Shortly before the loss to the Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones claimed that he had something big going on behind closed doors. Now, the fans finally know what he was talking about, and he wasn't lying.
The Cowboys finally made the big move they needed by adding Quinnen Williams, one of the best defensive tackles in the game. Conversely, that move also allowed them to right their wrong and move on from Mazi Smith, according to Zach Rosenblatt and Dianna Russini of The Athletic.
The Cowboys Finally Moved on From Mazi Smith
"The Jets agreed to trade Williams to the Dallas Cowboys on Tuesday in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick and a 2027 first-round pick," the report read. "Along with the two picks, Dallas sent defensive tackle Mazi Smith to New York as part of the deal, according to multiple reports. Smith was a first-round pick in 2023."
Smith had been a healthy scratch in four of the team's nine games this season. He never played more than 31 snaps, and he was often singled out as one of the main reasons why the Cowboys' run defense hadn't improved over the years.
Now that he's no longer in the picture, defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus will have one fewer scapegoat or player to hide behind. The Cowboys just gave him a prime interior defender, so there's no more room for excuses.
Smith was a first-round pick just a couple of years ago, but it didn't take long before the Cowboys realized that he was never going to live up to the expectations. Now, he's someone else's problem and not much more than a reclamation project for another organization.
Williams, on the other hand, can be a building block for years to come. The Cowboys can now have an elite tandem of defensive tackles, with him and former Green Bay Packers star Kenny Clark shutting down the run.
This season, the former New York Jets first-round selection logged a PFF grade of 79.7, which ranks seventh among all eligible defensive tackles. That should work wonders for a Cowboys struggling run defense that's currently giving up 143.0 rushing yards per game, the third-most in the league.
Dallas still has time to turn the season around, but it all starts with its defense. Otherwise, it will be hard to justify keeping Matt Eberflus around after his first season as defensive coordinator.