Trade Pitch Brings Cowboys ‘Elite’ 1,000 Yard RB From AFC South

If the Dallas Cowboys truly want to level up on offense, which by all indications they do, then there’s a final piece to the puzzle just waiting for them.

Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox put Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne on his “Trade Block Big Board” in the final month before training camp starts and pegged the Cowboys as a primo destination.

The Cowboys have upgraded from 2024 at wide receiver with a trade for disgruntled Pittsburgh Steelers star George Pickens and drafted an offensive lineman in the first round with Alabama’s Tyler Booker at No. 12 overall.

Dallas also gets quarterback Dak Prescott back healthy after he missed 9 games in 2024 with a hamstring injury. Tight end Jake Ferguson should also be back healthy after earning a Pro Bowl nod in 2023 and having a terrible season in 2024.

Where there’s been no discernible improvement is at running back, although the Cowboys have made a series of middling moves led by signing Javonte Williams to a 1-year, $3 million contract and drafting a pair of running backs in the later rounds with fifth rounder Jaydon Blue and seventh rounder Phil Mafah.

“The Dallas Cowboys should already be calling about Etienne’s availability,” Knox wrote on June 21. “They currently have a backfield headlined by Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders — two big question marks, given their recent production — and have shown a willingness to trade for talent post-draft. Dallas acquired wideout George Pickens from Pittsburgh on May 7.”

Etienne’s Reduced Role in Jags’ Offense Mystifies

Etienne, a 2021 first-round pick, had back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons in 2022 and 2023 but took a backseat in Jacksonville’s offense to Tank Bigsby for one reason or another.

That change has had Etienne at the center of trade rumors since the middle of last season.

“… The question becomes whether any (Jacksonville) players are available to be turned into future draft assets,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio wrote in October 2024. “The most obvious name is running back Travis Etienne. A first-round pick in 2021, Etienne has slipped behind Tank Bigsby as the best running back on the roster, in the opinion of many. So why not send Etienne to a team that is looking to boost its backfield in an effort to contend?”

Florio’s words from last year seem just as true today as they ever were.

The Cowboys want to contend. Etienne has shown he can be elite — why not bring the 2 sides together?

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Etienne Has Been Dominant on Every Level

Etienne was one of the most dominant college running backs of the last decade at Clemson, where he teamed up with Jacksonville quarterback and 2021 No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence to lead the Tigers to the 2018 College Football Playoff national championship.

Etienne was also a 3-time All-American and 2-time ACC Player of the Year before the Jaguars drafted him at No. 25 overall in 2021, but he missed his entire rookie season with a foot injury after former head coach Urban Meyer attempted a bizarre position move to wide receiver.

Etienne signed a 4-year, $12.8 million rookie contract and the Jaguars picked up his fifth year option, which will pay him $6.1 million in 2025 — money that could be leveraged against them in any trade proposal.