The Cowboys took the surprising step in Week 1 of not only keeping Mazi Smith–the team’s 2023 first-round pick and a 17-game starter last year–on the bench, but made him inactive altogether, essentially sending the message that Smith is not just out of the rotation on the defensive front but is a long way to getting back into the mix.
As NBC’s Cris Collinsworth said during the Cowboys-Eagles game: “If you’re inactive with what they’ve got at defensive tackle, that’s as close to being cut as you can be, right? It’s quite the statement about your former No. 1 pick.”
Indeed, Smith had a chance to impress the Cowboys last season but flopped, finishing with a PFF grade of 34.8, which ranked 207th among 219 interior defensive linemen in the NFL. The team hoped he would show improvement in training camp, but it didn’t happen, and the acquisition of Kenny Clark meant Smith is expendable.
Now, the best thing the Cowboys might be able to hope for would be to move Smith to another team and get some kind of draft capital back in return.
Cowboys Potential Return: A 6th-Round Pick?
At Bleacher Report, in a list of the Top 10 players on the 2025 NFL trade market on Wednesday, Smith came in at No. 4 overall. Don’t expect much in return, if a deal is to be found, as BR pegs Smith’s trade value at, “Conditional 2026 6th-Round Pick.”
As Collinsworth noted, Smith could well be cut, which means teams interested in taking a chance on Smith might simply wait Dallas out.
But, BR’s Kristopher Knox writes: “With Kenny Clark now manning the middle of their defense, the Cowboys appear to have little interest in letting Smith learn on the field. This means he can probably be had for pennies on the dollar.
“Smith was viewed as a raw prospect coming out of college and was always expected to need time to develop. He’s still a 6’3″, 337-pound former first-round pick with a tremendous amount of untapped potential. A change of scenery might be required for him to reach it.”
Mazi Smith ‘Is Going to Play a Lot’
At least publicly, the Cowboys are insisting that they’re not giving up on Smith. That would make sense, of course, if the goal is to rebuild his confidence and get him back on the field. But it would also make sense even if the goal was to simply trade him–he’s a depressed asset as it is, and publicly pillorying him would do no good.
Said coach Brian Schottenheimer about Smith, via Jon Machota of The Athletic:
“I had a great conversation with Mazi, just about the consistency. Mazi is going to play a lot of really good football. He’s not even begun to reach his peak. But the consistency has not been there and therefore, if your philosophy is (to) compete every day, then that’s what you have to do, make those decisions.”
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