Alright, folks. We're a few days past this year's NFL trade deadline and, despite all of the laughs, questions and criticism, we're going to try and offer a positive spin on how the Dallas Cowboys navigated the madness.
When Jerry Jones made the big trade to acquire former New York Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, plenty of fans wondered just what he was thinking. It's easy to point to the Micah Parsons trade and now wonder why Jones would sacrifice assets in trading for Williams, who is also on a hefty extension.
But, let's try and offer some hope.
As it stands, the Cowboys are fourth-worst in the NFL against the run. Ah, yes. It's the favorite pain point of Jerry Jones' when it came to Parsons. It makes sense bringing in Williams when you look at it strictly from that front.
Quinnen Williams is exactly who this Cowboys defensive line needed
You can trust a variety of outlets on many different fronts, but Williams is widely-known to be one of the very best run defenders across the league, regardless of position. But, if you look at Pro Football Focus, specifically, Williams is the no. 1 graded defensive lineman against the run with a grade of 90.8 (minimum 100 snaps played).
As of this moment, Dallas is sixth-worst in terms of rushing yards allowed per attempt at 4.8. They are also the fifth-worst in the NFL in rushing first down percentage at a lowly 40.28 percent.
In short, it was obvious that this line needed help. Whether or not you agree with the means by which Jerry addressed the issue, the point is, the Cowboys' run defense just got a whole lot better.
It is incredibly easy for this fan base to point out several different shortcomings on this side of the ball, and it's going to take more than one player to shore them up. But, Williams is, indeed, an excellent addition.
If the Cowboys are able to build out the rest of this defense the right way, thanks to their additional draft capital in the next two years, then it will be easier to forget about the silliness from 2025.
Above anything else, winning cures all. Williams is set to turn 28 years old in December, which was a major knock on this deal. But, the Cowboys' offense is ready to win right now. That doesn't give them a lot of time to overhaul the defense before Williams hits the age of 30. But, if done right, the Cowboys could look very different in a short while.
At the very least, the run defense is going to improve -- and it should improve immediately.