The Dallas Cowboys were active in the first week of free agency, but that hardly deserves applause.
While Jalen Thompson, Cobie Durant, and P.J. Locke help raise the floor of a toothless secondary, Dallas' linebacker room may be the worst in the NFL, and the edge rotation needs another starting-caliber player, even after the Rashan Gary trade.
A trade is the most realistic fix at both positions, and the Cowboys appear to know it. Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram revealed on the Cross Chop podcast that Dallas contacted the New York Giants during the NFL Combine about pass rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux.
"They [the Cowboys] checked in on that around the Combine. That compensation was looking like either a first-round pick or either a two and a three. It's just not attainable."
The Dallas Cowboys reportedly tried to trade for Giants' pass rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux
Does that say a first-round pick or a second and a third??
While the Giants likely added an NFC East tax on Dallas, that is still an absurd asking price for Thibodeaux, who was New York's third-best pass rusher in 2025 behind Brian Burns and Abdul Carter.
That isn’t to say Thibodeaux is a bad player, but a third-round pick feels like fair value given his uneven production and the fact he needs a new contract. The former No. 5 overall pick is set to make $14.75 million next season on his fifth-year option.
Unless we're talking about a perennial All-Pro, players under team control naturally cost more because the acquiring team is taking on less risk. If a player needs a new contract, the acquiring team has to give up draft capital and then immediately pay market value.
It's a double investment, so to speak, and the selling team inherently has more leverage because they're not forced to move the player.
Thibodeaux would be a fun addition to Christian Parker’s defense, but his production doesn’t justify the reported asking price.
Over the last two seasons, he's managed 70 pressures, eight sacks, 15 quarterback hits, and 39 defensive stops, per PFF (subscription required). An edge rusher worthy of a first-round pick would come close to posting those numbers in a single season.
In addition, Thibodeaux's 11.1 percent pass-rush win rate last year ranked 37th out of 62 edge defenders who played at least 350 pass-rush snaps, and he was 61st with a 57.2 pass-rush grade in true pass sets.
It's easy to say that Thibodeaux wasn't a great fit under former defensive coordinator Shane Bowen. However, Brian Burns had a career year in the same fit, and Abdul Carter, a rookie, ranked ninth at the position with a 90.1 pass-rush grade in true pass sets.
PFF’s metrics aren’t gospel, but no one can convincingly argue Thibodeaux has lived up to his No. 5 overall billing. He’d be a great addition at the right price — a third-rounder, maybe even a second — but Jerry Jones should’ve hung up immediately if Harris’ intel is accurate.
It sounds like he did exactly that.