How did Dallas Cowboys fans and pundits react to the team’s NFL trade deadline moves?
How have Cowboys fans and pundits reacted to the franchise acquiring Carolina Panthers wide receiver Jonathan Mingo?
The Cowboys traded a 2025 fourth-round pick in exchange for Mingo and a 2025 seventh-round pick. The Ole Miss produce was the No. 39th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
This season Mingo has 12 catches for 121 yards.
The Sports Geek used a social media tool to track fan conversations about NFL trades and found that Mingo was the second most discussed trade of the day after Marshon Lattimore’s trade from the New Orleans Saints to the Washington Commanders.
They found 25,000 tweets about the Mingo trade, with 34% being negative and 17% positive.
Pundits seemed to agree with some deriding the trade.
Bleacher Report gave the Cowboys a D+ for the trade saying the team overpaid.
Plus, the question of value comes into play. DeAndre Hopkins commanded less on the trade market. The Las Vegas Raiders and Cleveland Browns didn’t get much more for Davante Adams and Amari Cooper, respectively, than the Panthers did for Mingo.
Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz from USA TODAY concurred, giving the Cowboys a D- for the trade.
Desperation isn’t a good look for Jerry Jones. While the Cowboys are right to want to repair a stale offense that ranks 22nd in yards per play (5.2), it seems unlikely that a receiver who has essentially been leapfrogged by undrafted rookie free agent Jalen Coker is going to make much of a difference in a 3-5 campaign, especially with Dak Prescott likely to miss at least the next four games with his hamstring injury.
Graham Searles from The Guardian also gave the trade a D citing Mingo’s value.
In 19 career starts Mingo has yet to score a touchdown. This season he has just 121 receiving yards, and was still fourth on the mediocre Panthers’ depth chart. The former second-round pick has averaged fewer than one yard per route run in each of his first two seasons.
The Panthers must be thrilled as they traded away Diontae Johnson, a better receiver, for just a fifth-round pick last month.
Vinnie Iyer from the Sporting News said the move was the NFL’s worst trade deadline move.
Dallas made a deal for the future but gave up weirdly high compensation for Mingo, considering he has underachieved and couldn’t break through in a limited Panthers wide receiver depth chart. The move seems like the desperate coda to a lost season with Dak Prescott going down again.
Pro Football Focus’ Gordon McGuinness gave the grade a C, citing Mingo’s potential as an impact player.
Mingo has struggled to make an impact in the NFL, but the Cowboys are betting on the traits that made him a second-round pick. The former Ole Miss standout has averaged less than 1.00 yard per route run in each of his first two NFL seasons.
What were fans tweeting online?
