NFC Notes: Cowboys/Eagles Trade, Makai Lemon, Jalen Carter, Giants

Player mentions

Article text

Cowboys The Cowboys made headlines by trading the No. 20 overall pick to the Eagles in a rare inter-NFC East trade. Dallas owner Jerry Jones reflected on advice he got early in his career from former Raiders owner Al Davis against trading within your division; however, Jones mentions that he clearly didn’t listen. “Don’t even answer a call from your division. Jerry, this is all about strategizing against your division opponents because you play them twice and you can’t get that edge there,” Jones said, via Todd Archer of ESPN . “I didn’t take that lesson from Al.” Jones added that he wouldn’t have any trade options if he avoided dealing with teams he wanted to beat. “If you eliminate all the teams that I want to beat their ass, you wouldn’t have anybody to trade with, so to speak,” Jones said. Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones pointed out they already made two trades with the 49ers, who they also consider a rival, and remain confident in how they approached things. “It’s just having confidence in what you’re doing,” Stephen Jones said. “I mean, we traded with the 49ers twice already this offseason and they’re every bit the rival, in some degree, as the Eagles are. And I get asked the same thing about that. We’re doing what’s in our best interest and we feel like if we do our job, ultimately, and get the job done correctly, then we’re going to go be able to beat them when it really counts. Not who won this trade or who won that trade. It’s going to be who wins the game when you’re going up against them. And that’s ultimately what we got to do. Now, if you say, look at the score the last couple of times and you can say, ‘Well, hey, they got the upper hand right now.’ I understand that, but we’re building toward getting the upper hand.” Seth Walder reports that the Cowboys hired Sathya Balakumar as a Football Data Engineer. He was formerly a software engineer for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. Eagles The Eagles made headlines by trading up to No. 20 overall to take WR Makai Lemon, jumping ahead of the Steelers at No. 21. Mike Sando of The Athletic cites one anonymous executive who points out that Philadelphia took a similar approach when drafting Devonta Smith in 2021. “Philly did the same thing (in 2021) when they jumped the Giants from 12 to 10 and got Devonta Smith,” the executive said. Another executive praised Lemon in multiple facets as a receiver. “He can do all the underneath stuff, he’s a good route runner, stays grounded, runs through the catch, has a feel for the game,” the executive said. “He catches all the choice routes, knows how to curve routes and catch in traffic. He’s got a good, solid, all-around mature game, and plays with some urgency.” As for Philadelphia having just $25 million in cap space this year and $20 million in 2027, one executive expects them to trade WR A.J. Brown , while DT Jalen Carter is another player to watch. “They are bursting at the seams with all their cap troubles,” the executive said. “They will trade A.J. Brown. They could trade Jalen Carter down the line. They draft a quarterback (Cole Payton in the fifth round) when they have Hurts, they have Tanner McKee, who is supposed to be pretty good, and then they have Andy Dalton, who they acquired and guaranteed salary. So they have four and probably move on from one.” Giants Giants GM Joe Schoen said the team plans on using first-round LB Arvell Reese as an off-ball linebacker, but said he also has the ability to rush the edge in certain situations. “ Coach…