It only took 1 game for Jonathan Mingo to cement fears about Cowboys trade

There are so many things wrong with the Dallas Cowboys, but poor roster construction should take the cake. Coming into the season, everyone was in lockstep that Dallas didn't do enough in the offseason to replace the talent that was allowed to walk out the door.

The running back discourse has evolved into a national storyline, but wide receiver is another polarizing topic after the Cowboys bafflingly sent a 2025 fourth-round pick to the Carolina Panthers for receiver Jonathan Mingo.

Cowboys fans are rooting for Mingo to develop into an impact player. The 2023 second-round pick was a healthy scratch against the Eagles in Week 10 being the trade had just happened, but he made his highly-anticipated debut in Monday night's loss to the Texans.

Despite the tempered expectations, Mingo managed to disappoint. He was targeted four times by Cooper Rush and didn't catch a single pass.

Jonathan Mingo had Cowboys debut to forget after trade deadline move to Dallas

It stands to reason that Mingo will be more involved as he gets acclimated to the offense. He's had less than two weeks of practice and only played 24 snaps Monday, which ranked fourth among Dallas receivers.

Believe it or not, Mingo almost had a marquee moment in his debut. On 4th-and-2 in the third quarter, Mike McCarthy called a sprint right option and Mingo broke free near the end-line. However, Rush sailed the pass over his head. Had Rush connected, Mingo might have scored a touchdown. At the very least, he would have moved the chains.

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Alas, the Cowboys turned the ball over on downs.

The near-TD does not take away from Mingo failing to register a single catch. A whopping 10 different Cowboys had a reception in the game, including Deuce Vaughn. That is more of an indictment on Dallas than Mingo, however.

Despite spending a fourth-round pick on Mingo, Dallas was throwing passes to Flournoy and undrafted tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford. That's poor asset management.

Because of the absurd price, Mingo has been subjected to unwarranted criticism. The Cowboys had a third-round grade on Mingo in the 2022 draft, but his production in 24 career games before the trade shouldn't have commanded anything less than a fifth-round pick.

Mingo's rookie deal runs through the 2026 season so there's plenty of time for him to come good. Being that Dallas grossly overpaid for him, though, he needs to show something over the final seven games.

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