3 Ideal trade scenarios for the Dallas Cowboys in 2020

Dallas Cowboys Trade Option No. 1

Kawann Short, DT

The 31-year-old two-time Pro Bowler is coming off his worst season as a pro. Injury robbed him of all but two games and now his combined sack total over the past two seasons sits at a modest three. Slated to make a whopping $19.464 million in 2020, Kawann was in Vincent Frank’s article on Sports Naut as one of six star players who could be cut this summer.

Carolina, clearly a team on the rebuild, just added the top defensive tackle in the draft, Derrick Brown, with the seventh pick in the draft. While it’s perfectly possible it was to start alongside Short, it’s also possible it’s the dawning of a new age and Brown is there to replace Short.

Not too long ago Kawann Short was considered the best DT in the game. Even as recently as 2017, Short was Pro Football Focus’ second best interior defensive lineman in the NFL. Dallas Cowboys fans should remember Short quite well when he went up against the then-rookie Connor Williams back in 2018. It was perhaps the biggest mismatch since Chaz Green visited Atlanta.

How does Kawann Short fit on the Dallas Cowboys?

even if Short doesn’t bounce back to the Pro Bowler we know, he’s still pretty darn good and rated higher than McCoy in 2019 and 2018.

The main concern here is that the 6-foot-3, 315lb defensive tackle is redundant with the 6-foot-4, 300lb Gerald McCoy. Neither player is exactly suited for a role as 1 technique so it’s likely they steal snaps from each other in traditional base 4-3 looks.

But assessing the Dallas Cowboys roster it’s clear the Cowboys are disturbing thin behind McCoy. If McCoy goes down or needs a break, who’s the next man up? The rookie Neville Gallimore? He’s about as raw a s can be so that wouldn’t be acceptable. Second year tackle, Trysten Hill? He may not even make the team. Tyrone Crawford? Probably, but I couldn’t imagine the Cowboys going very far for very long with Crawford as the starting under tackle.

Short would also make sense if the Cowboys play some odd man fronts. Girth is a valuable trait and Short would be one of the few linemen on the team capable of 2-gapping from multiple spots (either NT or at 5-tech).

Short would add more legitimacy to the Dallas Cowboys line which is currently marred in questions right now. And even if Short doesn’t bounce back to the Pro Bowler we know, he’s still pretty darn good and rated higher than McCoy in 2019 and 2018.