The NFL world was rocked when the Dallas Cowboys acquired Jets' Pro Bowl defensive tackle Quinnen Williams before Tuesday's trade deadline. Amazingly, the Cowboys were able to convince the Jets to take former first-round pick Mazi Smith off their hands.
While trading Smith is a big win for Dallas, it exposed a harsh reality about the 2023 draft class, which has been seen as a resounding failure. Smith was a first-round pick, hoping to help out the interior line while Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence held down the fort on the edge.
It's safe to say that Smith never panned out to his potential, and that's why he was traded. But if we dive deep into the 2023 draft class, it's not just Smith that fans should be disappointed about.
Mazi Smith trade exposes 2023 draft class as a failure for the Cowboys
A team's first-round pick is supposed to be its building block for the future. Smith didn't progress to anything special, but getting traded exposes a lot more about that awful 2023 draft class. Looking back, it seemed like Jerry Jones only got one thing correct that year.
The only player who has amounted to anything in the NFL is third-rounder DeMarvion Overshown, He is the only player who has any potential whatsoever to be a future face of the team. All of the other picks have already been cut or moved elsewhere.
Second-round pick Luke Schoonmaker might be the next one to go soon, as Brevyn Spann-Ford has been the more valuable guy at the tight end position, thanks to his run blocking this season. Reaching for a blocking-first tight end who was oft-injured in college in the second round is drafting malpractice, so it's not a surprise that Schoonmaker has worn out his welcome in Dallas.
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Fourth-round defensive tackle Viliami Fehoko couldn't move up the depth chart during the 2024 offseason, even when some room opened up for him. He never transformed into anything the coaching staff could work with. He was cut before his second season.
Fifth-round offensive lineman Asim Richards was a marginal success story, appearing in 13 games, including one start at right tackle. However, he got leapfrogged by Nathan Thomas on the depth chart this summer, forcing Dallas to trade him to the New Orleans Saints.
And finally, Deuce Vaughn and Jalen Brooks were cut following the 2025 preseason. Vaughn had one of the best heartwarming stories back in 2023 when his dad was on the call the moment he got drafted. Sadly, Vaughn didn't show much other than his quickness and was cut before his third season.
Smith's trade was more of the end of an era for a draft class that didn't move the needle at all. The fact that all of that happened only two years ago is concerning, to say the least. The Joneses have plenty of wins in the draft, but it's time to throw away the 2023 class entirely with the exception of Overshown.
Trading your former first-round pick in the middle of his third NFL season says a lot, and it shows that the Cowboys' front office lost badly that year.