Even if the Dallas Cowboys have no chance of trading for them, they'd love to be able to steal these players from the Eagles, Giants and Commanders.
Talent has rarely ever been an issue for the Dallas Cowboys, which is one of the biggest reasons that the lack of playoff success over the past three decades has been so frustrating for fans to watch. The roster is often capable of winning a Super Bowl but a combination of bad coaching, bad luck, and poorly timed bad performances have doomed them.
Fans are obviously hoping that isn't the case again in the 2023 season, because the roster looks made to contend. Having said that, the Cowboys aren't without some potential holes on the roster. And while they could still fill them, it's always fun to dream. It's even more fun to dream about stealing players to fill those holes from rivals.
It will never happen that the Dallas Cowboys would be able to pick off big names from their NFC East rivals in the New York Giants, Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles. But if it were possible, who would Jerry Jones swoop up? Let's take a look at one player from each of those division rivals that America's Team would love to have while trying not to double up on any positions as well (mostly because they all have defensive tackles who are stars).
Dallas Cowboys: 1 player Jerry Jones would love to steal from each NFC East rival
Cowboys would love to steal DT Dexter Lawrence from the New York Giants
Even though Mazi Smith wasn't productive in terms of the box score while at Michigan, the Cowboys had two primary reasons for using their first-round pick on the defensive tackle in this year's draft. For one, Smith is an athletic phenom would has loads of untapped potential. But the other reason is perhaps more important: Smith reaching his potential would give them a game-wrecking interior presence they haven't had in quite some time.
If we're looking at division rivals who would make sense for Dallas, though, then you have to think that Dexter Lawrence, even in an NFC East where the Cowboys are the outlier in not having a force on the interior of the defensive line, stands above the rest.
A Giants' first-round pick in 2017, Lawrence has been a monster that has truly blossomed fully over the past couple of years. The 2022 season was by far his best as he registered 7.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss, 68 combined tackles and two forced fumbles, all of which were career highs.
Still just 25 years old, Lawrence is reaching star territory and may not have even reached his prime as a professional yet. He's a game-wrecking with elite size and movement skills for a player that big that would, in essence, be an already established presence that the Cowboys are currently hoping Smith develops into.
Cowboys would love to steal RB Brian Robinson Jr. from the Washington Commanders
Let's be frank: The Washington Commanders roster really isn't all that enticing overall. There are some nice options on the defensive line, but the preference would be Lawrence over either Daron Payne or Jonathan Allen on the interior defensive line while Micah Parsons and Demarcus Lawrence don't create a need for the likes of Chase Young or Montez Sweat.
The offense, on the other hand, is by far the weaker side of the ball for Washington. With that being said, the way this offseason has unfolded for the Cowboys ultimately gives us the player that they would love to take away from Washington.
Brian Robinson Jr. was selected in the third round of the 2022 draft and played in 12 games, this in spite of recovering from gunshot wounds suffered in the preseason after an attempted robbery. He was quite effective in a timeshare, carrying the ball 205 times for 797 yards, though he had only two touchdowns on the ground.
Having said that, with the Cowboys parting ways with Ezekiel Elliott this offseason while franchise tagging Tony Pollard, the talk for some time has been Dallas' need to fill the power-back type of role in the offense. They didn't do so in free agency (at least yet) and didn't address the need in the draft either.
In all likelihood, they eventually will find someone, whether it's a high-end option like Dalvin Cook or finding a budget option to fill the void. But in this exercise, Robinson would be the perfect compliment to Pollard in their contrasting styles while still allowing the latter to get the majority of the touches out of the backfield.
Cowboys would love to steal LB Nakobe Dean from the Philadelphia Eagles
One of the sneakiest best moves that the Cowboys made this offseason was re-signing former first-round pick Leighton Vander Esch. While the linebacker has never fully been the star he looked like as a rookie, he's still been a solid NFL player. And when you look at the depth chart at the position, that's something that can't be found anywhere else.
Damone Clark flashed as a rookie but was a fifth-round pick in 2022 and has his flaws. Jabril Cox hasn't come around since he was a fourth-rounder in 2021. And the team has to see that DeMarvion Overshown, a third-round pick this year, still needs devlopment.
That's why, instead of looking at guys like Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Haason Reddick or a number of players on the defenisve line, the Cowboys would love to steal linebacker Nakobe Dean from the Eagles.
After leading the way as one of the stars of the vaunted 2021 Georgia defense, Dean fell to the third round and into the Eagles' laps due to medical concerns. But based on the limited sample size, he looks like he has star potential still in the NFL.
Dean played largely on special teams as a rookie but was an ace in that regard. And while it was only 38 defensive snaps for the rookie with Philadelphia, he looked comfortable and versatile in that capacity when he did get those chances, something we should see more of in the 2023 season.
Pairing Nakobe Dean with Leighton Vander Esch on the Cowboys defense would not only deepen a weaker position group in Dallas but would also present a perfect combo at the position with Dean's versatility and athleticism combined with LVE's downhill style and more bruising nature. The totality of that under the watch of Dan Quinn would be something special.