The Malachi Lawrence reason Cowboys were happy to trade down with NFC East rival Eagles originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.The Dallas Cowboys made the surprise decision during Thursday night's NFL Draft first round to trade with the Philadelphia Eagles.They knew what they were doing, though. They got exactly who they wanted three picks later.The Cowboys were originally at No. 20.
They gave that to the Eagles for pick 23 and more.And then at the 23rd spot, they took Malachi Lawrence out of Central Florida, an edge rusher.2026 NFL DRAFT HQ:Live tracker | Pick-by-pick grades | Best players still availableEagles-Cowboys draft pick trade detailsThis was reported by multiple insiders:Eagles get: 20th pick; seventh-round pickCowboys get: 23rd pick, 114th pick, 137th pickBEST DRAFT NAMES: Ephesians Prysock | R Mason Thomas | DeVonta Smith | Zxavian HarrisWhy did Cowboys trade down?Dallas was confident it could land Lawrence.The Cowboys picked up a couple of mid-round picks in the process.They had given up two later-round picks to move up one spot to get Caleb Downs. This evened out that pick balance.Lawrence had 19.5 sacks across the last three seasons.The Cowboys needed defense, and now they get a safety in Downs and a pass rusher in Lawrence.More NFL Draft news:Chiefs make a shocking draft tradeCommanders get Sonny Styles after historic NFL Draft CombineSteelers' 1st-round pick didn't play football until collegeTime for Fernando Mendoza to update his LinkedInBrowns' pick is really about Shedeur Sanders' replacement