The Las Vegas Raiders are constantly finding themselves in trade rumors. Unfortunately, not the fun kind, as a team of their caliber in recent years is usually projected to have its valuable players plucked, not their draft picks sent to other teams in return for players as they make a playoff push.
While superstars like Maxx Crosby, Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty seem to be off limits, despite their abysmal 2-6 record to begin the 2025 NFL season, the Raiders actually have a handful of promising pieces that other teams may want as the deadline rapidly approaches.
However, Las Vegas needs to strike a balance between acquiring premier draft picks to help build for the future, and not trading away any players that likely factor into that future. The Dallas Cowboys are reportedly a team watch for a player who falls into the latter category.
Raiders' Tyree Wilson is being linked to Cowboys at trade deadline
Third-year defensive end Tyree Wilson, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, surprisingly saw his name added to the Raiders' supposed trade block on Monday. On Tuesday morning, former Cowboys scout Bryan Broaddus predicted that Dallas would trade for Wilson.
"I bet you (the Cowboys) trade for a defensive end here. I thought it was going to be (Miami Dolphins DE Bradley) Chubb, but I think it's going to be Wilson from the Raiders," Broaddus said. "This is why: because Dallas does these things. They'll go after former first-round picks, and a guy they had high on their draft board. ... I could see them trading for Wilson with the Raiders, I absolutely could."
Obviously, this would make sense from the Cowboys' perspective. Wilson is a young player on a rookie contract who has had some solid production at the NFL level and is constantly improving. Plus, his upside is off the charts, and he can theoretically line up all over the defensive line.
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It is precisely for those reasons, however, that the Raiders would be unwise to send him to Dallas. Wilson is arguably just as effective as Malcolm Koonce is at this point, but he's cheaper, a bit younger and has more potential.
If it were me, Las Vegas would be looking to ship off Koonce before Wilson, simply because the former is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, and the latter could be on the team for two more years, depending on if the Raiders pick up his fifth-year option.
Wilson is far from a major impact player at this juncture, but as far as the future in Las Vegas goes, he has a chance to be a big part of it. Koonce certainly does as well, but from a contractual standpoint, it makes far more sense to keep Wilson.
Yes, he has severely underperformed compared to where he was selected in the draft, but that doesn't mean he is not valuable to the Raiders. If Wilson gets sent out of town, Raider Nation might have a bone to pick with John Spytek and Pete Carroll.