This Falcons-Cowboys trade would give Atlanta the instant-impact pass-rusher it needs

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. The Atlanta Falcons looked like a serious contender in the NFC, while the Dallas Cowboys looked like a team in complete disarray. Injuries have totally ravaged this team, but questionable coaching and increasingly lousy ownership have rendered America's Team useless.

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

Figuring out the right compensation for Lawrence is quite hard, but here is what it might take to do it.

Trading for an injured player is probably not what Atlanta wants to do, especially when former Georgia star and Marietta native Azeez Ojulari is healthier, cheaper and more readily available than Lawrence. Trying to figure out what fair compensation for a star player who is injured in on the final year of his contract is quite difficult. His base salary is $10 million, so let's half that and discount it just a bit here.

Either a fourth or fifth-round pick would likely be in the $2.5 to $3.75-million range to make it a deal.

How Atlanta Falcons trade for Dallas Cowboys EDGE DeMarcus Lawrence

Atlanta has been tied to Ojulari most notably, but it would not be shocking if the Dirty Birds did pursue a high-end edge rusher playing for a struggling team like Lawrence, Emmanuel Ogbah or Za'Darius Smith. Admittedly, I am not the sharpest mind when it comes to Xs and Os or scheme fit. I just know that Atlanta is going to lose a game in the postseason because it simply cannot get after the passer.

The Falcons are on the precipice of running away with the division. With the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints both at 2-7 on the year, Atlanta already owns the tiebreaker over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by way of their regular-season sweep. New Orleans just fired its head coach. 4-4 Tampa Bay still has to play Kansas City on Monday night. Carolina is still one of the worst teams in the NFL.

Should Atlanta improve to 7-3 on Sunday with a road victory over New Orleans, the Falcons would be 5-0 in NFC South play and 7-1 over conference foes. At this point, not adding a pass rusher would be doing a disservice to a borderline playoff lock at this point. As for the Cowboys, Dallas needs to sell off its high-priced assets, get a new head coach and try for the best during the 2025 NFL offseason.

Trading for Lawrence is a tad risky, but the upside to be had for Atlanta could result in a big parade.