Some Dallas Cowboys fans may call it a missed opportunity. Some may call it a shift in the NFC hierarchy. Everyone calls it a blockbuster. When the Cleveland Browns traded the NFL’s best defensive player, the Los Angeles Rams acquiring Myles Garrett, it sent shockwaves across the league and generated a ton of social media reactions. The Rams seemed to have pulled off what so many other on-the-cusp franchises fail to do: hook themselves a superstar.
It was the second major move of the offseason for Sean McVay’s club. In March, Los Angeles added two-time All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs. Stuck permanently in “win-now mode,” the Rams have been at this game for a while. It’s a lesson the Dallas Cowboys have had a tough time learning.
Two teams with two very opposite philosophies, the Cowboys and Rams couldn’t be any more different. Despite both qualifying as contenders and forced to operate quarterback-driven timelines, LA is swinging for the fences at every at-bat, while Dallas is focused on small ball and long-term sustainability.
Had the Cowboys, not the Rams, pulled off a trade for Garrett, the ramifications would have been monumental. Dallas lacks a No. 1 pass rusher on their roster. They hope either Donovan Ezeiruaku or Malachi Lawrence can eventually be the guy while current top edge, Rashan Gary, is likely best suited to be a No. 3 or No. 4 option. His production has been modest over the years and his ability to carry the load as the top threat is greatly in question. Someone like Garrett would have certainly put the depth chart in order for Dallas.
On the Rams, nothing really changes. Heading to Cleveland in exchange for Garrett is Jared Verse. Verse is one of the brightest up-and-coming edge stars in the NFL right now. The Cowboys have seen him up close and personal in training camp joint practices and a regular season matchup. At every meeting, Verse generally had his way with the Cowboys’ tackles forcing the coaching staff to make adjustments. Joint practices, specifically, highlighted the chasm in pedigree between the 25-year-old pass rusher and Dallas’ always-struggling tackle group.
The Rams adding Garrett doesn’t change much for the Cowboys. The Cowboys couldn’t block Verse one-on-one anyway, so they’ve been destined to double-team and play away from that side of the field regardless. By most accounts Verse is an elite player in his own right. He’s on track to potentially reset the market in a couple years, which might be one of the reasons the Rams were happy to move him.
To say Garrett is an upgrade over Verse is fair for 2026, but it might not be a fair statement for much longer. This might be the move that puts LA over the top, then again maybe LA was already over the top and this was completely superfluous. On December 20 the Cowboys will find out when they travel to LA to take the Rams on in Inglewood. If Dallas is lucky, they may even get a rematch in the postseason as well. But what was predictively marked as an “L” on calendar a week ago, is still an “L” today. Unless the Cowboys’ offensive tackles show improvement in 2026, Garrett’s presence doesn’t do much to change the outlook for the Cowboys.
If the Cowboys added Garrett, it would represent a massive shift in the NFC hierarchy, but the Rams were always a/the favorite and Garrett doesn’t do much to change that.
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Ram-ifications: Impact to Cowboys after LA’s trade for Myles Garrett
Reporting by Reid D Hanson, Cowboys Wire / Cowboys Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
