Amy Sussman/Getty
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 11: Jerry Jones, Owner, President & GM, Dallas Cowboys attends the premiere of Netflix’s “America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys” at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood on August 11, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Netflix)
The Dallas Cowboys and team owner Jerry Jones are entering the 2026 NFL offseason with one goal in mind. After years of mediocrity and missing the playoffs last season, the team wants to do everything possible to get back into Super Bowl contention.
Heading into the offseason, there are some very clear needs that the Cowboys need to address.
First and foremost, Dallas needs to make a final decision about the future of wide receiver George Pickens. He will either sign a new long-term contract, receive the franchise tag, or part ways with the team. After that decision is made, the Cowboys will turn their attention to fixing other issues.
Next up, Jones will need to improve the defense. That side of the football was clearly the biggest issue during the 2025 season.
Keeping that in mind, Dallas has been connected to a potential trade with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs Linked to Potential Trade Idea
NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah came up with an interesting trade option for the Cowboys in his latest mock draft. He suggested that Dallas could offer the No. 20 overall pick in the first round to the Chiefs in exchange for cornerback Trent McDuffie.
“Then again, if the Chiefs would take this pick in a trade for Trent McDuffie (entering the final year of his rookie deal), the Cowboys would solve their secondary issues in the blink of an eye,” Jeremiah wrote.
Adding to the secondary will be at the top of the priority list for the Cowboys. They couldn’t land much better than McDuffie this offseason.
During the 2025 NFL season with Kansas City, the 25-year-old cornerback played in 13 games. He racked up 63 total tackles to go along with a sack, a forced fumble, an interception, and seven defended passes.
Throughout his entire four-year NFL career to this point with the Chiefs, he has totaled 246 tackles, 5.5 sacks, eight forced fumbles, three interceptions, and 34 defended passes.
Dallas would improve dramatically by acquiring a player like McDuffie. Kansas City might not be willing to move him for the No. 20 pick, but it’s worth a shot for the Cowboys.
Jerry Jones Has Shown Willingness to Be Very Aggressive
Fans need to look no further than last year to see that Jones is all-in on trying to win. Just before the start of the season, he traded superstar pass rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers for Kenny Clark and two first-round picks.
At the trade deadline, he made a couple of aggressive moves. He acquired star defensive tackle Quinnen Williams from the New York Jets and also made a move for linebacker Logan Wilson. Both of those additions should help in 2026 as well.
Jones will not hesitate to pull the trigger on a trade to improve the team. Dallas could do just that by acquiring a secondary talent like McDuffie.
It’s just an idea at this point in time, but it wouldn’t be shocking to see the Cowboys open to the idea of trading first-round draft capital for win-now talent.
Evan Massey Evan Massey is a sports reporter and analyst located in Indianapolis, Indiana who covers the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, and college sports. He has been featured on many publications, including Newsweek, Athlon Sports, ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, Forbes, Bleacher Report, Sporting News, and many others. In his free time, Evan enjoys spending time with his wife and son. More about Evan Massey
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