Would the Cowboys swap receiver George Pickens for Raiders star Maxx Crosby? One ESPN scenario ignites debate over offense vs. defense.
The Dallas Cowboys and George Pickens will be the headline act of the NFL offseason, just as owner Jerry Jones likes it.
With Dallas, as our own Mike Fisher has reported since November 27th, set to franchise tag Pickens in the hopes of then securing a long-term deal, many are of the thought that the Cowboys could trade George away.
Now, we have heard from George himself, CeeDee Lamb, Dak Prescott, Brian Schottenheimer, Jerry, and Stephen Jones about how much they want to keep this thing together.
But money makes people do some funny things.
However, back to those trade suggestions.
Is there a world in which Cowboys Nation would be content trading away such a talent in Pickens?
What if it meant Las Vegas Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby comes back the other way?
That's a "Madden" scenario, as Jason McCourty calls it, if he had his way.
"If I'm the Raiders, why not go out and trade Maxx Crosby, and for the Dallas Cowboys, you franchise-tag George Pickens, you don't work out a long-term deal, you trade him to the Raiders, get Crosby in exchange," McCourty said on ESPN's GetUp. "Now you've just beefed up your defensive line.
"New coordinator coming over, Maxx Crosby's going to make everybody on a defensive side of the ball, better. On top of that, have you watched the way Maxx Crosby plays the game, he plays every single snap of the game."
Some of Cowboys Nation are on board with this idea. But others aren't, and it's easy to see why.
The most obvious reason is that if Pickens were traded to the Raiders, that once vaunted offense with Dak and CeeDee Lamb would now look run-of-the-mill.
Why? Because Ryan Flournoy is now your second receiver. Then who is behind Flo?
Suddenly, that high-octane offense that makes life hard for defenses has given them a blueprint for beating Dallas. Double Lamb and force Flournoy, Jake Ferguson, and who to beat you?
Let's be clear: the offense is the straw that stirs Dallas' drink, and if Pickens is moved on and Crosby comes in, the defense has to do the heavy lifting.
Instead, how about the Cowboys keep the offensive band together, and use the $100 million in cap space, plus two first-round picks, to overhaul the defense without compromising what Schottenheimer built in Year 1?
In other words, the Cowboys should do both: Keep Pickens and add a Maxx-like player.