Dallas City News

The NFL trade deadline was earlier this week. It was expected the Cowboys wouldn’t make any major moves to upgrade their roster. However, they didn’t stay silent as most expected them to. Dallas actually made a trade, sending a fourth-round pick to the Carolina Panthers for wide receiver Jonathan Mingo, who was taken in the second round in 2023. In exchange, the Cowboys received a seventh-round pick.

Dallas trades for a receiver

A move to get a receiver is something the Cowboys should have done a lot sooner, as in when veteran Brandin Cooks went down with a knee injury and was placed on injured reserve. Unfortunately, Mingo won’t get to play with Dak Prescott as he is recovering from a partially torn hamstring. However, he’s happy to be in Dallas as he tries to get his career going.

During his rookie season a year ago, Mingo played in 15 games with 14 starts. His production was decent as he racked up 43 receptions for 418 yards. In 2024, he’s only amassed 121 yards on 12 catches in nine games with five starts.

Cowboys have liked Mingo since the 2023 draft

The Cowboys had their eye on Mingo coming out of the draft. They had a third-round grade on him, the sport where they took linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, and let’s face it, there’s isn’t anybody complaining about that pick.

On Thursday, Mingo got his first shot to be at practice and started getting acclimated to what the Cowboys do offensively. According to him, things went smoothly. However, with a short time to prepare before Sunday, there shouldn’t be any big expectations about what he may be able to do. Another full week of practice will have him more ready once they Cowboys host the Houston Texans in Week 11.

Mingo has the physical traits desired at the position

What stands out about Mingo are his physical traits. He’s stands 6’2″ and weighs 220 pounds. Mingo also has 4.46 speed. Mingo is looking to bring his size and speed to the Cowboys’ offense.

I try to be a physical receiver, physical and fast, and just try to use my size and strength to my advantage. Just try and get my flow and once I get in my groove, I can finally show people what I can do.

During his short time in the league, Mingo has been a versatile receiver. He’s logged 487 snaps on the outside and 286 in the slot. So, it’ll be interesting to see how the Cowboys move him around in correlation with All-Pro CeeDee Lamb, and others, as they look to see how his skillset can be beneficial.

The premium to get Mingo was a little high considering he hasn’t performed up to the level he was drafted at or where the Cowboys had him rated. Nonetheless, Dallas needs him to get up to speed quickly with the receiver room having underperformed up until this point as a whole.