Getty Clelin Ferrell makes a lot of sense as a potential trade target for the Dallas Cowboys.
The Dallas Cowboys have been hit hard on the defensive line through both injuries and COVID protocols. Dallas may have some options to add depth at the position group via trade. Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine has Raiders defensive end Clelin Ferrell as one of the top potential trade targets for the Cowboys. Ferrell has fallen out of favor with the Raiders just a little more than two years after he was selected with the No. 4 pick.
“Targeting Clelin Ferrell of the Raiders would bring another young player with upside to round out the defensive end rotation,” Ballentine explained. “Ferrell was the Raiders’ fourth overall selection in the 2019 draft but was a healthy scratch in Week 1 and logged just 12 snaps in the team’s Week 2 win over the Steelers.
“Ferrell only notched two sacks in 2020, but he was second on the team in pressures with 21. The former top-five draft pick might not have lived up to that potential, but he could be a boost for a pass-rush that needs it with a change of scenery.”
Gruden on Ferrell: ‘You Should Count on Him Being a Big Part of This’
The Raiders turned heads during the 2019 NFL Draft by taking Ferrell inside the top five, ahead of where many projected. Ferrell was a standout player at Clemson, but his NFL career has yet to take off. The pass rusher spent the last two seasons as a starter but is now fighting just to see the field.
Ferrell posted two sacks, 27 tackles and ten quarterback hits in 11 starts last season with the Raiders. His numbers were down slightly from the pass rusher’s 4.5 sacks, 38 tackles, five pass deflections and eight quarterback hits in 15 starts during his rookie season. Raiders head coach Jon Gruden continued to praise Ferrell this offseason noting he expected the defensive end to be a “big part” of the team.
“Ferrell, he’s a good player,” Gruden said in July, per Pro Football Talk. “He’s unique because he can play right end, he can play left end, he’s a good run defender. I think his best pass rush might be inside — and you saw that against the Jets when we allowed him to do that last year.
“But certainly, he’s going to be competing, he and Carl Nassib, who had a really good spring. They’re going to have to earn their snaps, and if you know Cle, you know he will compete. And you probably should count on him being a big part of this.”
One Trade Proposal Has the Cowboys Swapping Smith for Ferrell
Given Ferrell’s lack of playing time, it makes sense that the defensive end could be acquired for a future draft pick. Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay suggested a potential swap of Jaylon Smith for Ferrell.
Smith has also had a decreased role on the Cowboys defense thanks to the offseason additions of Keanu Neal and Micah Parsons. The potential Raiders-Cowboys trade would give both underperforming players a fresh start.
“The Cowboys are loaded at linebacker, but their preferred defensive scheme makes some of this talent expendable,” Kay detailed. “Dallas has Micah Parsons, Keanu Neal, Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith under contract, but it almost exclusively utilized nickel packages in the season opener. The defense lined up in a traditional nickel and “heavy nickel” package—featuring three safeties and two cornerbacks—on all but two snaps against the Buccaneers. Because of this, the Cowboys only deployed Vander Esch for 14 defensive snaps and had Smith on the field for 16.”