The Dallas Cowboys' acquisition of Quinnen Williams was exactly what the defense needed, even if it doesn't propel them into playoff contention this season. Williams was an absolute demon in his Cowboys debut on Monday night, racking up 1.5 sacks and a career-high five quarterback hits.
Williams is going to be a tour de force for Dallas, and what makes the trade all the more sweet is that the Cowboys managed to offload Mazi Smith to the New York Jets. Not only did it create some cap flexibility for 2026, but more importantly, it put an end to an experiment that never looked like it was going to pan out.
The hope is that Smith will find his footing as an NFL player with the Jets, but it seems he's already flaming out. Just two games after acquiring Smith, New York went out and signed veteran defensive tackle Khalen Sanders, who was released by the Jaguars last week.
Former Cowboys DT Mazi Smith is already falling out of favor with the Jets
Smith played 20 snaps in the Jets' loss to the Patriots in Week 10. That checked in third among New York's interior defenders behind Harrison Phillips and Jowon Briggs.
What makes the Saunders signing so brutal for Smith's outlook is that Phillips and Briggs are known for their ability to defend the run. Saunders, on the other hand, specializes in getting after the quarterback.
Jets defensive coordinator Steve Wilks has largely deployed Smith as a three-technique tackle, while moonlighting him as a one-tech. Cowboys fans know all too well that he isn't cut out for the former role, and he didn't show much juice as a space-eater in Dallas, either.
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Sure enough, the former first-round pick hasn't impressed in either role with New York, logging a 41.1 run-defense grade and a 35.5 defensive grade, per Pro Football Focus. He hasn't been credited with a tackle, a pressure, or a hurry in 40 defensive snaps.
The Jets now have a clear defensive tackle hierarchy following the Saunders signing. Finding himself at No. 4 in that regard, Smith's playing time could get slashed in half moving forward.
It's unlikely that New York will outright cut Smith, and the Saunders move says more about the hole that Quinnen Williams left behind relative to Smith's lack of impact post-trade. But it is anything but a vote of confidence in the third-year pro that the Jets felt compelled to sign a 29-year-old vet to beef up their interior defensive line in what is shaping up to be a lost season.