Are the Dallas Cowboys back? After an abysmal 2024 campaign, Dak Prescott is healthy and Jerry Jones has finally put together what feels like a complete roster. Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders are real, NFL-level running backs. And of course, there's George Pickens, a dynamic WR1 talent who will shine in CeeDee Lamb's shadow.
The Cowboys made a calculated gamble to give Prescott and new OC Klayton Adams the weaponry necessary to challenge the Eagles and the Commanders in a cutthroat division. Dallas got left in the dust last season. We know what Prescott is capable of when healthy, but this team needed upgrades across the board in order to hang with the elite of the elite. Pickens helps them level up.
Still, there are plenty of other moves to be made. Jones can't sit idly as training camp approaches when there is value right there in the marketplace — perhaps from the very same team he just executed a blockbuster trade with.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are reshuffling the deck. That includes a trade for Pro Bowl tight end Jonnu Smith. As a result, former third-round pick and Georgia Bulldogs standout Darnell Washington could be available to the highest bidder. Might Dallas be a worthwhile suitor?
Cowboys should call Steelers about potential Darnell Washington trade
Dallas has long needed a spark in the tight end room. With all due respect to Jake Ferguson and Luke Schoonmaker, that is not a very convincing one-two punch. It's not necessarily a bad tight end room, but it feels like the Cowboys are missing the firepower of others contenders. Travis Kelce, TJ Hockenson, Sam LaPorta, Dallas Goedert, Mark Andrews. Most great quarterbacks have a signature tight end to relieve pressure and fill various roles within the offense.
Ferguson was a respectable starter last season, logging 59 catches for 494 yards in 14 starts, but that's only 8.4 yards per catch. Schoonmaker's only a smidge better at 8.9 per catch on much lower volume. The Cowboys don't get much playmaking juice from the tight end spot. Maybe that matters less with Lamb and Pickens roasting defenses vertically, but there's value in a strong, physical pass-catcher who can operate over the middle of the field and add a new wrinkle to the offense.
So why not call the Steelers (again) and ask about Darnell Washington. Still young at 23 years old, Washington's upside is immense. It's fair to quibble over limited progress in two seasons with Pittsburgh, but you don't find very many athletes at 6-foot-7, 264 pounds with soft enough hands and agile enough feet to run routes and make the catches Washington can.
We all deserve to see how Washington looks with a real quarterback. His development stalling next to Kenny Pickett and Russell Wilson, with Matt Canada and Arthur Smith calling plays, is hardly a definitive indictment. We don't know much about Klayton Adams as a playcaller, but he figures to embrace many of the hallmarks of what Brian Schottenheimer has run in Dallas for years. Give him a real offense, with a sharp quarterback in Prescott under center, and Washington could break through.
Moreover, he's an excellent blocking tight end, which has been the basis of his value in Pittsburgh. The Cowboys' O-line isn't what it once was and there's a lot of inexperience in front of Prescott in the trenches. Washington can help protect Prescott in certain packages and operate almost like another leg of the O-line given his hulking frame and incredible physicality.
This feels like a win for the Cowboys. As for Pittsburgh, it's a chance to cut bait with a lost cause and focus resources elsewhere.
