3 Trades the Cowboys Can Make to Save Their Offseason

1. Derrick Brown, DT, Carolina Panthers

Dallas had a very opportunistic defense that was especially tough to beat at home. However, they continued to have one weakness — their inability to stop the run.

Their loss to the Green Bay Packers in the postseason highlighted this as Aaron Jones had his way for the entire 60 minutes. To combat their issues against the run, the Cowboys have done nothing this offseason. In fact, they got worse with Johnathan Hankins leaving in free agency.

They could still find a way to salvage things by landing Derrick Brown who is currently on the Carolina Panthers. Brown would be a one-year rental since he's in the final year of his rookie deal and the Cowboys would be hesitant to pay him long-term. However, he could be exactly what they need to help push Mazi Smith along — and there's a chance Browns could be available.

Dan Pizzuta of 33rd Team believes Brown is one of the players who could be on the move before the draft. He praises him as a run defender and points out the Cowboys as a team that could benefit from his work in this area.

"Brown was a force against the run in 2023 with 80 tackles that produced a positive play for the defense by EPA, 14th in the league and easily the most among defensive linemen. He made a tackle on 22.1 percent of his run stops, which was the third-highest rate among defensive linemen with at least 500 snaps."

The question would come down to cost. Dallas could make his contract work under the cap but again, without a long-term deal in place, they don't need to give up a premium pick. Having said that, a third-round pick would be worth it should that be enough to entice Carolina.

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