How close the final score was is not indicative of what we saw on the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Sunday afternoon. He Atlanta Falcons looked like a serious contender in the NFC, while the dallas cowboys It seemed like a team in complete disarray. Injuries have absolutely devastated this team, but questionable coaching and increasingly lousy ownership have made America’s team useless.

While Atlanta was finally able to generate some pass rush on Sunday, it would serve the Falcons to at least try to add another Matthew Judon-type player to complement former New England star and homegrown defensive tackle extraordinaire Grady Jarrett. In fact, one such player exists on the Cowboys, and that would be perennial Pro Bowler DeMarcus Lawrence, who is still on injured reserve.

Determining the appropriate compensation for Lawrence is difficult enough, but here’s what it takes to get it done.

Trading for an injured player probably isn’t what Atlanta wants to do, especially when the former Georgia star and Marietta native Azeez Ojulari is healthier, cheaper and more readily available than Lawrence. Trying to determine what fair compensation is for a star player who is injured in the final year of his contract is difficult enough. His base salary is $10 million, so let’s cut that in half and discount a little here.

A fourth or fifth round pick would probably be in the range of $2.5 to $3.75 million to be a deal.

Atlanta has most notably been linked to Ojulari, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the Dirty Birds pursued a high-end running back playing for a struggling team like Lawrence, Emmanuel Ogbah or Za’Darius Smith. Admittedly, I’m not the sharpest mind when it comes to X’s and Os’ or scheme adjustment. I just know that Atlanta is going to lose a game in the postseason because they simply can’t get after the passer.

The Falcons are on the verge of winning the division. With the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints both sitting at 2-7 on the year, Atlanta already has the tiebreaker over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers thanks to their regular-season sweep. New Orleans just fired its head coach. Tampa Bay (4-4) still has to play Kansas City on Monday night. Carolina remains one of the worst teams in the world. NFL.

If Atlanta improves to 7-3 on Sunday with a road win over New Orleans, the Falcons would be 5-0 in the NFC South and 7-1 against conference opponents. At this point, not adding a pass rusher would be a disservice to a lock on the brink of the playoffs right now. As for the Cowboys, Dallas needs to sell its high-priced assets, get a new head coach and try to do its best during the 2025 NFL offseason.

Trading for Lawrence is a bit of a gamble, but the upside for Atlanta could make for a great showing.