Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images
Cleveland Browns receive: 2025 first-round pick, 2026 first-round pick, 2025 third-round pick, 2026 third-round pick
Dallas Cowboys Receive: Edge Myles Garrett
On the heels of their third straight 12-5 campaign that ended in an early playoff exit, the Dallas Cowboys surprisingly elected to bring it back with largely the same cast as last year. This quiet season has not paid off for the organization, which now sits at 3-3 and third place in the relatively weak NFC East.
Although offensive woes are certainly at least partly to blame for this tepid start — the Cowboys are a meager 12th in yards passing and 20th in scoring after finishing in the top five the past two seasons — the defense has taken an even bigger step backwards in 2024.
Heading into Week 8, Dallas had allowed 356.5 yards and 28 points per game — which ranked No. 24 and 31, respectively, in the league. It’s a massive turnaround from 2023 when the team gave up 299.7 yards and just 18.5 points per contest and ranked in the top five in every category.
Micah Parsons’ injury issues and ineffectiveness are a major reason for this downturn. After recording at least 13 sacks in each of his first three seasons and finishing last year with a career-best 14 sacks, he only managed to record one in the four games he was active.
The Cowboys need to get some help from Parsons until he gets back to full strength. The team also needs to look to the future, as the aging group of DeMarcus Lawrence and Eric Kendricks (both 32 this season) are two of only three players on the roster with more than one sack at the moment.
Trading for Myles Garrett — a Dallas native who hoped his hometown club would move up the board to bring him back in 2017 — wouldn’t solve all of the Cowboys’ problems, but it would certainly address almost all of the defensive issues this team faces. deal with. Garrett is not only the big-name superstar that Dallas ownership would prefer to target in trades, but he’s also the kind of generational talent who could get this team back on track to compete for championships.
