Blogging The Boys
On Tuesday, the Dallas Cowboys traded a 2027 first-round pick as well as a 2026 second-round pick to acquire star defensive tackle Quinnen Williams from the New York Jets. To properly assess this trade, it’s essential to have a clear understanding of what the Cowboys are gaining and what exactly they gave up.
In previous articles, we attempted to provide some clarity on this trade, first explaining how this fits into the overall plan of the Micah Parsons trade, and then making the case that Williams is a legit impact defensive tackle. Today, we want to show why taking this approach was exactly what the front office needed to do to secure the quality of play they have so desperately been missing over the last several years.
We will go over the following:
The biggest contention people have about the trade is how much the Cowboys gave up to get him, specifically, that 2027 first-rounder. If you think of it as just a first and a second, that’s a hefty price. However, picks from future seasons only equate to about one-third the value of the current season. Looking at the draft trade value chart, that translates to a round later. Here’s a hypothetical to help understand what the Cowboys gave up.
Let’s err on the side of terrible and say the Cowboys finish with only six wins in each of the next two seasons. That would project them to finish with the 11th pick for round one and the 43rd pick for round two. The value of these two picks would be:
2026 2nd round pick at pick 43 = 470 points
2027 1st round pick at pick 11 = 1250 points/3 = 417 points
Total value = 887 points, which is equivalent to the 19th overall pick in the 2026 draft
The short version is that the Cowboys gave up a 2026 first-round pick for Williams. They just used other draft capital to finesse it without having to touch one of their two first-round picks for next year. So, the real question should become, is spending a first-round pick the right approach to acquire a proven impact defensive tackle? To answer that question, we present the next factor.
If the Cowboys were able to land themselves a star defensive tackle with one of their first-round draft picks, that would be fantastic. Getting a great young player on four years of cheap player control (five, with the fifth-year option) is ideal; however, that task is easier said than done. Finding a difference-making DT, even while using premium draft capital, comes with challenges. If you looked at the 10-year window from 2013 to 2022 (we’re not including DTs drafted in 2023 and beyond because most haven’t developed...
