![\"Dexter](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2253848428-1-1.jpg\")
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Another blockbuster trade is off the table for the Dallas Cowboys heading into the 2026 NFL draft, but all is not lost.<\/p>\n
The Dallas Cowboys<\/a> were one of the teams talked about in regard to snagging defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence<\/a> from the New York Giants<\/a>, but now, the player is officially off the table.<\/p>\n On Saturday, April 18, news emerged that Lawrence is getting traded to the Bengals<\/a> in a massive pre-draft trade deal. The news came from Adam Schefter of ESPN, who posted a message out on X, stating<\/a>, \u201cDraft week blockbuster: The Giants<\/a> are trading three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Bengals<\/a> in a deal that will include the 10th overall pick going to New York, per ESPN sources.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued<\/a>, \u201cThe Giants<\/a> now head into Thursday night with the 5th and 10th overall picks.\u201d<\/p>\n Where Does This Leave the Dallas Cowboys?<\/p>\n The Dallas Cowboys need some help in the tackle position, and this is just the latest in a round of trade deals that seemed to come close but not go all the way. Now, the Cowboys will likely have to take care of their tackle needs in the 2026 NFL<\/a> draft.<\/p>\n The Cowboys, of course, have the No. 12 pick in the draft, so they\u2019ll be able to get a stellar player. Chad Reuter of the NFL\u2019s official website<\/a> has them going with a linebacker early in Sonny Styles of Ohio State.<\/p>\n \u201cTeams might not value Styles as a top-10 pick if they view him as a pure off-ball linebacker,\u201d he states. \u201cDallas happily secures the ultra-athletic defender for its new defense, just as the Cowboys did with Micah Parsons at the same draft slot in 2021.\u201d<\/p>\n He also has the team going with the No. 24 pick in a projected trade with the Browns<\/a>, originally owned by the Jags. In that move, he has them taking cornerback Chris Johnson out of\u00a0San Diego State.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the Cowboys saw what I saw on game film and on the field at the NFL Scouting Combine, they won\u2019t hesitate to take the quick-footed Johnson after making this trade to improve their middle-round draft capital,\u201d he states in the piece<\/a>.<\/p>\n Dexter Lawrence Would Have Likely Required Too Much for the Dallas Cowboys<\/p>\n Frankly, the Cowboys would have had to trade a lot to get Lawrence, and it\u2019s probably best that it didn\u2019t work out for them. Lawrence is a great player, but at that price? That\u2019s a lot.<\/p>\n Reaction to the trade has been positive online, on both sides.\u00a0\u201cDexter Lawrence in a Bengals uniform?\u201d one follower online said<\/a>. \u201cThe trenches in Cincinnati just got a massive upgrade. Good luck finding a running lane against that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGiants are in full teardown mode and getting the 10th pick for Lawrence is smart business. Now they have two top 10 picks to reshape that roster. Bengals better hope Lawrence stays healthy,\u201d another follower added<\/a>.<\/p>\n So, it\u2019s a big move for both teams, and the Dallas Cowboys don\u2019t really need to make such a drastic move right now. They have a solid base, and trading for Lawrence would have just cost too much. So, now, we wait for the NFL draft to see what Jerry Jones and company will do to get this franchise ready for the future.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAnne Erickson<\/a> is an award-winning reporter for Heavy Sports covering the NFL, NBA and college football. Anne Erickson has years of experience covering the NFL and additional sports, and her work has been published via ESPN, Fox Sports and more. She has interviewed some of the biggest names in sports, including Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Erickson also hosts several podcasts and is a Detroit-based radio host. More about Anne Erickson<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Cowboys\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Another blockbuster trade is off the table for the Dallas Cowboys heading into the 2026 NFL draft,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":869576,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2066],"tags":[230,229,257,2461,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-869575","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas-cowboys","8":"tag-cowboys","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-dallas-cowboys","11":"tag-dallascowboys","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116428777743633461","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=869575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869575\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/869576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=869575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=869575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=869575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}