Cowboys interest in DeVante Parker shows desire to expand WR corps

With free agency and the offseason well underway, there’s a harsh reality facing the Dallas Cowboys. They have a lot of positional needs to fill. They needed help even before they incurred the losses of Amari Cooper, Cedrick Wilson, La’el Collins, Randy Gregory, and Connor Williams. The tight end corps needs depth, the offensive line has massive holes, edge rushers are needed, the team has no real kicker, and the WR Trio is no longer a trio. That’s a lot to fix.

Stephen and Jerry Jones are seeming to put a lot of faith in the draft. However, a trade that occurred over the weekend and a report from Monday afternoon make us feel that the Cowboys may be trying to make a trade for wide receiver help rather than wait for the draft. On Saturday, in a rare trade between divisional rivals, the Miami Dolphins sent WR DeVante Parker and a 2022 fifth-round pick to the New England Patriots in exchange for a 2023 third-round pick.

On Monday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Cowboys were one of the teams trying to get Parker before the Patriots did. The former Dolphin spent seven years as a receiver in Miami. In that time, he has collected 4,727 yards, 14.0 yards per reception, and 24 touchdowns. This feels like the umpteenth time this offseason that Dallas has been “interested” in signing or trading for a veteran player but ultimately ends up losing out (think: Von Miller, Bobby Wagner, etc).

Parker may not be a top wide receiver in the league but given his interest from multiple teams and the fact that New England had to give up a third-round pick for him, there is clearly a desire for this receiver. The 29-year-old had a $6 million cap hit, but the Dolphins weren’t going to let him go without a good return despite recently signing WR Tyreek Hill.

Adam Schefter reported that the Dallas Cowboys were allegedly interested in acquiring WR DeVante Parker before the New England Patriots got him

While the Cowboys do have CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup, Gallup is allegedly expected to be out for at least one game at the start of the season after his ACL surgery and Lamb is still young and certainly can’t do it alone. James Washington, Noah Brown, and Simi Fehoko are all depth receivers, so Dallas would be wise to solidify a solid WR3 before the start of the season.

Because the Cowboys can only address one pick in the first round of the draft (24th overall), trading for veteran talent really is a good idea. The question then becomes what picks or players are they willing to give up to get that talent? Remember that Stephen Jones (whose words aren’t necessarily trustworthy all of the time) recently said the Cowboys will still be “having activity” in free agency. Does activity mean actually acquiring people or just being in rumored talks for players?