The Landry Hat
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3 Dallas Cowboys who could be traded during the 2023 NFL Draft

By Maitland Rutledge

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - DECEMBER 29: Kelvin Joseph #1 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates after defeating the Tennessee Titans with a score of 27 to 13 in the game at Nissan Stadium on December 29, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - DECEMBER 29: Kelvin Joseph #1 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates after defeating the Tennessee Titans with a score of 27 to 13 in the game at Nissan Stadium on December 29, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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ARLINGTON, TEXAS – DECEMBER 4: Jalen Tolbert #18 and KaVontae Turpin #9 of the Dallas Cowboys talk on the field before a game against the Indianapolis Colts at AT&T Stadium on December 4, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. The Cowboys defeated the Colts 54-19. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

2. Jalen Tolbert, WR

One of the first things Jalen Tolbert said when he arrived in Dallas was that he was going to “change the culture”. This already raised some red flags among fans and it seems the front office has lost confidence in the former South Alabama Jaguar.

Drafted in the third round of last year’s draft, many expected Tolbert to be a breakout rookie for a receiving corps that was crying out for help after the Amari Cooper trade.

While Michael Gallup took that challenge as a rookie and ran with it, Tolbert did not. Coaches continued to discuss how he was struggling to grasp the offense during training camp last year and it showed in preseason.

With Gallup still rehabbing after his torn ACL, Tolbert made his first appearance in a regular season game in Week 3 against the New York Giants. In that game he was targeted twice and had one catch for four yards. While he appeared in eight games for the season, he would only tally one more catch.

The team trading for Brandin Cooks was a clear sign more help was needed at receiver. Dallas was not about to go into 2023 with a similar situation as last year. CeeDee Lamb is the team’s best receiver but a young guy like him still needs other weapons around him. When teams keyed in on Lamb and Dalton Schultz, who is now gone, Dak Prescott had few options. While Gallup hopes to be fully healthy next year, adding Cooks can take pressure off Gallup needing to be 100% from day one.

That does not mean Dallas should solely rely on just those three players, however. Injuries happen and so do double teams. Tolbert mentioned a month ago he is hoping to learn from his tough rookie year, but in the NFL life can come at a young player fast. The Cowboys moved on from Switzer after just one year and Tolbert is another player who is pretty expendable.

While he may be draft weekend trade bait for simply acquiring more late round picks or a role player, the option should be on the table for the Cowboys based off a disappointing rookie season.

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