Why the Jonathan Mingo trade could haunt Dallas in 2025

The Jonathan Mingo trade remains confusing at best.

The new league year begins in a few weeks, which means many transactions will occur throughout the NFL. Trades will almost certainly happen. However, one trade in particular the Dallas Cowboys made last season may have lingering effects at the worst possible time.

The trade in question is the Cowboys acquiring Jonathan Mingo at the trade deadline from the Carolina Panthers for a fourth-round draft pick in this upcoming draft. The trade caught many off guard, likely because the Cowboys aren’t usually active during the deadline. Secondly, the compensation given for Mingo was laughable.

Dallas traded their fourth-round draft pick in this year’s draft in exchange for Mingo and Carolina’s seventh-round pick. Before the trade, Mingo had fallen behind Jalen Coker on the Panthers’ depth chart and was an afterthought for a Carolina team that was so fully immersed in a rebuild, that after only 24 games, the Panthers were willing to part with Mingo after spending a second-round pick on him in 2023.

The trade was the most recent example of Dallas not knowing how to get proper value in trades and often outbidding themselves when it seemed no one was willing to offer that much for Mingo. Remember, Dallas foolishly traded a fourth-round pick for Trey Lance without any logical plan to get a return on their investment, and then gave away Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for their 2022 fifth-round pick and a swapping of 2022 sixth-round picks. The Mingo trade signifies the Cowboys haven’t learned their lesson in terms of negotiating trades.

In the grand scheme, a fourth-round pick to many may seem insignificant, but to the Cowboys, parting with that type of capital greatly hinders how they’ll supplement their roster. The timing of the trade is also confusing. The trade happened days after Prescott was injured with a season-ending hamstring injury. Surely, Dallas didn’t expect Mingo to come in and immediately push for playing time on the depth chart behind CeeDee Lamb, even in the absence of Brandin Cooks. Even then, after the trade, there was no plan to integrate Mingo into the offense. In the eight games after the trade, Mingo only targeted 16 times and caught five passes for 46 yards.

At best, Mingo would’ve been competing to be a third wide receiver after Jalen Tolbert and hoping to edge out KaVontae Turpin for snaps. One should hope that the Cowboys are already chalking up the trade as a loss and not looking to prevent themselves from doing anything further at the position because if not, and if Dallas is serious about prioritizing Mingo as their second or third wide receiver and looking to double down on the trade, only to justify it to themselves, it’ll compromise the offseason.

Wide receiver is still high on the Cowboys’ list of priorities. Last season, teams were able to commit multiple defenders to Lamb as he battled through a shoulder injury in an effort to take him out of games. Dallas struggled to find a solution behind Lamb, and looking forward to the 2025 season, more has to be done, and Mingo hasn’t shown that he can cut it. Dallas would be best suited to try to do better than Mingo in free agency and the draft.

When glancing at the market in free agency, there will be better receivers that would be better suited to complement Lamb and what the Cowboys want to do on offense. Here are three receivers that would make sense for the Cowboys at a low cost, and why they would appeal to the Cowboys.

Darius Slayton

• Has the speed to stretch the field.
• Underrated route runner that can create separation.
• Untapped potential due to playing with lackluster quarterbacks, lowering his cost.

Dyami Brown

• Ascending player that flashed in the postseason.
• Vertical threat that also can play special teams.
• Can play inside and outside.

Josh Palmer

• Terrific size to play the X receiver alongside Lamb.
• Very consistent.
• Only 26 years old.

Furthermore, the Cowboys cannot abandon the idea of insulating the receiver position in the second to fifth rounds of the draft, even more so because they gave away similar compensation on the Mingo trade. This year’s draft class has plenty of viable prospects throughout the draft, especially in the mid-to-late rounds. Here are a few middle-round receivers to keep an eye out for and how they can help along with what they do well.

Jalen Royals, Utah State

• Can line up at the X and the slot
• Varied releases off the line of scrimmage
• Strong hands to make contested catches

Jayden Higgins, Iowa State

• Excellent size
• Formation versatility
• Reliable hands

Xavier Restrepo, Miami

• Quarterback-friendly option
• Exceptional route runner
• Creative route runner

In short, the trade to add Mingo could hinder the Cowboys, depending on whether the Cowboys are too hesitant to swallow their pride in an ill-conceived trade. There’s justification enough for the Cowboys to move on past the trade and continue to improve at wide receiver, especially in this wave of free agency and draft class.