Dallas Cowboys Trade Talk: 2 Defensive upgrades to consider

The Dallas Cowboys are off to an amazing start with their 5-1 record. They lead the NFC East by three games, just beat the New England Patriots in an overtime thriller, and have a favorable schedule after next week’s bye. And the icing on the cake is that the Cowboys are on a five game winning streak.

After losing a closely contested season opener to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Cowboys are truly are one of the best teams in the NFL and will only get better once key contributors return from the injured reserve.

With the Cowboys on a winning streak and steadily scoring over 30 points a game, it’s clear the Cowboys are all in about winning but still need to make some trades to be a championship caliber team on both sides of the ball.

The Dallas Cowboys are one of the best teams in the NFL, but they need to make some moves to be a Super Bowl caliber contender.

Much to the chagrin of the Dallas Cowboys haters and the entire NFL,  this team has proven the critics wrong with their play. But the critics also know that if the Cowboys make a few trades before the tradeline, this team will be unstoppable-especially on defense. We look at two players today:

SAF Marcus Maye

Despite the Dallas Cowboys leading the league in turnovers, we all know this defense has some holes to fill. Currently, Marcus Maye and Dallas are said to be linked in trade talks. This move is interesting because of safety Damontae Kazee‘s recent arrest, but ironically, Maye is facing a DUI and possible suspension himself – one reason why the Jets are ready to part ways.

Jerry Jones might gamble on Maye because he’s a good safety. Besides, Maye will only boost Dallas’ opportunistic, ball-hawking secondary which is led by league-leading interception leader Trevon Diggs.

DT Michael Brockers

If Dallas stands pat on its secondary, then the Cowboys should look into trading for Detroit Lions defensive tackle Michael Brockers. The 10-year veteran is versatile in that he can play either inside or outside and would join veteran Brent Urban, rookie Osa Odighizuwa, and eventually Neville Gallimore.

That’s a whole lot of beef to move around! Man!

Brockers is 30, but has recorded 409 tackles, 50 TFL (tackles for loss), 63 QB hits for his career, and would be a great addition to Dallas’ run game. In other words, Brockers is currently better than the interior personnel on Dallas’ roster and will have a major impact in stopping the run.

Yes, Odighizuwa and Gallimore are promising players, but Brockers is what this defense needs immediately to stop Dallas’ from giving up 4.23 yards a carry to opposing offenses. Yikes!

Given Brockers’ age and the fact that the Lions are having a losing season, Dallas likely upgrade their run defense at the cost of a late round pick. A healthy rotation of Brockers, Odighizuwa, Urban, and Gallimore will be hard to run on. This makes the defensive line formidable because the pass rush is led by Randy Gregory and will only get better when DeMarcus Lawrence returns from his foot injury.

In conclusion,

There is no Haley this time around to trade for, but there are good players that can uplift this defense and make the Dallas Cowboys a real threat on both sides of the ball.

If the Dallas Cowboys want to better their chances of winning the Super Bowl, they have to address their porous run defense and at least attempt to go after Maye or another defensive stalwart.

Even though Dallas’ coaching staff is singing the praises of rookie corner Kelvin Joseph (who is on the injury list), Dallas needs to cover all of their weaknesses on defense to give itself a real opportunity to compete and beat the likes of the Arizona Cardinals, Bucs, Los Angles Rams, and Green Bay Packers.

Trading for a legitimate defensive player is the difference maker between an opposing team running for over 100 yards that goes into overtime or stopping that team’s run game altogether. Turnovers notwithstanding, Dallas’ defense is the reason why they went into overtime against the Patriots – not because of its high-powered offense.

Like I’ve written before in several articles, Jerry needs to take the same approach him and former head coach Jimmy Johnson did back in 1992 when they traded for disgruntled San Francisco 49ers edge rusher Charles Haley. Johnson knew Haley was the last piece to the puzzle to winning the Super Bowl. The rest is history.

There is no Haley this time around to trade for, but there are good players that can uplift this defense and make the Dallas Cowboys a real threat on both sides of the ball. The Dallas Cowboys are all in this season, so lets hope they make a trade and find another version of Haley and more. BOOM!