FRISCO — Over nearly the last three years, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has offered a familiar phrase when it comes to evaluating former first-round pick Mazi Smith. He urged people to give it time, just as former Cowboys head coach Tom Landry would. Jones has plenty of go-to phrases — a must when you talk as much as he does — and Landry’s words on defensive linemen have been no exception.
Jones even assessed Smith on Tuesday morning, during an interview with 105.3 The Fan (KRLD-FM) with the lesson that Landry once taught him.
“He said, ‘Don’t ever give up on a defensive lineman,’” Jones recalled Landry once telling him. “And he specifically was talking about a defensive lineman until you’ve seen a good three years. They’ll surprise you and they’ll come around late and they’re hard to find.”
Which made what Jones and the Cowboys did a few hours later so interesting.
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Instead of waiting for Smith to bloom, the Cowboys traded for his replacement. They upgraded with former All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Quinnen Williams in a trade with the New York Jets. The Cowboys sent back a second-round pick in 2026, a conditional first-round pick in 2027 , and they sent back Smith.
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Getting a player like Williams was an easy choice for the Cowboys when he became available.
“Anytime you get a chance to add a guy like Quinnen to your team you’re crazy if you don’t do it,” Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said on Tuesday.
But the fact that they did, and frankly needed to, was a willingness to acknowledge a mistake — a willingness to recognize that another first-round defensive tackle didn’t develop after they selected him.
To be fair, it hasn’t been easy for Smith to develop. Smith is set to be coached by his fourth different defensive coordinator and defensive line coach in less than three full seasons in the NFL. Go back to his days at Michigan and he’s had seven defensive coordinators and six defensive line coaches in his last seven years.
Dallas Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones (from left), head coach Mike McCarthy, rookie defensive tackle Mazi Smith and owner Jerry Jones pose for a photo during an introductory press conference at The Star on Friday, April 28, 2023 in Frisco, Texas.
Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer
Smith was once listed as the No. 1 freak athlete in The Athletic’s annual rankings of college football players. The Cowboys drafted him for that potential talent. Under constant change, his development stagnated. His inconsistencies proved to be as constant as his inconsistent coaching.
“I had a really good talk with Mazi,” Schottenheimer said after the trade. “He was obviously disappointed that it didn’t work out for him here. I wish him nothing but the best. I told him what I truly believe: sometimes change is good. He gets a chance to go and start over in New York and that’s not a bad thing. He won’t be the first person that leaves one team and goes and has great success. I want that for him. I hope he has a great career. It was tough to say goodbye to Mazi.”
But the Cowboys had to. They had a need for a difference maker on the defensive line and they believe Williams will be exactly that.
The fact that the Cowboys recognized it and invested a lot — both in draft capital and money over the next few seasons — shows that they’re willing to make peace with that and adjust. It shows they were willing to even double down on investing in the interior defensive line after acquiring Kenny Clark in a trade with Micah Parsons before the season.
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The Cowboys now have three defensive tackles set to make over $20 million per year on their roster.
“I think it adds a lot of strength to our group, including [Solomon Thomas],” said defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa, the third defensive tackle making over $20 million on their team. “Solly is a dog as well. So having another guy like Quinnen is really going to strengthen up the inside of our defense.”
Fellow Cowboys defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey, a teammate of Williams’ briefly in New York, said that he thinks the defensive line has a lot more potential ahead of them.
“With Quinnen coming, I feel like the door is just opening up. The floodgates are going to open up.”
Winfrey said the trade for Williams was bittersweet. He was close with Smith.
“You could see he wanted to be better, you could see the work that he was putting in, you could see the type of guy he was trying to be,” Winfrey said.
Ultimately, it didn’t happen in Dallas.
Smith is now the second consecutive defensive line first-round pick that didn’t last long with the Cowboys. Former first-round pick Taco Charlton, selected in 2017, was waived after 875 days with the Cowboys. Smith lasted 923 days.
There was no need to wait any longer for either of those players to surprise the Cowboys. Instead of waiting for Smith to develop, they paid the price to get someone who already did.
Twitter/X: @JoeJHoyt
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