastically messed up the player evaluation, as both were just flat-out bad and detrimental to the defense.
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