One of my biggest takeaways from the Dallas Cowboys preseason was: there’s no swing tackle on the team.

The Cowboys just made a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers to address that. They sent a 2027 third-round pick and a 2027 sixth-round pick to acquire OT Broderick Jones, according to multiple reports. The Cowboys are also getting a fourth-round pick in return.

There are a lot of mixed feelings about the deal. Moving down from a third-round pick is no small thing but Jones is a clear upgrade over fourth-round rookie Drew Shelton and Nate Thomas, who failed to inspire any confidence to be the Cowboys’ swing tackle in 2026.

Jones entered the NFL as a first round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Since then, he’s started 38 tackles for Pittsburgh. He’s been inconsistent in that time and failed to secure a starting spot on the Steelers offensive line following a severe neck injury suffered during the 2025 NFL season.

A former first-round pick with elite athletic traits like Jones always inspires some confidence about potentially breaking out late in his career. With Jones, that confidence takes a hit due to him undergoing neck surgery this offseason. But the Cowboys aren’t strangers to making bets on players with injury history.

Before diving into my grade of the trade, I did want to you give you some perspective from our Pittsburgh Steelers beat writer at A to Z Sports, Rob Gregson.

Cowboys get a ‘supremely talented athlete’

Gregson: “I’m still somewhat in shock that the Steelers were able to fetch such valuable capital for Jones, but perhaps the Cowboys are banking on a fresh start doing wonders for the OT.

If we’re being totally honest, the Steelers failed Broderick Jones as much, if not more than he failed them. The moving him around between the left and right side killed his development and confidence long before the neck injury, which only exacerbated his issues.

At his core, this is still a supremely talented athlete, young in his career and with the ability to recover his game. The Steelers didn’t use a first round pick on him for no reason. If he can turn the corner, I imagine it’s in Dallas.”

Grading the Cowboys trade

I know the compensation sounds like too much to many fans and media members. But let me bring some context to it.

According to the Rich Hill trade chart values, the Cowboys giving up a third and a sixth while receiving a fourth in return pretty much equates to a fourth round pick in surplus value for the Steelers. So a fair question is: is giving up a fourth in net value too much for Jones?

Maybe it is. But I believe it’s a more objective evaluation if we think about it in terms of Dallas giving up a fourth rounder. Even still, I get it. Losing a third for a player that’s expected to be a backup (though I believe the door is open for him to compete with Terence Steele) stings.

But I cannot overlook the upside and the fact that it’s an upgrade for the roster. Finding a swing tackle in late August is just not an easy task. And with few Day 3 picks to work with, I don’t hate what the front office did here.

FINAL GRADE: C+