Turns out that Jerry Jones wasn’t talking up the Dallas Cowboys’ NFL trade deadline options just for show.
The Cowboys kicked off Tuesday with a relatively minor move in their acquisition of linebacker Logan Wilson from the Cincinnati Bengals. With that, many assumed that Jones was mostly done dealing.
But Dallas dropped a seismic move on the rest of the NFL by securing defensive tackle Quinnen Williams from the New York Jets in exchange for a 2027 first-round pick, 2026 second-round pick and defensive tackle Mazi Smith, according to multiple reports.
With Williams aboard, the Cowboys hope to have a player capable of turning around the team’s defensive fortunes this season and beyond. New York, meanwhile, is going for a full teardown that few could have seen coming.
How did each team fare in the deal? Here are our marks for each team.
Cowboys grade: B+
After trading Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, Jones made it known that he had inquired with the Jets about Williams in a possible deal that would have included both the star edge rusher and defensive tackle. Turns out he just needed to circle back.
The Williams deal will no doubt be evaluated in tandem with the Parsons swap. Regardless of whether Dallas is actually better off this way, it’s clear that this was Jones’ preferred route. He lands one of the league’s best defensive tackles in Williams, who meets the owner’s marks as both an elite run stuffer and pass rusher, while putting him alongside another stout interior figure in Kenny Clark. (There’s the little matter of how to deploy the two along with Osa Odighizuwa, but Jones, coach Brian Schottenheimer and defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus will sort that out later.) There’s also much better financial flexibility here, with Williams signed through 2027 on a deal that has him as just the seventh-highest-paid defensive tackle.
The question here is the draft capital. The Cowboys are set to send the higher of their two 2027 first-round picks to the Jets, according to multiple reports. If that ends up as a top-10 or top-15 pick, it’ll be hard to swallow. But Dallas still has two first-rounders this year thanks to the Parsons deal, and it could be well-positioned to land a needed edge rusher to help the defensive front get its full reset.
There might be too much work to be done on the 31st-ranked scoring defense for Williams’ arrival to save a 3-5-1 campaign. But the move changes the complexion of a unit short on any hope of a turnaround, and the future is bright.
Jets grade: A-
So much of Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey’s beginning with the Jets seemed to entail the new regime fighting against the current of the roster’s existing setup. Tuesday marked an abrupt shift, with the organization essentially conceding that it was going to take a much longer view in getting Gang Green to a point of competitiveness.
In a trade deadline that seemed to lack buzz due to a shortage of sellers, the Jets changed everything by essentially declaring everything – or at least their most valuable assets, including cornerback Sauce Gardner – must go. And at 1-7 with myriad problems, Gang Green had every reason to confront the full scope of its problems.
Williams had relatively modest production this season. His 10% pass-rush win rate ranks just 17th among defensive tackles, according to ESPN, while he’s notched just one sack. But it’s impossible to separate his play from the lack of support around him, with teams able to frequently double-team him and cater their game plans toward neutralizing him.
What matters now for New York, however, is that the team owns five first-round draft picks in the span of the next two years. There’s essentially a blank slate in Florham Park, and Jets brass will have immense resources in shaping their future to their liking.
