Is Cowboys’ Parsons best of 80+ players acquired in Carson Wentz fallout?
The NFL is a year-round sport, they just limit the actual games played to the months September through February. The talent acquisition process keeps things intriguing as clubs use free agency, trades and the draft to try and improve their chances in-between schedules. Teams are always angling for an advantage, and trades allow front offices to try and outsmart opposing decision makers. Occasionally, there are transactions that work out for everyone, and once in a while there are transactions that work out for virtually the entire league.
Such a case is the drafting of and all the related trades that brought Carson Wentz from college to his current situation leading the Washington Commanders. As many as 19 teams have players on their roster who would not be there without the move to and off of Wentz for Philadelphia. At least 80 players are now involved, a couple with the Dallas Cowboys, with double-digit draft picks remaining in the spider web.
With the Philadelphia Eagles in town for Sunday’s game, the path Wentz has traveled through the league was examined in full by the Washington Post’s Sam Fortier. Fortier mapped out all of the trades made involving Wentz, starting from the Eagles trading their first, third and fourth and a future first and second to move up to No. 2. Since then, Wentz has been traded twice and those picks acquired have been moved around so much that Fortier identified 60 NFL players are linked to Wentz now, with three more picks still in play. But his work seems to have left some major ripples out of the wake assessment. The number is at least at 80.
Of those players, two of them call the Dallas Cowboys their team, including the reigning defensive rookie of the year and current odds-on favorite to win 2022 defensive player of the year, Micah Parsons.
The majority of the names listed here are based on this tweet by Fortier, which listed Deshaun Watson under Houston. That obviously spun it’s own web that needed to be fleshed out.
The Biggest Names
Fortier’s work was impressive, but he didn’t capture the full depths of the Wentz ripples around the league. Players who were drafted with picks acquired in the Eagles move up to No. 2 to select Wentz, were also traded later, proving the butterfly wing-flap theory.
In the 2016 draft, the Eagles first moved up from 13 to 8 and with 13 Miami selected Laremy Tunsil. But Tunsil was later traded by Miami to Houston, and then the Dolphins used that Texans pick in a trade that eventually landed them Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Jevon Holland.
One of the future picks the Eagles gave Cleveland, they sent to Houston where the Texans selected Watson, who the Texans later traded to Cleveland for a bunch of picks with more ripples.
The Browns used one of their multitude of picks to select Jabrill Peppers, who was part of a big trade that had Odell Beckham, Jr. leaving New York.
Among all of these players named though, the Cowboys may have the best of them all in 2021 No. 12 pick overall Micah Parsons. The Eagles had the No. 12 pick as a result of the Tunsil trade (via Houston to San Francisco to Philly). They wanted to jump the New York Giants in order to select Devonta Smith, allowing Dallas to also select Chauncey Golston in addition to Parsons.
Here’s a look at the hauls of all 19 teams.
Top 10 players
Micah Parsons
Laremy Tunsil
Tyreek Hill
Deshaun Watson
AJ Brown
Jack Conklin
Odell Beckham, Jr.
Denzel Ward
Jaylen Waddle
Carson Wentz
Dallas Cowboys (2)
Micah Parsons
Chauncey Golston
Carolina Panthers (4)
Daryl Worley
Zack Sanchez
Brandon Smith
Amare Barno
Tennessee Titans (3)
Jack Conklin
Treylon Burks
LeShaun Sims
Kalan Reed
Denver Broncos (2)
Andy Janovich
De’Angelo Henderson
Kansas City Chiefs (2+2 picks left)
Jehu Chesson
Skyy Moore
2023 4th rounder
2023 6th rounder
Houston Texans (3+4 picks left)
Kenyon Green
Laremy Tunsil
John Metchie III
2023 – 1st (DeShaun Watson)
2024 – 1st (DeShaun Watson)
2023 – 3rd (Watson)
2024 – 4th (Watson)
Philadelphia Eagles (5+2 picks left)
AJ Brown
Jordan Davis
Devonta Smith
Kyron Johnson
Donnel Pumphrey
New Orleans 2023 1st
New Orleans 2024 2nd
Cleveland Browns (15)
Deshaun Watson
Odell Beckham, Jr.
Cade York
Perrion Winfrey
Martin Emerson
Denzel Ward
Jordan Payton
Ricardo Louis
Spencer Drango
Derrick Kindred
Cody Kessler
DeShone Kizer
Shon Coleman
Corey Coleman
Chad Thomas
Denver Broncos (1)
Montrelle Washington
Cincinnati Bengals (1)
Tycen Anderson
Washington Commanders (9)
Carson Wentz
Jahan Dotson
Brian Robinson
Sam Howell
Cole Turner
Phidarian Mathis
Christian Holmes
Chase Roullier
Josh Harvey-Clemons
Indianapolis Colts (4)
Alec Pierce
Jelani Woods
Bernhard Raimann
Andrew Ogletree
Miami Dolphins (11+1 pick)
Tyreek Hill
Jaylen Waddle
Javon Holland
Kiko Alonso
Byron Maxwell
Johnson Bademosi
Julien Davenport
Noah Igbinoghene
Solomon Kindley
Channing Tindall
Erik Ezukanma
2023 1st round pick
New York Giants (3)
Jabrill Peppers
Dexter Lawrence
Oshane Ximines
Minnesota Vikings (7)
Andrew Booth
Zamir White
Brittain Brown
Rodney Adams
Danny Isidora
Bucky Hodges
Ifeadi Odenigbo
New Orleans Saints (3)
Chris Olave
Trevor Penning
Jordan Jackson
Las Vegas Raiders (3)
Connor Cook
Neil Farrell
Nick Muse
Detroit Lions (2)
Malcolm Rodriguez
Chase Lucas
New England Patriots (2)
Cole Strange
Tyquan Thornton
