For the Cowboys, there is no secret that the team’s offense has been playing like a juggernaut while the defense has mostly been a jalopy. If the Cowboys are serious about making a run here as we approach the heart of the NFL season, they’ll need to keep the offense humming while changing up, drastically perhaps, the defense.
It is also no secret that, with less than three weeks to go to the NFL’s trade deadline, there are top-shelf defensive players on the market, ones the Cowboys could potentially pluck to help get them through this 2025 season. Tops on the list, potentially, is a guy who has been in the trade conversation since the NFL’s 2025 season officially opened in March–Bengals star Trey Hendrickson, the reigning leader in sacks with 17.5 last season.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones noted this week that the team is in a good position with draft picks, having obtained 2026 and 2027 first-rounders from Green Bay in the Micah Parsons deal, and even if those are not used directly for a trade of a player like Hendrickson, they could be part of the calculation.
The problem, though, is this: If the Cowboys want to bolster the defense, it’s not going to be Hendrickson who does it.
Trey Hendrickson Not Even on the Trade Market Yet
The big problem here would be the Bengals and whether they plan to trade Hendrickson. At Bleacher Report, he is the No. 2 player on the Week 7 trade “big board,” and the Cowboys are tabbed as a suitor. ESPN insider Adam Schefter also lists Hendrickson as a trade candidate as we near the deadline.
But even at 2-4 with Joe Burrow out–possibly for the year–with turf toe, the Bengals invested a lot into this season, doling out big contracts to Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Trading Henderson would be a white flag of surrender, and they’re not willing to do that just yet. As ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported, “Cincinnati has no plans to trade Hendrickson at this time.”
Hendrickson was a holdout for much of the spring as he sought a new contract from the Bengals. He did not get one and is heading into free agency sure to leave Cincinnati, which is why the Bengals would do well to deal him now and get some compensation.
Cowboys’ Picks Are Not ‘Untouchable’ at Trade Deadline
Jones said on Tuesday, speaking to 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, that nothing is “untouchable” as far as the Cowboys’ assets are concerned, including the Packers’ two first-rounders.
“No question about it, I promise you, yours truly or anybody associated with the Cowboys has got our eyes really opened to ways we can help this defense and certainly don’t want to preclude anything on offense, either,” Jones said.
“To answer your question, there’s nothing untouchable in our resources to help our team.”
You don’t, however, trade first-round picks for pending free agents whom you don’t know if you’ll sign. And the Cowboys can’t be sure they’ll sign Hendrickson. But could they give up a second-rounder that becomes a third if certain conditions are not met? Absolutely.
Having an extra first in 2026 can allow the Cowboys to be a little more free with their second or third-round picks. If they want depth in the draft, they could cash out their 2026 Green Bay first-round pick and trade down for multiple second- or third-round picks.
(Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)Owner Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys
Cowboys Defensive Problems Go Way Beyond Trey Hendrickson
But the question, too, should be whether it is the pass rush that really needs fixing here. At Pro Football Focus, the Cowboys are rated the No. 15 pass-rush in the NFL, and that’s been improving each week. The knee-jerk reaction suggests that because Micah Parsons was traded, the Cowboys need an edge.
They really don’t. The current pass-rush crew is not the worst of the defense. The coverage has been awful, and the run-stopping has been worse–in fact, PFF grades the Cowboys’ run D as the worst in the NFL, with a 49.7 grade (second-worst are the Ravens, with a 57.4 grade, so Dallas is worst by a wide margin).
The corners have been poor, but the Cowboys can’t afford to invest more in that position. The defensive line needs more, but there are no top-tier players expected on the market there. Linebacker needs an upgrade. The safeties need an upgrade.
Those are positions, realistically, the Cowboys could and should address. It won’t take a first-rounder to do it, though, and a Trey Hendrickson trade is not the answer.
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