2022 NFL trade deadline: 3 players the Dallas Cowboys should consider trading for

Trades the Cowboys should consider to upgrade the roster before the NFL deadline hits.

From top to bottom, the Dallas Cowboys roster depth at each position is as good as it’s been in recent memory. That doesn’t necessarily mean they can’t stand to upgrade a few areas. With the 2022 NFL trade deadline quickly approaching, November 1, they still have a chance to improve their team if they so choose.

With that in mind, we’re going to identify a few players who Cowboys should, at the very least, consider picking up the phone to inquire about their availability via trade. Each player listed below fits all the needed criteria, however, potential trade compensation varies from player to player.

WR Denzel Mims, New York Jets

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The Dallas Cowboys kicked the tires on a potential trade for Denzel Mims back in August, but at the time the New York Jets asking price, reportedly a fourth-round pick, was too much for them to justify pulling the trigger. Fast forward a few months later, after Mims has yet to appear in a game this season, the Cowboys may want to circle back to see if that asking price has gone down.

Dallas isn’t really in desperate need to upgrade the receiving corps, however, the fact they showed an interest in him earlier this year suggests they are at least somewhat intrigued about bringing Mims aboard. He checks all of the boxes they generally look for in a WR and would likely be an immediate upgrade behind CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, and Noah Brown. And as an added bonus, he’s still playing under his rookie contract.

DT Derrick Brown, Carolina Panthers

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Defensively, the Dallas Cowboys have been pretty spectacular this season. But like in years past, their run defense leaves much to be desired. If they want to improve in that area dramatically, placing a call to the Carolina Panthers, a team who could be starting to rebuild, about the availability of Derrick Brown would be a tremendous step in the right direction.

The 24-year-old, and former seventh overall pick by the Panthers in 2020, has developed into one of the better defensive tackles in the entire league. He doesn’t offer a lot of juice as a pass rusher, but his ability as a run defender in the interior of the defensive line is among the best in the entire league. His addition in the middle of the Cowboys DL would likely make them the most rounded and dominant defensive units in the league.

LB Roquan Smith, Chicago Bears

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Anytime you have a chance to add a Pro Bowl player to your roster who would immediately upgrade the team you have to at least consider it, right? Well, that’s the case with the Bears disgruntled LB Roquan Smith. He’s without a doubt one the best linebackers in the league and would be an upgrade over Leighton Vander Esch and Anthony Barr from Day 1. Facilitating this trade though would be a little trickier than the others previously mentioned.

Not only would the Cowboys have to give up at least a Day 2 pick next year in the 2023 NFL Draft, but they’d also have to sign him to a long-term extension that would likely make him one of the higher-paid LBs in the league. This is absolutely doable, however, it’s not something Dallas has done recently. But, how much fun would it be to have both Roquan Smith and Micah Parsons on the same defense for the rest of this year and beyond?