Getty The Cowboys could pull off a trade for Commanders DT Daron Payne.
The Dallas Cowboys could find the perfect trade partner in a hated NFC East rival.
As the Cowboys try to continue their impressive 4-1 start to the season, Dallas could still use some improvement in certain areas of their defense. According to Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine, the Cowboys could shore up their defensive line with a mammoth interior force such as the Washington Commanders’ Daron Payne.
Ballentine argues that the 25-year-old could actually free up star linebacker Micah Parsons to make more plays.
“Payne is in the upper quadrant when it comes to win rate while still drawing a double team on over half of his reps,” says Ballentine. “If he were in the middle of the Dallas defense, teams would have to decide between double-teaming Parsons or putting Payne in one-on-one situations. It’s a pick-your-poison dilemma that offenses don’t want to have.”
Payne is One of NFL’s Most Dominant Interior Tackles
Since being selected with the 13th overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, Payne has been a steady interior presence for the Commanders. The 6-foot-3, 320-pound defensive tackle has started 63 of his 69 career games and has missed just one game during his career.
Furthermore, he’s racked up at least 54 tackles in each season of his career and is coming off of his most productive season to date. During the 2021 campaign, Payne posted 61 tackles, 4.5 sacks and 15 quarterback hits.
As noted by Seth Walder of ESPN, Payne is one of the best defensive tackles at drawing double teams.
Double team rate at defensive tackle (x) by pass rush win rate at defensive tackle (y), updated through Week 4.
Been quite awhile since someone other than Donald has been at the top of this chart — credit to Chris Jones.
Donald leads in double team rate.
According to Pro Football Focus, Payne posted a 63.9 defensive grade and a 74.1 pass-rushing grade during the 2021 season. Payne ranked 51st in defensive grade — among all tackles with at least 100 snaps — and 17th in pass-rushing grade.
As Ballentine notes, the 1-4 Commanders — who quickly appear to be sellers by the trade deadline on Nov. 1 — could be looking to unload, even if they are dealing with a division trade partner.
“Inter-division trades can always be tricky, but the 1-4 Commanders could be looking to unload regardless of trade partner,” says Ballentine.
Ballentine Warns Payne Trade is ‘Unlikely’ Scenario
Ballentine also warns that the Cowboys do not place a heavy emphasis upon defensive tackles, which could make this trade an “unlikely” one.
“This is an unlikely scenario,” says Ballentine. “The Cowboys’ front office just hasn’t shown they value the defensive tackle position enough to give up the kind of resources they would need to trade for and sign Daron Payne. That doesn’t mean it wouldn’t greatly benefit the defense, though.”
Although the Cowboys rank third in points allowed per game (14.4 points), the run defense continues to struggle. The unit ranks 19th in rushing yards allowed (117.6 yards) and 21st in yards per attempt (4.7).
Considering Dallas’ stiffest competition in the NFC is against the Philadelphia Eagles — fourth in rushing offense — and the San Francisco 49ers — eighth in rushing offense — it would be wise for the Cowboys to consider making a deadline trade for a dominant interior force such as Payne.
The last thing Dallas needs is a postseason loss due to ignoring a key weakness on their defensive unit.