Jerry Jones rattled the NFL world in August of 2025, when he put together a trade between the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers that involved sending pass rusher Micah Parsons to the Packers for two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark. Now that time has passed and the 2026 NFL draft is in the books, some think history is being kind to the Cowboys for their decision.
Regardless of how controversial that decision was at the time, Colin Cowherd liked the move then, and he likes it now. He’s kept the stance that Jones did the right thing with this trade, and he’s especially doubling down on that belief after the 2026 NFL draft.
During his show on FS1, Cowherd said kind things about what Dallas has done since the trade and how they’ve beefed up their defense, especially in the 2026 NFL draft. He likes the looks of their defense now, following the draft.
“This is why I totally supported the Micah Parsons trade that everybody went nuts over,” Cowherd said on the show. He added, “and I said ‘If you sign Micah Parsons, with CeeDee Lamb and Dak, you have no flexibility’… There are so few defensive guys I’m paying $148-168M to and Micah’s great but he’s not one of them.”
Dallas Cowboys Have Been Able to Beef Up Their Roster Since Micah Parsons Trade
The way he talks, he seems to really think the Dallas Cowboys won that trade. During the show, he talked about the team bringing on Rashan Gary, Kenny Clark, Quinnen Williams and, in the draft, Caleb Downs. They had the funding to do this because of the Parsons trade.
In a Tuesday, February 28 feature for The Landry Hat, Jason Kandel agrees that the Parsons trade was a good move.
“Frankly, Cowherd’s argument is pretty sound,” he states in the piece. “He wasn’t going to be the piece that took the Cowboys’ defense over the top and turn them from Super Bowl contenders.
He adds that the team was “better suited gutting the defense from the ground up and fully committing to give Christian Parker an elite defensive nucleus.”
Elsewhere in the piece, Kandel even says that the Cowboys’ defense has “significantly more talent now than it did with the Penn State product–and still has another 2027 first-round pick from Green Bay they could use.”
So, while this was a controversial move at the time, it truly does look like it was a solid move for the Dallas Cowboys. Having that 2027 first-round pick especially could be crucial for the long-term future of this franchise.
Dallas Cowboys Get Props for 2026 NFL Draft Class
The Cowboys are getting props for their choices in the NFL draft because they focused on their defense, as they should. In a feature for the NFL’s official website, Eric Edholm has glowing words for the franchise.
“The Cowboys’ assignment was clear,” he says, noting that it was to fix the defense. “I think they made several important steps toward achieving that.”
Downs, he says, will start one day one, which is rare and special for a rookie. He also likes their Malachi Lawrence pick, stating that he adds “more pass-rush juice.”
“Edge Jaishawn Barham was one of my favorite studies in this class, a true agent of chaos who could use just a little more polish,” he continues. “Even CB Devin Moore and DT LT Overton were nice pickups, I thought.”
So, the Dallas Cowboys are getting props, as they should, for taking care of business in this draft. Now, the fun of training these rookies begins.
Cowboys Get Props for Micah Parsons Trade After NFL Draft