April 16, 2026

NFC East notes: Giants trading their best player? Cowboys trading way up in the draft?

Some rumors from NFC East rivals are interesting, and could have a huge impact on the Eagles if proven true.

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Eric Hartline/Imagn Images

Giants DT Dexter Lawrence

The Philadelphia Eagles have won the NFC East fairly comfortably each of the last two seasons, and were actually the only 2024 divisional winner in the NFL to repeat in 2025. Part of that is because the rest of the division stinks. Still, we keep tabs on the Cowboys, Commanders, and Giants from time to time, because why not?

The Giants could be trading Dexter Lawrence

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported earlier this week that Lawrence and the Giants are at "an impasse." With two years left on his deal, Lawrence wants a new contract, and the Giants don't seem to want to give him one.

The New York Daily News' Pat Leonard took it a step further, saying that "an impasse" is underselling the situation.

The Giants and Dexter Lawrence are not an impasse. The situation is more dire than that.
The contract negotiations between the team and Lawrence’s camp have “broken off,” sources tell the Daily News.
The Giants have spoken to teams about possible trades for Lawrence since he requested one publicly on April 6, and unsurprisingly, there is significant demand for the two-time, second-team All-Pro defensive tackle around the league.

Lawrence is one of the best defensive linemen in the NFL — and probably the Giants' best player — but is currently the 11th highest-paid interior defensive lineman in the NFL. He is underpaid, even after a down year statistically in 2025.

Leonard's sources say that trading Lawrence might not even land the Giants a first-round pick.

Multiple sources believe a reasonable Giants return in a hypothetical Lawrence trade likely would look similar to what the Giants gave the Carolina Panthers two years ago for Brian Burns.
In March 2024, the Giants gave up their 2024 second-round pick and a 2025 fifth-round pick, and the teams swapped 2025 fifth rounders to move Carolina up 25 spots in that round. Then the Giants signed Burns to a massive contract extension.
If the Giants are holding out for a first-round pick in exchange for Lawrence, there are questions about whether they could achieve that.

A couple weeks ago, I wrote in our Hierarchy that I'm kind of bullish on the Giants in 2026, at least relative to my usually extremely low expectations. Their biggest strength is their defensive line, and Lawrence is the key to that.

Maybe Lawrence is in decline? And if so, trading him maybe isn't a bad idea? But... if the Giants no longer employ Lawrence they'd still have good edge defenders but absolutely nothing on the interior. The D-line would go from their biggest strength to arguably a weakness.

It's probably also worth noting that Lawrence's teammates are watching:

This is an important aspect to keep in mind on the Dexter Lawrence situation. The locker room is watching.

From Brian Burns earlier this week:

"Figure it out. Get it done."

Full quote below...

“Business is business,” fellow captain Brian Burns told ESPN in a recent interview…
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) April 15, 2026

So, he's their A.J. Brown this offseason.

Buzz is building that the Cowboys could be trading way up in the draft

Jordan Schultz reported on Tuesday that the Cowboys could be trading way up in the draft, possibly ahead of the Giants, who pick fifth.

There’s a belief among teams at the top of the draft that the Cowboys, who have picks at 12 and 20, are a team to watch in trade-up scenarios, according to multiple league sources.
Several teams have said they believe Dallas is targeting a player the Giants also covet, and getting ahead of them would be ideal if the price makes sense.

If that reporting is legit (this is the most unreliable time of year), the player the Cowboys would be targeting would very likely be Ohio State LB Sonny Styles.

Meanwhile, around the same time Schultz's report came out a couple of heavyweight draft analysts — ESPN's Mel Kiper and The Athletic's Dane Brugler — both had the Cowboys trading way up to pick No. 6 with the Cleveland Browns for Styles.

That's a lot of smoke.