Cowboys make surprising trade with Dolphins for former first-round pick: Grading both teams on the deal

Trey Lance isn’t the only former first-round pick the Cowboys are adding this week. Dallas added another former first-round pick to its roster on Tuesday after making a trade with the Miami Dolphins. 

CBS Sports NFL Insider Josina Anderson has reported that the two teams decided to exchange cornerbacks with Miami’s Noah Igbinoghene now headed for Dallas. In return, the Dolphins will be getting Kelvin Joseph from the Cowboys. 

So who won the trade? Let’s grade the two teams and find out. 

Cowboys: B

The Cowboys are definitely set at corner with Trevon Diggs and Stephon Gilmore locked into the starting spots, but you can never have enough corner depth in the NFL and that’s why this trade makes sense for Dallas. The decision to move on from Joseph wasn’t all that shocking, but it was somewhat surprising to see them land Igbinoghene in return. On Joseph’s end, the Cowboys selected him in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft and they had two seasons with him, which was enough for the Cowboys to realize that he just wasn’t what they needed. The Cowboys will now he hoping that Igbinoghene can come in and add some solid depth. 

The former first-round pick, who was taken 30th overall in 2020, just never lived up to the hype in Miami. Igbinoghene did play in 32 games over three seasons with the Dolphins, but he was never quite able to earn a full-time spot as a starter. Igbinoghene fell so far off the radar that he was inactive for multiple games last year with the Dolphins. A change of scenery could be exactly what he needs to thrive in Dallas and he’ll have a solid defensive coordinator to learn under in Dan Quinn. 

The corner only recorded one career interception during his three seasons in Miami, but it was a memorable one and that’s because he clinched a win over the Steelers back in October. 

Igbinoghene is going into the final year of his rookie deal, so he’ll only have one year to prove himself in Dallas. 

Dolphins: B

Like Igbinoghene, there’s a good chance that Joseph could benefit from a change of scenery. After being selected in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Joseph just wasn’t able to make his mark in Dallas in two years with the team. Although he played in 16 games last season with the Cowboys, he only made one start. That being said, one spot where Joseph could immediately thrive with the Dolphins is on special teams. The 22-year-old was a special teams ace in Dallas and there’s no reason to think he can’t pull off the same role in Miami. One of his biggest plays of the 2022 season came in the Cowboys’ divisional round playoff loss to the 49ers where he forced a fumble on a punt return. 

This trade will give both corners a chance to start fresh with a new team, and in a twist, both players could soon be facing each other if they don’t get cut by their new team. The Dolphins and Cowboys will be facing each other this year on Christmas Eve in Miami.